Let me begin by apologizing for the long delay on this post. Between an earlier problem with one of my kidneys and seminary classes starting back I have been unable to contribute much to the blog. Thankfully, things have settled down now and returned to normal. I am back into the swing of poopy diapers, greek parsing, teaching youth, and t-rex rides. At any rate, here is my third installment of the teens and alcohol series.When I oringinally conceived of this series of posts on teens and alcohol I intended to conclude with Post #3. The first post adressed the age old question of why we do what we do by showing how important it is to consider our motivations. The second post sought to show that our motivations flow from a worshipful heart, yet that heart has been twisted by sin so much so that its worship is often corrupted and not directed to the One who alone deserves it. I hoped that the third post would bring our short journey to a close by providing some suggestions for what a teen is likely worshipping instead of God when they "just have a couple of beers," and then offering some ways to best help them see their need to have their worship reoriented. It was while thinging deeply about this third post that I realized that more needed to be said.
Teens like Rick need help, but not just any help will do. They need the kind of help that is biblically faithful. Anything else may be intended or even percieved as help but will not acheive lasting change. It's my belief that most of the help extended to teens is not the kind of help that honors God. Again, such "help" may be well intended, but good intentions will quickly morph into frustration when the end result we hoped for is not achieved. This is why I sensed the need to postpone my original 3rd post in order to write this post. In good conscience I can only suggest genuine help once I have exposed some of the more common examples of pseudo help.
How would you help someone like Rick? If you are like most parents or friends, your approach might center on attempting to help a teen struggling with alcohol to just stop drinking. If their teen were to simply stay away from alcohol most parents would say that their child's drinking problem was solved. The trouble with such thinking, however, is that the teen's real problem is spiritual not behavioral. Remember they are internally worshipping something and that is in turn producing their destructive behavior. Their idolatrous worship is their real problem not their idiotic behavior. Never attempt to only change the behavior of your teen or settle for only a behavioral change. Others may think that what such teens need is a change in the location. So many parents are under the false assumption that moving from one town or city to another is all their wayward teen needs. If they had new and better friends to hang out with and more constructive activities to engage in then shouldn't it naturally follow that a rebel would eventually become less rebellious? Can you guess the fundamental problem with this assumption? You're right, such action addresses behaviorial but not heart issues.
Parents and friends, if your son or daughter or good buddy is ravaging their body with alcohol please don't settle for temporary fixes like behavior modification or locational/social change. Actions, interests, friends, and even one's zip code can all change for the better without ever getting to the real problem of a teen's struggle with alcohol. Let's offer such teens what they really need and what will most make a lasting difference. In the fourth and final post, I will attempt to provide help toward this end.
Teens and Alcohol Part 1
Teens and Alcohol Part 2
