What is it with Teens and young adults reading anything and everything these days?! It’s ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Everything we as people read, see, or hear is feeding our inner being. What are we feeding ourselves?! We have not been called to be of this world, but we tend to make excuses as to why we can make acceptations.
TRASH IT ALL! We as tweens, teens, and young adults need to move beyond the world.
First, we compromise our beliefs.
If we believe that certain things such as drugs, swearing, etc. are bad, we should avoid exposing ourselves to them unnecessarily. Is reading necessary? Ultimately no, although to some it may seem that way (talking to all you readers. XD) But when we get to the heart of it, we need to remember that God is reading that book with you. Are you proud of it? Are you glad to smile at the scenes, and laugh at them, and maybe comment to God what you think about certain parts? If you can’t read the book in question before God without squirming, then why are you reading it? He is there with you.
Second, we compromise our conscience.
Reading and writing (basically, dwelling on) any topic makes you used to that sort of language, behavior, and habits. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you will start to think or behave that way, but it definitely changes the way you look at those things. It changes your “world view,” which is a high price to pay for a few hours of entertainment. We need God’s standard to be our standard, and when we compromise, that standard is moved away. Ouch!
Third, we push aside our responsibilities as Christians.
Ultimately, we are created for God. And through Jesus we can fulfill our purpose. When we compromise in different ways, including reading books, we set aside our purpose, and mar our relationship with Him. What is worth that? NOTHING!
And the excuses. They’re not acceptable, and when you have them come into your brain as you pick up a book, think of these answers. I always try to use verse because they are um… well… GODS WORDS, and nothing is more convicting that that.
EXCUSE NUMBER 1:
“I am older, I’m mature enough to be reading this type of materiel.”
MY ANSWER: Aha… Right. I know. Everyone is. And yet it still bothers you. If it didn’t you wouldn’t be reading this. You are old enough you say? 1 Thessalonians 5:22 simply says “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” It doesn’t say “Once you’re 16 you can read ‘romance’,” or “Once you are 21 you can read witchcraft and such.” I literally want to past that verse in bold on my forehead and walk around. ABSTAIN FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL CHRISTIANS!!! THERE IS NO CONFUSION BEHIND THIS VERSE!
(Additional note, it’s been brought to my attention that some people take this verse to mean not to LOOK like evil. However in The Bible God never approved of Christians exposing themselves to evil, especially simply for the sake of entertainment!)
EXCUSE NUMBER 2:
“My mom, dad, good friend, etc. gave this book to me. What am I going to tell them if I don’t read it?”
MY ANSWER: *eyeroll* I’m sorry. I’m really bad at this stuff. HAVE A BACKBONE for goodness sake! If you are willing to bend just not to offend your friend, something is not right! Romans 14:12 says “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Your friends will give account of themselves, and you will give account of yourself. We want to please God, we want to make Him smile when He sees us and make Him proud of us. Stand up for yourself. You don’t have to be mean about it. “Hey, I really appreciate you thinking of me! I love to read, and thanks for remembering that, but I have made a personal commitment to avoid any books that contain [enter your stuff here]. Thanks for thinking of me, but I can’t read this book.” Most everyone will comply. 🙂
EXCUSE NUMBER 3:
“I am very secure in what I believe, and nothing can move me from where I stand, so this book doesn’t really matter.”
MY ANSWER: If you are very secure in what you believe, then you should be so secure that you aren’t really challenged when faced with a decision like this. Standing for you believe includes reading. Man, just be really careful about what you read!! Verse for this one: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Oh boy! Do you know how vulnerable you are when you go off in your own strength? A quote from my Youth Pastor that I love. “Don’t get cute and try in your own strength.” “Hopefully you haven’t been unfortunate to try that, but it always ends in failure… I have, and trust me, you get smoked.” When you don’t have that strength in Christ, because you’re just slightly avoiding Him while you get through this book, you’re opening yourself up to challenges that you wouldn’t face normally.
Aw man. This is a very exhausting post. I’m drained. It’s really hard, when you look at this new generation of kids going out, and doing things, and you just watch them like “GOD! Help us! We’re so lost without You. We’re hopeless and blind. Please Lord! Open our eyes so we can see the things that glorify You, and so that we can live fulfilling our purpose to glorify You. That’s the only time we will ever be satisfied. Lord help us all. Help this generation. Amen.”
~Libby
Good job! That needed to be said.
AMEN!!!!!
Hey Libby, have you ever read the Kingdom series by Chuck Black?
No I haven’t. Is it good? I might look into it.
OHHHH, MY!!!! You’d better get them off Amazon RIGHT this second. I hope Mrs.M doesn’t see this, but, I think I like Chuck Black’s books more than hers. Which is VERY usual for me to say.
But also (not sayin’ that you were) we have to make sure that we don’t put ourselves higher than the people who do read those kinda books.
I couldn’t have said it better myself, Libby!! This is a great post! I praying it’ll reach the ears of those who need to hear this. I needed to hear this too. 🙂 once you put rubbish in your mind you can never get it out.
That’s very true Lexi! Thank you for bringing that up. We need to be Jesus to everyone, and we need to understand that some people’s eyes are closed to this sort of thing. And we can pray for them, because “Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.” But we should not “Boast in ourselves” because if our eyes had not been opened, we would be just like them, and we sure didn’t open our own eyes!!