When a child says "I need to make my own decisions for my life." what do you say in return? This statement is inevitably followed by one like it, "Oh, but the way you and I interpret the Bible might be different." Such words are knife wounds in a parent's heart. What demon has possessed your child that he or she should say such things?
But we forget that our children are precious and they are vulnerable to the enemy's attack. He wants them. He longs to draw their minds into deep-set ruts of deception painted over with the luster of "liberation" and "understanding." Liberation from what? Dictatorial rule of the parent. Understanding about what? The wants and needs of a soul who has not yet learned what self-control, longsuffering, and selfless sacrifice is, and how good these spiritual disciplines are for its eternal well-being.
So what do you tell the child? You've been teaching them scripture all their life. You read to them the Proverbs and they know many by heart. They know not to lie, not to steal, not to blaspheme. And yet they do these things and more now that they have seized their "liberation" from your old-fashioned, ultra-stringent religious beliefs. At least, they see your beliefs in such a light. But you yourself know that for centuries people have honored and respected what is called the "ancient paths."
"Ancient paths?" you might say, "Well, that does sound pretty old and outdated. I'm sure theology has progressed much further in recent times. Is there really a need to press this sense of tradition on our children?"
But you are mistaken. The ancient paths are not tradition anymore than the Bible is historical fiction. The ancient paths are the roads marked by martyr's blood; the deeply ingrained paths of the mind and heart first made by spiritual giants such as the apostles Peter, Paul, and John. These paths are a way of living; and they lead you to one place: to the mirror at which you may stand and see that after all of your journey along this hard, difficult way, you have been changed from the scoundrel you once were to an image of surpassing purity and glory--an image of Christ.
Any other way which is offered that does not lead to this end and is not so proven over time and through history is of no use to the Christian. The other ways offered by the world, by popular religion, and by our inward self will not lead us into an image of Christ but to ruin. This is exactly what Satan, the Great Destroyer, wants and he has cleverly put the idea into our children's heads that they do not have to follow the ancient paths to follow Christ. He offers them a comfortable, up-beat, new-and-improved version of the Christian life and explains that the ancient paths are out-dated and unnecessary. "After all, you have your rights; you're an adult now and have the liberty to decide what you believe about how you want to live. You have the freedom to be different than your parents." and he adds, maliciously, "You don't even need their approval....you have God's approval."
The tragic thing is, they believe it.
No amount of explaining why it is necessary to follow the ancient paths will do. They may only reply, "Well, that is your opinion." and dismiss everything you might say to save them from their disaster. This attitude destroys family's like nothing else. It puts the individual child in a place where they may easily sacrifice their family, years of love and memories, relationships built over long periods of time to the one thing that matter most: themselves. For as soon as they make the decisions themselves and start calling the shots, its not about Christ anymore, or even about right and wrong, its about them.
That's why you find a child saying, "Oh, God is blessing me sooo much. I can see how He is providing for everything!" And the next thing you know they are sleeping with their boyfriend and lying to get out of trouble. You hear about them going to church, they say that they are praying for the Lord's direction, and yet you know that they are living a low, sinful life outside of the church. Not only does it make you angry that they could live such a lie, it makes you hurt for them, because this type of lifestyle changes them so dramatically that you hardly know them anymore. They seem fragile, broken, and dirty. And there is nothing you can do to bring back the beautiful, innocent child of Jesus they once were.
You wonder about their salvation. You wonder if they will ever repent of their ways. You wonder about the future and how you might have to deal with their new lifestyle and its consequences for the rest of your life. What will you say to this child's children when they come? Will you even be able to bear watching them raise your grandchildren in their own false footsteps? Will you not wish that either you or this child had never been born that such a tragedy should not have occurred?
It breaks your heart. Not because you feel that they're wrong and you're right. They ARE wrong and the ancient paths ARE right. And there is nothing you can do to keep them from the reaping the death and destruction they are sowing. You can only pray that they will repent and perhaps escape total ruin.
