brought prestige to their masters. But in the end, this morally deca dent system collapsed because of in ternal strife and corruption. Sociologists have been making a careful study about A m e r i c a ’ s strange prison. As far as their par ents are concerned, these young peo ple are extremely wealthy compared to standards of the other nations on the earth. Things many people would count as luxuries are considered necessities in this land. Yet such an abundance has little effect upon the destiny of the impressionable youth. Those who are in control have had various seminars and conclaves in which they have discussed possible solutions. There seems to be talk of “ more punishment,” “more work,” and “more control.” Meanwhile, in some isolated areas, and we cannot predict whether a trend will develop, leaders of a movement known as Christian, led by the power of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, have been “ engineering” miraculous es capes for scores o f prisoners. Those who have been incarcerated have listened to His mighty words such as, “ And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free,” and, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” This seems to be the only ray of light and hope for teenagers. Actually it is not a re form movement, although o t h e r s have unsuccessfully attempted such worthwhile movements. This “ Slave- master,” Jesus, is really not offering “ independence” but a different kind of “ slavery.” His is the unusual
Christian teenager ministering in migrant camp in Indio, California.
How to Escape from the Teenage Prison by Al Johnson*
S om e 20 m il l io n intelligent, attrac tive, teenage youth are trapped in a prison whose warden’s name is “ The American Way of Life.” This warden has an annual budget of some 10 billion dollars. This is to insure that the inmates will be af forded every possible luxury. It in cludes provision for such things as music ($321,000,000 spent annual ly on this item alone), clothing, transportation, and various forms of pleasure. In fact, inmates may have almost anything they desire except the one priceless gift of freedom. The statistics reveal that the money expended to hold these impression- abld young people for the next year will reach a new record high. Exposure to such things as penalty for wrong-doing, responsible posi tions in business and industry, and various other means of personal character development are carefully avoided in this prison. While it is true that scores of inmates have the ability and long to give a response yet their leaders do not seem im pressed with the idea of giving them any responsibility. It is almost as if they desired to keep them in per petual bondage.
Those who come from inside tell us about the tremendous unrest in this nation-wide prison. Parents, schools, churches, and other institu tions all agree that it is not a whole some situation. But this seems to be about all that is done. It is merely a shifting of blame. In addition, an unhealthy hostility toward the pris oners is growing constantly on the part of those on the outside. There seems to be no attempt to under stand the real difficulties. Mean while, inside the prison, inmates are showing their hostility by strange actions. They use such psychological measures as physical gyrations set to music and the worship of persons with unusual hair styles. When inter viewed, one inmate expressed it this way, “ I like them because my par ents don’t.” Historians are quick to point out that a similar situation existed dur ing the days of the Roman empire. In that bygone era wealthy Romans selected choice slaves, educated and supplied them with adequate fi nances, and then sent them to the local market places to idle away their time discussing relatively unimpor tant subjects of the day. Such slaves
A group of teenagers ministering in Guay- mas, Mexico. bondage of love. Those who have accepted His way and have, become His “ love slaves” are finding true freedom and release for the first time. It seems that the young people immediately become i n v o l v e d in bearing His burden and become active in what is known as Christian service. They discover that their purpose in living must be His pur pose in dying. There is much con-
36
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker