Do you know teenagers who are impulsive? Who only live in the moment, fulfilling their immediate desires, spending all their money, going places with friends cause they can’t say no, or maybe they are even getting into “trouble” because they want to be “accepted?” I believe that most of our teenagers live like this and it’s the rare exception to find some that don’t.
So, how do we deal with this as parents? How do we teach our kids to choose better ways? Let’s look to the Bible for advice. In Titus 2:11-12 KJV, the word says…
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;”
Did you catch the key? It is Gods grace. It is the way our teens will grow in self-control and personal discipline; it is not by making more rules (although the rules are important). We need to help our teens absorb God’s unconditional love for them. They need to grab hold of the fact that God has a high opinion of them and He has a plan for them, after all He thought so much of us that He sent His son to die for us, and when we bask in that thought, our desire will be to live up to that honor. God’s grace is sufficient to help our teens get there. The first step for parents is letting go of past failures, and showing our teens Jesus’ complete forgiveness. By grace.
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