Let's Talk About Purity

So this morning, as I do almost everyday, I had my cup of coffee as I watched the news. Sometimes I watch CNN, the local news channel or global news. But today I watched Good Morning America (GMA). What called my attention was a segment they had with Kety Perry, a very we'll known secular singer that is very popular amongst our youth. Apparently, she conducted this national contest with the help of GMA to select one high school were she would perform on her birthday. Schools all over the country sent in their entry of elaborate videos involving their whole school singing Perry's latest hit "The Eye of the Tiger". Today she performed at the the school contest winner. I watched in dismay as thousands of young men and women screamed and shouted in a very crowded school gymnasium. As I took another sip of my coffee I thought: Lord, how can we compete with this? How can we bring our children's attention to you when the world is investing so much in them? Can we win this battle in today's world? Can we rescue our children? Immediately the Spirit of God brought Psalm 119:9 (How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed and keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to it]." to my mind and said: You don't have to compete with the world, you just have to give them Jesus and teach them my Word. Wow!! Can I just tell you how great our God is? It had been seconds since that question popped up in my heart and He answered it! I'm always at aw of that. Let's just say that being pure is not a concept that is very popular in our society. Children grow up learning that you should do whatever makes you happy and as a result they're more selfish than ever. Just the other day I read an article in Times magazine titled "The Me, Me, Me Generation". This article described how research has found that today's youth are narcissistic, egocentric, and have a strong sense of entitlement. They want more and more without showing any work for it. And unfortunately, we as parents are at great fault for that. Today's parents think that they can cause permanent emotional damage to their children if they only dare to say "no" to their every desire and want! What happened with moderation, meekness, humility, contentment, and hard work? This evidence only shows that our children need to be rescued from the world. Our children need Jesus and the salvation that only He can give. We have the great responsibility of raising spiritual champions, children who are grounded in the Word and continually work on developing a personal relationship with Christ. That's no easy work. It takes a insurmountable amount of time, purpose and discipline. It also takes faith, trust and many prayerful nights. Today I want to challenge parents out that to be more involved in their children's spiritual life, diligently teaching them the Word of God and leading them to Jesus. Open up a dialogue in your home about the subject of purity and allow your children to talk about the challenges they face on a daily basis. Try to resist being judgmental or condemning. The fact is, our children today are exposed to a lot more temptations than we ever were because of technological advancements and the like. In the end, it's important to recognize that all of us need God's forgiveness, love, mercy and grace.