Why, everybody is doing it.” No, Mary, everybody is not doing it!
the Scriptural basis for doing certain things and not doing other things. Remember — never forget it — that you can do all things through Christ, for He strengthens you (Phil. 4:13). Never forget that I Corinthians 10:13 is there for your moment-by-moment use, no matter what the sit uation. “ There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You need not dip your colors. You need not bow to the pressure from the gang. Christian girl, if God has given you a beautiful face and a lovely physique which merge with your person ality to bring you not a few dates, you can live a Chris tian life on your dates. So much so that you will not only draw your boy friend toward Christ, but everyone else you see or meet on that date. You also can hold your standard of conduct so high that no one will think of “ getting fresh.” And all of this time you will, through the power of Christ working through you, help to bring out the best, not the worst, in the fellows you date. Christian fellow, society has given you an upper hand, for. in most cases you ask for the date. As a result a girl will be careful not to offend you because you have, in the first place, been kind enough to ask her for a date. Remain kind in every way! Keep your own standards high. Treat her like a queen for the night. Clue her in early in the evening that your mind does not run in the gutter and that you are interested only in having a pleas ant and interesting date with a girl you sort of like. A few words in Joshua 24 :15 can be your foundation for all of your dates. That verse reads, in part: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” As you walk and ride along the paths and highways of your date life, enjoying these most wonderful years, be bold enough to say, in effect, to those with whom you associate: “You may choose your way, and whom you will serve, but as for me, I’ll serve Jesus Christ.” A girl asks, and with logic: “ If I act that way, won’t the dates stop coming? Won’t I end up staying home all the time, wasting these wonderful years?” What is better: “ wasting” a few hours, even months or years, or possibly ruining an entire life? As Christian fellows listen to the conversation of what other young men do on their dates, do they not wonder: “ Am I not foolish for holding to the standards I am keep ing? Am I off the beam for thinking, and acting, the way I do?” You are on the beam. The other boys are off. They know it, too, but will not admit it. One of these years, when marriage is yours, it will be the right kind o f marriage and one that God can and will bless with abundance and joy. No; everybody is not doing it. Never forget that. Re member, too, that Christ is right there to help you live a clean and pure life. And a surprise likely will come your way. You’ll be amazed at how many other kids in your school and community “ are not doing it” and who will come out of hiding when they see your flag flying high. And, who knows, your stand may even result in bringing your way the fellow or girl who some day will walk down a church aisle with you as the wedding music is played. It has happened — and likely will happen again. Used by permission — Good News Broadcaster
Lets face'it frankly and bluntly. The “ everybody is doing it” argument is being worked overtime by the devil to pull many a teen-ager toward a moral and spiritual breakdown. One thing we need to be clear on, too: Christian teen-agers are much like other teen-agers. They want to be popular. They want to be “one of the crowd.” They want to avoid the “ odd ball,” “ square,” or whatever tag you have for those people in your part of the country. So, when a date comes along, the Christian girl wants to be as pleasant and nice as possible, especially if there has been a drought in her social life. She wants to make sure, if she likes him, that he’ll show up again, and again, to make up for those lonesome hours. Then when she runs into that “ everybody is doing it” phrase, which so many fellows have as a part of their line, she faces a problem. W ill she stick to her standards? Or will she hedge a bit in order to hang onto the hope of keeping this boy coming back for other dates? What she should say — and what you could well say if you face this situation — is simply this: “ Bill, everybody may be doing it, though that I sort of doubt, but here is one girl who is not going along with the crowd in this particular thing.” Those words may close one of the shortest dates you’ve ever had, or will have! When word gets around, and it will get around, for they say that boys gossip as much as girls, you will get a certain tag from the boys at your school, church, and community. But what you also get, though you do not realize it at the time, is something else for the stand you took — respect. Know what today’s world needs? It needs a multitude of Christian teen-agers who will not bow down and give in to the vicious inroads which the wrongful use of sex and other aspects of date life have made among North American youth. It needs to know that in our high school population there is a group of courageous, clean, and powerful teen-agers who can and do walk above the sin as they use the Bible as their guide and Jesus Christ as their way of life. But, you say, you don’t know how tough things are in my situation. I live in a densely populated city. Well, whether many people or few are near you, no doubt you feel many times that as.a Christian you are fighting the battle all by yourself. And so the “ everybody is doing it” reasoning sounds pretty good. Remember this, however — if you hold your standards, be you fellow or girl, that statement must read: “ Everybody; that is, except Mary Smith, is doing it.” And though it may not seem so at all, the jibing crowd respects you — and wishes it had what you have. And it wonders how you manage to keep free from the sin and wrongful habits that have snared them. When Mary Smith here — June Jones there — Larry Peterson over here — and so many more of you in your schools and communities are all added up, the world begins to sit up and note that “No; everybody is not doing it.” Christian fellow, Christian girl, dare to live a life that will lift the moral standards to a new high. There are enough others who work in the other direction. Have the courage of your convictions. Know your Bible, and
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A PR IL, 1964
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