Are We Neglecting Our Youth (1976)

8/13/2019 Are We Neglecting Our Youth (1976)

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AREWE NEGLECTINGOURNATION'S OUTH?Parentsare increasinglyneglecting their most mportantresponsibility,often with tragic results. t is time to takea closer ook at this important subiect, for the youth oftoday are the adults of tomorrow.

rvER have our youngpeoplehad more eisure ime, betterfood, better education,ormore material goods.Yet youthfulviolence, ggression,nd hostility smorepronouncedhan n any periodof modernhistory.Forty percentofUnited States rimesof violence ndtwo hirdsof crimes gainst roperty(807o f vandalism) re committedby those nder wenty-one.And the U.S. s by no means lonein this phenomenon. outh crimeandviolence re epidemicn almostall "advanced"ountries."We are experiencing break-down n the process f makinghu-manbeings uman," tressesornellpsychologistnd career hild watch-er Urie Bronfenbrenner.It wouldbe grosslymisleadingoimplicate hat all modern outhareturning ut"bad."Thcre re nnum-erable otable xceptionsith whichweareall familiar.Still,ourchildrenand youngadults-tomorrow's mostvaluableand important esource-are tempted o respond o alluringbutwarped ocialorceshathave l-readypusheduntold numbers ntoheartache,disi l lusionment,andruined ives.Parents on the Run. Many forceshave ausedhiscrisis. ut withoutadoubt he biggest ingle actor s thatyouth and parents ncreasingly regoing heir separate ays.Having ost heirspiritual ndmo-ral roots,manyparents re running,many iterally, romoneof the mostimportant esponsibilit iesn life: hatof preparing he future generationunder heir charge o becomentelli-gent, self-disciplined,esponsible,productive, ecenthumanbeings."An increasing umberof parents2

have esignedheir responsibilityorthecharacter f theirchild,"saysDr.Amitai Etzioni, professor f sociol-ogy at ColumbiaUniversity.It 's aselementarys hat."Caught p n a whirlwind f work,social.or entertainment ctivit ies,manyparents ave itt le ime,desire,or energyo showaffection r to givepositive raining and discipline otheiroffspring. et these re he ba-sic dssentialsf "makinghumanbe -ingshuman."Finding heir children rritating.ungrateful, nrewarding, r "in th eway,"manyparents ave ome o re-sent heir children.Backed p by stacks f social ta-t ist ics rom government gencies.Bronfenbrenneroints o an alarm-ing but irrefutableact:Upsidedownhomesand family fracture.whilemore seriousn poorand nonwhitegroups, ut right across ll income.race,and educationategories.To compoundhe problem,moremodernwomen rebeginningo des-ert their homeand family. n someplaces,wives actual lyoutnumberhusbandss unaways-Working Mothers.Anotherwell-es-tablishedrend-the desire f moth-ers to pursuea career outside hehome-hasn't improvedoverallpar-ent-child elationshipsr charactertraining.One hird of Americanmothers fpreschoolhildrenare in th e laborforce.More han half of our school-age childrennow havemotherswhowork outside he home, mostly fullt ime.While his s not o say t is al-ways harmful for mothers o workoutside he home muchdepends nthe family circumstance,geof chil-dren, and qualityof training), his@1976 Ambassador CollegeAll Rights Reserved

situation has produced a growingnumber of neglected children whobarely see or know their parents, orvice versa.Worst Fruit from Child RearingExtremes. While broken homesof-ten engendera great deal of youthfulproblems. much dehumanizing isdone in intact homes where chi ld-rearing extremesor inconsistencysthe rule.Untold numbersof homesare nothomes. ut batt legrounds herechi l-dren and parentsendlessly f ight i tout." with man)'parents ntimidatedand cou'er ing before their chi ld 'severv self ishwhim.In too manl 'homesat the other ex-treme. harsh, oppressive, himsical,or capr icious parental discipl ineleavesa variety of deep scarson itsyouthfulvict ims.The tol l of emotion-al ly and ph1'sical lybat tered andabusedchildren mounts up into th ehundreds of thousandsevery year.In betweenare a large group ofparentalosci l lators; hey swing backand forth between being too strictand oo enient.Unhappywith the re-sultsof their nconsistency, any ustgiveup and take the path of least e-sistance.Parent ing-A Dying Art . Parentalinf luence s rapidly diminishing to avery ow point.Many parents eem obe bl indly apathetic or demoral izedwhile a growing l ist of ersatz "par-ents" indoctr inate thei r chi ldrenwith questionablevalues and att i-tudes.For many youngerchi ldren, elevi-sion-with its violence nd inanity-is frequently used as a f l ickeringelectronicparent. TV now occupiesrrrore waking hours of mil l ions ofyoungchildren han any other single


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inf luence- including both parentsand schcrols.Pec-r roups. schools.preschools,and r ' ; r r i r rushi ld-carecentershaveuls. r akenover he role hat oo manyp.r rent \seem reluctant to perform.\\ i i ie ntrneof theseare necessar i ly\ \ r r rng.and in some egardsmay bequi te benef icial . one ul f i l l the ma-Itrr responsibi l i t i ,f prepar ing outhfor mature. esponsibledul thood.Evenafter sixyearsof lormal school-ing, hough, n average hi ld hasspentonl l ' seven ercent f his or h er life inschool.Ninety-three percent of thechild's ife has been nfluenced y themoral.ethical. nd social alues f thehome,neighborhood.riends,commu-nity,or church.So without he act ivepart ic ipat ionol parentsor guardianswho valueand exhibi t some measure of thequal i t ies f respect , ooperat ion, ndconcern or others, here s almost nopossibi l i ty hat the next generat ioncan earn hem."What is needed," ays Bronfen-brenner, is a change n our waysofl iv ing that wi l l once again br ingadul tsback nto the l ivesof chi ldrenand chi ldren back into the l ives ofadu ts."Parents n Need of Help. Responsi-blc parents are not depend n hopeand luck to fashion he cr i t ical at t i -tudcs ther value in thei r chi ldren.\ \ c ' cr rDntr t eal lv expect desirablebchavi t r rn our chi ldren f we haven'tdt r f lc ' ur homes rk ear ly in thei rl i les.To a largedegree. e reapwhat\\ e SL)$ .There is a cr i t ical per iod dur ingthe trrst lour or l lve vears rrhen achi ld can ntost readi l \ get a sol idloundat ionol proper at t i tudesandvalues.We must not fai l the genera-t ion which s st i l l responsiveo soundvalues nd pr inciples f goodcharac-ter .

Too frequent ly young. immarureor unpreparedmen and women findthemselvesaddledwith the resoonsi-bi l i t l of an impressionable.elplessinfantaboutwhich hey knowalmostntr lhing.Hou' many parents have receivedrrne otaof formal raining n the verycnt icalareaof chi ld rear ing?Societydenrrrndshat thosewho raisechick-enr lnd pigshavemore raining hanthtr :c rh(r earchi ldren.What a t ra-gedr and lravesty

Many parentsdo not understandthe emot ional r intel lectual eeds ftheir chi ldren.Many parents re un-wi t t ingly einforcingn theirchi ldrenthe very habi ts hey want to el imi-nate. largely f rom an improper ap-proachor wrong emot ional ommu-nicat ionswith their chi ldren.No parent s perfect .And a chi ld snot usual ly destroyedby a few mis-takes. Every parent can improve onthe parent ing rt: yet i t wi l l take ef-for t to get the proper balance ofknowledge,methods,and att i tudes.

What is a goodparent?Everypar-ent needso knowr ight moralvalues,how to set limits, how to encourageintel lectual nd emot ional rowth,aswel l as how to discipl inewi thin aframeworkof love. t 's a mighty bigtask.The helpful pr inciples n the fol -lowingpages. hi lenot total answersto every chi ld rear ing problem,aresolid. common-sense ethods o usein training your chi ldren o becomeresponsibleand useful members ofsocietv. :l

WAYWARDEEN-AGERS'ADVICE O PARENTSSeveralyearsago, a minister, C.Galea,wasassignedo the GuelphCorrectionalCentre for summerwork.Duringhis ime herehe de-velopedan excellent apport withthe young awbreakershere.Afterbecoming cquainted ith them,heasked he boys o delve nto theirbackgrounds or clues as to whythey had ended p in that institu-tion or delinquents.easkedhemto drawup a "code or parents," s-ing as a basis pecific reaswheretheirownparents ad ailed.Hereis what heyadvised:l. Keep cool. Don't lose yourtemper n the crunch.Keep he idon when hings owrong.Kidsneedthe reassurancehat comes romcontrolledesponses.2. Don't get strungout from toomuch boozeor too many pi l ls.Whenwe seeour parentseachingfor thosecrutches,we get the ideathat nobodygoesout therealone,that it's perfectlyokay to go for abottleor a capsule hen hingsge theavy.Remember, our childrenaregreat mitators. nd we ose e-spect or parentswho tell us to be-have newaywhile heyarebehav-ing anotherway.3. Bug us a little. Be strict andconsistentn dishing ut discipline.Showus who'sboss. t gives.usfeelingof security o know'we'vegot some trong upports nderus .4. Don't blow your class.Kepthe dignityof parenthood.tay onthat pedestal. our childrenhaveput you there becausehey need

someoneo lookup to. Don't try todress, ance, r talk like yourkids.You embarrass s and you ook ri-diculous.5. Light a candle.Showus theway.Tell us God s not dead, leep-ing, or on vacation.We need o be-l ieve in somethingbigger andstronger han ourselves.6. If youcatchus ying,stealing,or being cruel, get tough. Let usknowwnv whatwedid waswrong.Impress n us he mportancef notrepeating uchbehavior.When weneedpunishment, ish t out. Butlet us know you still love us, eventhoughwe have et youdown. t'llmake us think twice before wemake he samemoveagain.7. Call our bluff. Make it clearthatyoumeanwhatyousay.Don'tbewishy-washy.on'tcompromise.And don't be intimidatedby ourthreats o drop out of schoolorleave ome.Stand irm. If youcol-lapse,we will know we beat youdown, and we will not be happyabout the "victory." Kids don'twanteverythingheyask or.8. Be honestwith us. Tell thetruth no matter what. And bestraight-arrowbout t. Lukewarmanswersmakeus uneasy.We cansmell ncertainty mileaway.Thismeans einggenerous ith praise.If you giveus kids a few compli-mentsonce n a while,we will beable o accept riticismmore eadi-ly. We wantyou o tell t like t is.-Ann Landers,Field NewspaperSyndicate


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CONTROLLINGYOUTHFULNERGY

"Theglory fyoungmen," ays heBible, is their trength . " (Prov.20'.29). ne of the greatest rob-lems n anysocietys the harness-ingof the energy nd vitality f itsyouth.t isalsooneof thegreatestdiff icultiesf parenthoodl"JohnnylPleasesf sl/// Stopjerking nd iggling "houtsheex -asperatedmotherof a ten-year-old. What's hematter-have ougotants nyourpants?" he umes."Can't you ever be st i l l andquiet?"Parents avebeen ayinghingslike hat or centuries.Virtuallyll normal" hildrenrebundles f pent-up,xplosivener-gy. And that energymustbe re-leasedWhen t is bottled p, sup-pressed nd hwarted,t builds pincredible ressuresn youngchil-dren.The longerenergy s sup-pressed he more frustratedhechild ecomes.Just as an experiment,ry thissometime. ou are drivingalongthe reewayr hemotorway.t'sanextended rip of severalhours.Thereare few slops except orgasoline r "rest" stops.As youdrive, tudy he expressionn thefacesof yourchildrenn the rear-view mirroras they sit , squirm,struggle, restle, ussle, ug an dpullawayat eachother n hebackseatof theautomobile.he ongerthey have o sit there, he worsetheirattitudes illbecome.Some-times heywill all asleep n sheerfrustration.heymaykeepsaying,"Whenare we going o gel there,daddy?" How much onger?" lhave o go to the bathroom."Helustwent15 minutesarlierl)

The ongerhisagitation ontin-ues, he more rritablehe parentsbecome. fterall, heywould ikeanice, uiet, elaxingripBefore ongan explosionakesorace."Willyou idsSHADDAPust itstilland be quiet We'llget therewhenwe get here nd don'twantto hearanymore bout tl"Sulk.Pout.Fume.ResentTheatmospheren the car hasdegeneratedonsiderablyincethe ripbegan.whv?Simply ecausehe parents idnot understand,or knowhow tocope with, he factorof theirchrl-dren's nergy t'sa lawof nature-energymustbe released.ltmustbeburnt p,utilized.Yet children ften ack he wrs-dom to know how lo rightlyultlizetheirownvastenergyeservesWeare told hat"a child e/l o himselfbrings hameo hismother" Prov.29:15).Children,eft o theirowndevices, ften se heir nergynadestructivemanner.This s oneof theprincipalea -sonswhychildrenoopedup andleftalone n a big-city nvironmentoften esorto actsof viclence ndvandalism.hildrenut oose rom

thewarmandcreativenvironmentof closeand ovingamily nit re -quentlybecomeyouthlul agrantsprowlinghe streets nd alleys fcitiesookingor destructiveutletsfor thosepent-up nergies. uchneglect n the part of parentssone ol the key actors nvolvednthe formation f adolescenttreetgangs.The conclusions obvious.Re -

sponsible parents must providetheirchi ldrenwithconstruct ive, n-joyableoutlets or that vast reser-voir of dynamic, ibrantenergy.A childshouldneverbe cut total-ly adrift from his family unit. Heshouldbe able to f ind exoressionwthin l. He should neverbe left ex-clusrvely o his or her own devicesdurrng those cr i t ical format iveyears (Thrs s nol to say a chi ldshould not be taught indepen-dence. self-reliance nd responsi-brl i ty Parentsmuststr ive o under-stand therr childs need for con-slant actrvrty nd provideways forthe releaseof that energyFamrlyoutrngs.sporls activities,hikes camp-outs,musicalendeav-ors, bui lding projects, wrest l ingmatcheswith Dad, walks and runs,. loggrng s a family,exercising o-gether,etc., are al l invaluable ndconstruct ive ut letswhich can besharedby al l of the family.Childrenshould be taught andencouragedo "ThinkFamily."Thefamily environmentshould ideal lybe the most enjoyable place fora chi ld to be. l t should be themost interesting,he most satisfy-ing.A chi ldwho cannot indsatisfac-t ionand activi tywithinhisown fami-ly unit will seek it elsewhere.Re -sponsible,perceptiveparents willrecognize his need and seriouslystrive o provide he right kind ofexciting, nteres fi l led nvironmentfor theirchi ldren.Granted, t takes t ime and plan-ning o be a responsible arent.Butisn't t worth t?Willyoudo yourpartin helping o control the youthful"energycrisis"? D

o 1976WordwideChurchof GodAll RightsReserved


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Youth of Today . r rWHERES THESPIRITOFADVENTURE?Why do so many young people today have the blahs? Why are so manyTURNEDOFF? Why do they DROPOUT? Should life be so BORING or youngpeople? ls there any REAL ADVENTUREeft to be had in our times? Or are theonly adventures left in our society found in sex, drugs and violence? lf you'reunder thirty-in age or spirit-you'd better read this article

nvrnrunE Chal lenge rai l -blazing Conquest ew hori-zons These act ion-packedwords have stirred generationsofyoung people n the world overYouth has always been keenly re-sponsive to the challenge of adven-twe, eager to tackle new and moredemandingobstacles, nxious to dowhat has yet been undone by "theolder generation."Countless ales ofcourage, heroism, exploration, dis-cover\'.and rugged adventureattestto this fact. But is this vital commod-i tr of louth changing oday?.\re roung people oday losing lespirit o_f dventure?It depends pon what kind of "ad-enture ' vou mean Mind-bendingC:-uss nd jaded sexualexploits are"adlenture" enough or many youths:C:r For others "adventure" is to':e f..und in the revolutionarypolit i-c-;l :ena-a Molotovcocktail n on e:ra:.lc.he urit ings of Lenin, Marx or\ lat rn the other But is that " the:-e:l thine" l Or will theseprove in:rme i '- *. phonv substitutes or thecieepll =atisfl ing pursuits and ac-clrmrlishrnents hat others, n otherrirno and berter days.have asted?Corne onl [f 1ou're young and1or.l 're iire and 1'ou hink you cantakea chal lenge.ake his one Chal-lenge t..,lr-tel-f.' O f.OUgnVE Z|lESPI RI T OF .+DV'E.\TURE?"Adventure"-What ls l t? L istento \rhat \laurice Herzog, he gallant1'oungFrenchman who led the suc-cessful 9-i0 erpedition o the top of

26,492-f ot Annapurna,writesaboutadventure:"As life has grown progressivelyeasierover he centuries,with adven-ture disappearing from the face ofthe earth, man's physical organismhas protested.Society's solution issport. It is notable that sports havedeveloped most br i l l iant ly in ad-vancedsocieties.Sport has no mean-ing when daily life provides its par-allel."For the ultimate stage f our com-fort-keyed c iv i l izat ion, man wil ldoubtless ustainhimselfby consum-ing a varietyof l i t t le pil ls.But ust asswallowing ourishment hroughpil lswil l neverentirelysupplantgourman-dizingand hepleasures fthe able, osportwil l never bolish thirst or nat-ural activitywithout rainingmanualsor tr icks. And the solut ion s not asupersport l ike American football.basketball, aseball l.The solution sadventure-adventure in u hich aman's otol energies nd all his physi-calandmental esources.re nvolved.In adventure, muscles.nerves. n-stincts, reflexes.even brains-in aword, the entire man-are taxed tothe ull" (Man Against Nature, col-lectedand editedby CharlesNeider,"Adventure-The Unending Chal-lenge,"Maurice Herzog,p. xi, empha-sisours hroughout).Here, with clear reasoning, hisworld-famousmountaineerexempli-fies the need for man to be chal-lenged, o be alert, aliveand active-not sedentary, lacid,and passive

o l97l AmbassadorCol legeAll Rights Reserved

A Litt le World. Face it For mostpeople odaywhat wasonce the big,wide world" has become "lhe littleworld." You know what we mean?Today it 's the l itt le world in frontof the TV set. The litt le world of anarrow, b ig-c i ty street. The l i t t leworld inside the l itt le house,or thelitt le car or the l itt le classroom"Where's i t at?" youth wants toknow. They're not f inding it in thelitt le worlds they were born into-and havenot yet escaped rom. Notonly is it a l i tt le world, with narrowhorizons. t 's alsoa soft world, an in-door world----ory' outdoors, a smog-choked. noise-polluted, eadly dulland boring worldAre there any true challengeseft?Or have we passed he lost frontier?What's it going to be from here onout? Just more of the same untilthere'sstanding oom only? Will the"adventures" of Tomorrow's llorldbe about as thril l ing as waiting for abus, or punchinga clock, or sitt ingstalled in a traff ic jam? No, fortu-nately a much better world awaitsyou-rF you do your part todayTomorrow's World wi l l needyoung men and women with ruggedstaminaand courage.They wil l haveto face some of the greatest chal-lenges he world has ever seenTomorrow's leaders won't be thekind of peoplewho can only sedatelyreflect on the problem, posealterna-tives, or pass the buck. They wil lhave to DO SOMETHING Thestresswill be on dynamic action, not


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another blue ribbon committee" ostudy he problemRecognizinghe need or this kindof active eadership, hat canyoudoto prepare ourself or facing omor-row'sproblems ndchallenges? owcanyourespondo the call of adven-ture odayandbepreparedo meet thead-on omorrow?Be Active,Not Passive heproperfunctioning f yourmind dependsnlarge measure n right use of yourbody Learn to use your God-givenarms and legs as your Creator in-tended. This means exercise Itmeans igorous, ard WORK.This soneof the biggest roblems f youthtoday-too little work and exercise.That's why so manyare soft and la-tulent-and plainlyefeminatThebookof Proverbss ull of exhor-tations o learn to labor productivelywith your handsas a primemeansodiligencen ife.Youngmen ndwomenare o learn owork willingly with theirhands.The Proverbs peak f thelazymanwhose ands efuseo abor Prov.2ll,25),andwhobecome o azy hecanhardly bring his food to his mouth(r9:24)lThe legs need exercising, oo .Walking anywhere oday is almostunheard f Machinesmust akeuseverywhere ego,but they rob us ofmuch-needed xercise.Developalove of walking,, unning, hiking.Swimming s alsoa fine orm of exer-cise.Learn to walk erectly,breathedeeply, nd eelyourbody espondoyour commands. his is a vital partof becoming n activepersonDon't sit on the sidelines, atchfromthe bleachers,r lie sprawlednfront of the TV set.Get in thereandparticipate Every young personshould nowa numberof teamsportsandbe able o play hem airly well.Thesemight includebaseball, as-ketball, volleyball, ouch and flagfootball.He should earnsome f theindividualsports, oo, like tennis,golf, handball,squash, acquetballand those aught in track and field.Evena fair levelof accomplishmentin theseareaswill bring you enor-mous atisfactionn life-in the ormof a healthy odyandalertmind, nlearning he lessons f goodsports-manship nd eamwork, lus he per-sonalqualitiesof drive, determina-tion,endurance,raining,etc.

Be active Developyour skills6

Learn o playfairly andcourageous-ly. All this stimulateshe spiritof ad-venture and develops he wholemanDevelop a Love of the OutdoorsWhen Almighty God completedHismarvelous hysicalcreation,He"saw every hing that he had made,and,behold,t wasverygood" Gen.1:31.) ndeed t was-and slil/ rs/Granted,man hasdonea lot to pol-lutewhatHe madeperfectandpure,but there s still much o see, xperi-ence,behold, nd appreciate.Forestsand woodlands re "verygood."They hold fascinating ights,sounds, nd secrets.Mountains, ighand low, new or o ld, ruggedorsmoothare marvelons-bigger hanman,beyond isability o completelydefile or "conquer."Upward theybeckonwith their forested slopes,cascading treams, nd breathtakingviews.The sea and it s shore are also"very good." They too are btg andawe nspiring.Their formsof life areseemingly ndless-waterbirds, ish(largeand small),clamsand crabs,lobstersndsea ions. ll parts f thetruly "great outdoors."So are the vast,windswept reatPlains.Hereare other ormsof lifeand very beautifulscenes. plandgame birds, prairie dogs,antelopeanddeer,oftenagainst backdrop fshimmering eas f golden rain.No matter where you may live.there sa partof God'soutdoorworldavailableo you By simplyputtingforth a little effort, even big-cit1-dwellers anescapeheconcreteun-glesof man's making to the muchmorebeautiful,peaceful, nd nspir-ing world that Godmade You don'thave o staypennedn andbound o amodernmegalopolisYou can start by gettinga map ofyour homestate.State and nationalpark systems ublishexcellent,reemapsandbrochures. venoil compa-ny highwaymaps how pecial ointsof interest, arks, ecreationalreas,etc.Libraries re ull ofsuchpublica-tions.Manybookstoresave specialsection or mapsand travel guides.You shouldhave no trouble indingo:utwhere o go. Some maginationand ngenuitywill turn up heway.Most youths oday haveaccessocars.Many havea car of their own.Others have motor bikes. Bicvcles

provide good exercise and cheaptransportat ion, ut shouldbe usedonlessheavily trafficked roads. But youdon't have to go places all by your-selfl.Thoughtful parents should takethe lead in such outingsBut whatever you do, don't makethe mistake of thinking that i f youuere born in, or now must l ive in, acrou'ded, nerve- jangl ing, people-choked city, you are forever doomedto ) 'our fate. You can-and must-get out occasionally-to preserveabalanced.sane,and healthy view ofl i fe and the world around you Youneed o be outdoors o developa /oveof the outdoorsChr ist the Outdoor Man. Neverforget that JesusChrist was-and istodal'-the greatest naturalist, con-servationist. and outdoor man of allt imel Not ice uhat Bruce Bartonwrites in his book The Man NobodyKnows(The Bobbs-\lerr il l Co., Inc.,New York. 1962. p. .13) : Al l Hisdayswerespent n the openair . . . onthe SabbathHe *'as n the svnagoguebecause hat was u'here the peopleweregathered. ut b1' ar the greaterpart of His teachingwasdoneon theshoresoi His lake. or in the cool re-cesses f the hi l ls. He *'alked con-stantl l from vil lage to vi l lage, Hisfacewas annedb1'thesun and wind.Even at night He slept outdoorswhenHe could-turning His back on thehot walls of the city and sl ippingaway'into the healthful freshness fthe Mount of Olives.He wasan ener-getic outdoor man.The vigorous ac-tit it ies of His days gave His nervesthe strength of steel."Mr. Barton gives us an accurateand fresh perspectiveof some of thephysical aspectsabout the true JesusChrist He did not come as a soft, pe-dantic, effeminate teacher of nicesayingsand platitudes.He came as aMAN -a rugged outdoorsmanwhocould lead other equally rugged andmasculinemen like Peter, a commer-ical fisherman. Men like Peter wouldnever have fol lowed the so-cal led"Jesus" the artists haveportrayed forgs-4 "rnan" who looksas f he neversaw the l ight of dayLet's follow the example of thegreatestman who ever ived and whoset us a perfect example Let's devel-op the same kind of love for the out-doors He had and has today Thesame kind of vigorous activities will


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prepareus for the challenges f HiswonderfulWorld TomorrowKeep lt Sale and Sane If you de-t velopan active and energeticmindand body and a love or the outdoors,this ncxt step comes logically-youwill naturallvwant to seekoutSAFEand S,,{/YE challengesand adven-turesEachqrtdor activity has ts ownpar-tkillar cbllengc, providests own ad-ruture- Thc hiker and climber questsfor hb dcstination. t may bea distantlake wherethe fishing promiseso beexcdlent. Perhaps he goal s the sum-mit of a high hill or mountain.Suchgels tcs out a challenge.Can youmake t? Will yousucceedThe fun comes rom planningandpreparingo attain hegoal,and henputting orth all the effort and usi,ngall the ingenuitynecessaryo do iiHunting and fishing have theirchallenges,oo These utdoor portsrequireskill, patience nd techniqueand build within the sportsmanhetraits of character ainedonly n theoutdoors.And in thegoingand coming,andwhileon ocation,hereare countlesssights,sounds, nd lessons-a hawkcircling overhead,he rushing of awaterfall, he onelyhowlof a coyoteor wolf, he glimpse f a deer, he ex-plosion underfoot of a grouse orpheasant,he impressiverack of abear, hespoorof an elk, the amazingintricacyof a spider web,beautifulrocksand crystals;umbledand tor-tured strata in the rocks and road-sides,wildffowersn full bloom, hestartledwhistleof a woodchuck,glorious unsetmarking he end of aperfectday.But remember said "SAFEANDsANE"adventuresWhy did I qualifythat? Becausehepursuitofdangerousadventuresananddoesead operma-nent njury anddeath Adventure oes

nothaveo bedeath-defyingndnerve-shattering o be challengingand re-warding-nor should t beWhenSatan he devil was empt-ing JesusChrist to Jin, he encour-agedHim to ump off a highbuildingwhileclaiming he promise f God'sprotection seeMatt. 4:3-6). Jesusquickly shot back the right reply,"Thou shalt not tempt [or test] theLord thy God" (Verse7). By inten-tionally puttingour lives n jeopardy,we tempt or test God to seewhether

or not He will protectus. God forbidssuch oolishness o haveGod'spro-tection, one must qualify for it Thismeanswe must minimize and avoidrisksand hazards, ot invite hem"Be Prepared." To this end, he oldBoy Scout motto, "Be prepared,"should be rigidly adhered o. Solidand thorough preparations ncludesuch considerations s propercloth-ing andfootgear,adequate nd nour-ishing food supplies,clean, purewater, navigationalaids-map andcompass-first aid training and sup-plies,matches, tc.All these equire-, ments aryaccordingo the natureof^ the outing,but certain awsof com-mon s ense, estraint, safety, andjudgment mtst alwaysprevailIf you are young and relativelyinexperienced,ake his wordof cau-tiont. Recognizeyour inexperienceand limitationsl Usually youth doesnot do so unless r until they are for-cibly driven home-but by then itmay be too late Don't let a cut orburn, getting ost or stranded, r abad fall teach you this lesson hehard way Be careful n the outdoorsExercise udgment and restraintTake everyprecautionandsafeguardwithinreason-suchas ellingotherswhereyou're going,whenyouexpectto return,etc.And aboveand beyondall yourhu-man efforts, ask Almighty God forprotection Claim His promiseofPsalm34:7, The angelof the Lordencampeth ound about them thatfear him, and deliverethhem." Youcan count of God'sangelicprotectionif you have doneyour part, and areIooking o God to do HisTheprogramoutlinedabove-rrwcACTIVE. DEVELOPING A LOVE OF TI{EouTDooRs, A\lD SEEKTNG ND ACCEPT-INc SAFE AND SANE e,pvrvrunrs-isone hatwill startyou ntherightdirec-tion. It will beginpreparing ou or life'shighest nd inestadventures.ut makenomistake bout t. n r Nor ANEND NrrsrlrBeyond the PhysicalRealm.Thereis a world beyond the physicalrealm-an unseen,spiritual world.There is a God in heavenwho givesman his very life and being for agreat and awesomeuneosr Yes,there is a purpose n life-c reasonfor being-and that transcendingpurposes the greatestadventureofall God's plan for mankind c}a/-

lenges he total man-physical andspirituaMt pitsmanagainsthimselfin a kind of right "competition"knownonly to a chosen ew, and re-wards the victoriouswith a senseofsatisfactionbeyondbelief. It is GodAlmighty who s the Ultimate Chal-lenger-who suppliesman with theadventure f enteringHis very ownFamily for all eternityApart from contactwith this greatGod,you cango on vainly searchingfor the meaningof it all, catchingyour pleasures hileyoucan,but youwill never figure out why you wereborn, whereyou aregoing,andwhatis the outcomeof it allNot only will you neverappreciateGod'sphysical"work" and creation,you will never,unaidedand on yourown, indoutanddiscover is ruespir-itualWork. For hisadventureouneedthebestGuide n thebusiness oumusthaveaccesso His maps, His sawy,know-how,and experience nd youmustbecome partof His highlyorga-nizdexpedition.Take heart You're on the righttrack this very minute as you holdthis in your hands. tr


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"What the WorldNeedsNow lsI I I CHARACTERWith this one word, most of the world's problems couldbe solved. Why?How? When?Can character really berelevant to the 20th century? ls it for the young? Wenow find out.

HIS s A mind-shattering gewelive in It 's the age of "MaryJane" and "Jesus Rock."Youngmusicianseatout heampli-f ied hythms f theblues,trips,"sexand religionwhile he world's outhjerks and cavortsmesmerically e-fore them.Society's lder memberslook on helplessly. eanwhile, heEstablishmenttself lounders, hilecrime, nemployment,axes, ivorce,inflationand ecological risessoarout of sight.To some his is the "dawningofthe age of Aquarius"as interest nthe occult, ssociated ysticism ndother"black arts" enjoysnewpopu-larity.Bookstorestock heir shelveswith volumes n astrology, arot, IChing, and witchcraft-and do aland-office usiness.In thisage f "anything oes," ir-ty bookstoresnd so-called adult"movies ockmark he faceof the na-tion ike chicken ox.This is qui te an age al l r ightAnd it's a toughage ogrowup nIt's a thwarting and a frustratingage.This s a time of enormoussy-chologicalpressures,specially ntheyoung. hepressureson o coN-FoRM,o blend with contemporariesof one's wnagegroupand run withthepack."How Does t Happen?How doesyoungperson ecome aughtup inthevortexof conformity?How doeslovable, eeminglynnocent i t t lechild become ransformed nto afoul-mouthed, ong-haired,pot-smokingdrop-out?What processeseffect such a transformation?Thefirst major influence n any child'slife is, of course,his parents.Untilaboutagesix, Dad and Mom are theult imate authority on everything.8

, ,tt

The child imitates heir mannerisms.actions personality raits and, to adegree, heir likesand dislikes.Then the child enters the scho olenvironment.A new inf luence s ad-ded n the form ofthe teacher.Beforelong the child comes home quoting"Miss So and So." The teache r's n-fluencemay, in somecases, egin tooverr ide that of the parents. Asschool-life continues, he child be-comes ncreasinglyconscious f theother children.By unior high school he influenceof the "peer group" may begin tooutweigh hat of the parentsand theteachers. As the student passesthrough the high-schoolyears, th esway of the "peer group" emergessupreme The averageyoung personthen becomesvastly more concernedwith what is "in" than with parentalwishesor the desires f his teachersThe high-school tudentDEspERATE-LY wants to be lccnprEo by his orher contemporariesIn order o accomplish ll this. theteen-ager must conforrn to existingpeer-groupstandardsand vogues Hemust do what the other kids do and"run with the pack." To do otherwiseis to invite "social ostracism. Unlessthe student falls in wi th currentclothing styles and musical vogues,he is an outcast t is not eas,l' o sur-vivewithout conforming o the moresof this high-velocity ociety.Many teens ind the only way tobridge the gap between the Estab-lishment (parents, teachers,pol ice,rulers,etc.) and their peers s to play"Jekyll and Hyde." They conductthemselvesone way around the Es-tabl ishment, and another aroundtheir peers.There are changes n vo-cabulary, personalhabits, hair styles,

@l97l Ambassador CollegeAll Rights Reserved

facial expressions, tc., in order toconform to the wishes of whichevergroup the young person s with. Thisconstantadjustingand readjusting sa tremendousstrain on the youngmind Many youths finally resort toan open break with the Establish-ment.They become art of the grow-ing army of disil lusioned outh "sit-t in' on the dock of the bay."What the World Needs Now . . . Ina permissive. edonisticand violentage the pressureso confo rm are gi -gantic and seeminglf irresistible.1tis n ot easy to live a c lean. moral,wholesome nd ultimatell ' profitablelife in th e midst of a df ing. decadent,out-of-contro l society. lt is intenselydfficult to resist the pulls and luresof drugs. sexual looseness,X-ratedmovies. pornography, violence andall theother evils hat aregnawingatthe fibre of modern society. No won-der young people end to be "turnedoff."But it doesn't have to lurn youoflYou don't have o be a drop-out.You don't have to conform to theantics fa societyhat s rapidlyhur-t ling tself ntooblivionYou shouldbeotprEnrNr.And ina POSITIVEway.Justbecauset isdiff icult to live sanelyand rightlydoesn'tmean t is impossible."What the world needsnow islove, weet ove . ." sosays he song.And it's true The world doesneedlove.But that'snot ALL r rurros fthisstrife-f i l led,ar-torn ldworld sto survivento a betterage, hen tspeopleneedsomethingelse besideslove.Somethingo make ovework.What the worlddesperately eedssa solid nucleusof young men andwomenwith CHARACTER.


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What ls Character? "Charac-ter . . . what 's that?" somemightsay.Characters the mostnecessaryingredient nypersonmustpossessnorder o achieve atisfactionnd ulti-matesuccessn life Without it, noperson an achievea happy,mean-ingful life.Theacquisition f characters thekey o fulfilling he wholepurposenhuman ife. NorHrNc couldbe moreimportantHere s a goodworkingdefinitionof character: True character n-volves he capacityand the willing-ness ofind what s right, the will tochoose the right way, then thestrength f will to resistall otherac-tions and impulsesand DO what isright "How many peopledo you knowwhose ivespersonify hat definitionof character?Doesyours? maginehow much the wor ld would bechanged f all mankind possessedtrue character? Hnr's what theworldnElLr-yNerosNowIf this world really s to ulvn atomorrow-and it shall -then it syoungmenand women f today needto begin o develophe character obuild that tomorrow This worldneeds oung peoplewho are willingto stepout into the world, seek heright wayand have he ntestinal or-titude o ollow it No MATTERHAT.There is no room for compromisehere.CharacterDevelopment-ls lt forthe Young? "Religion,"assert heyoung, is for little old ladies n felthats "To mill ionsof modern een-agers, ecoming "Christian" s the"squarest"thing they couldpossiblydo.Youth, heyallege,s the ime o"sow your wild oats" and "haveaball."Oldage s he ime o "getreli-gion" they wi l l c laim. In reali ty,nothing could be farther from thetruth.Truereligion nvolveshe develop-ment of cH,rnecrrR Today, morethanever, outh needs haracter.Atthis turbulent,crisis-f i l leduncturein humanaffairs,a solid nucleusofcharacter- f i l led oung men andwomen s a crying necessity. hiswor ld desperatelyneeds youngpeoplewho are willing to seekoutwhat s right,and hen, n spite f al linfluenceso the contrary,have hecourage o stepout and perform t.

Only thosewilling to do so will everachievemaximum uccessndhappi-ness n this life.Tomorrow's Worldof productivityand abundancewill be madeup ofsuchyoung eaders.Bible Examples.The Creator'sn-structionBook s filledwith examplesof youngpeoplewhowerenot afraidto demonstrate haractern spiteofvery trying circumstances.uchex-amples were written down or ourinstruction ponwhom he endoftheages has come" ( I Cor. l0: l l ,RSV).Our first casehistory s that of ayoungHebrew. f he werealive to-day, he wouldmost ikely be named"JoeJacobson."n Bible erms.how-ever,he wasknownas "Joseph."Hisfather'snamewasJacob. osephwasthe next-to-youngestf twelvebroth-ers.Our story openswhenJosephsseventeenearsold (Gen.37:2).Josephand his brothershad theresponsibility f takingcare of theirfather's ast locksof sheep. s a re-sult, the young men spenta greatdealof t ime ogether.Josephwas his father's favoritesonand Jacobdid not try to hide hefact. n fact,Jacob venmade osepha specialmulti-coloredoatasa sym-bol of his ove verse ). Josephact-lessly launted he garmentaroundhis brothers. s a result he brothersbecamentenselyealousand hatefultoward young Joseph.They spokesarcasticallyand cynically to him(verse ).In addition,God had inspired o-seph o have ome reams f prophet-ic significance.n the dreamsGodsymbolically ndicated that therewould come a time when Josephwould iseabove he restof his fami-ly. In his youthful exuberance,o-sephcould not help boastingaboutthesedreams o his brothers.Thiscertainlydid not help matters.Thisonly ntensifled is brothers' nimos-ity towardhim.As their anger and jealousyreached feverpitch, heyoungmenbegano plotJoseph's eath.Howev-er, the oldestbrother,Reuben,wasalittle more evelheadedhan the restand he restrained hem. He sug-gestedhey throw Josephnto a pit,from whichhe hoped o {ater rescuehim and returnhim to Jacob. udah.the more practical-minded rother,

G0lruER$0ffouGan'twinhe rizeunlessoustarthe ace)The apostle Paul likenedthe Christian ife to a racewhich must be run for the"prize" of eternal life. Aoerson does not even be-gin his "Race," however,until he has undergoneagenuine conversion.TheNew Testament onceptotconversion nvolvesmuchmore than a mere in-tellectualor ritualisticac -ceptanceof a set of beliefs.Trueconversion an be de-fined in two parts.The firstinvolves a definite eventwhich occurs when Godfulf i l lsHis promiseo placethe HolySpiritwithina per-son aftercertain ondit ionsaremet.Thesecondpart sa processwhichcontinueslhroughout he Christ ian'slife. lf you'd like to knowmore about the Bible 'steaching on convers ion,requesl the free bookletJust What Do You Mean-CONYERS/ON?Write tothe address of our officenearest ou.


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came up with a "better idea." Hesuggestedelling he seventeen-year-old boy into slavery.Some of hisbrothers hen cast Joseph nto a pitand went off to eat and to considerthis latestplan.Whi le they were eating,someMidianitemerchants appen ed y.Josephwas henpulledout of the pitand sold to them for twenty silverpieces.They in turn, took youngJoseph o Egypt, wherehe wassoldasa slave Gen. 7:5-28).Then Josephwas purchased y ahigh-rankingEgyptianofficernamedPotiphar. Josephmatured a greatdeal n Potiphar's ousehold ndwasgivena veryresponsibleob adminis-tering his businessffairs.Ultimate-ly, all of Potiphar'saffairs were di-rected by the young Joseph Gen.39: -4).Now let'sstepbacka momentandget the whole picture. Here is ayoungman(likely n hisearly wen-ties now) who had everything oingfor him. He was rustedand esponsi-ble for the administrationof greatwealth. n addition o this ". . . Jo-seph was good looking and hand-some" (Gen.39:6,Moffatt transla-tion). He had ability, brains,goodlooksand an excellentob.But like mostmodernyoungmen,he wasalsoexposedo rather over-whelming emptationsNotice howJoseph andledone such emptationin Genesis 9:7-12 LivingBooksofMoses ersion)."One day . . . Potiphar'swife be-ganmakingeyes t Joseph, nd sug-gested hat he comeand sleepwithier. JosrpHREFUSED.. 'How cl,NI no sucs A wrcKED HrNG srrtts?Ir wouln BEA GREATrNAcArNsrGoo.' But shekepton with her sug-gestionsday after day, even houghHE REFUSEDo LISTEN.. then oneday as he was in the house goingabout his work . . . she came andgrabbed him by the sleevedemand-ing, 'Sleepwith me.' Hr ronr urpr-

SELF AWAY. . . HE FLED FROM TH Esousn . ."Many youngmen of todaywouldhavewelcomedsucha situation.ButJosephwas not an ordinary youngman He wasdifferentn that he hadCHARACTER. He rNEw what wasright, and in spiteof intenseand e-peated temptationshis powerfulcharacter revailed.The eventshat10

followedultimately ed to his beingbrought o the attentionof the Pha-raoh and finally his beingmade hePrime Minister of all Egypt.As a resultof hischaracter, osephachievedglittering success. osephfulfil led God's instruction as ex-pressedn I Corinthians :18. Hefled fornication How many otherswouldhavedoneso? But then, howmany otherswere qualified to bePrimeMinister?Daniel'sExample.Daniel s anoth-er sterlingexample f a young een-age boy with strongcharacter.Dan-iel's characterwas ested n a difer-ent areaof life than wasJoseph's.The imewas604 B.C.The houseof Judahwas n the process f beingconquered y the Babylonian mpireunder he leadership f King Nebu-chadnezzar. he king had instructedhis top eunuch o select ome outhsof Jewishnobilityto undergoa spe-cial training program to preparethem for service n the Babyloniangovernment.Among thoseselectedwas a young man in his mid-teensnamedDaniel.He wasan outstand-ingyouth n everyway.Those elect-ed were to be ". . . strong,health;-.good-lookingads. . those hohavereadwidely n many fields,are wellinformed, alert and sensible,and,have enough poise to look goodaroundhepalace" Dan. :4, LivingPropheciesersion).During their three-year enurethey were o begivenaspecialdiet ofexoticoodssimilar o thosehe kinghimselfdinedon. However,Babylo-niandietarystandards erenot up toGod's.Daniel ealizedhat o indulgein thisdietwouldphysicallyefile isbody Dan. :5,8.) Beinga youngman of character,Daniel was notabout to compromisewith God'shighstandards. o matterwhatThe young Daniel faceda seem-ingly insurmountable roblem Hehadbeen nstructedo eatand drinkcertain oodsand wines.To disobeycouldhavemeantdeath.After all, hewasa prisoner.He was aken rom aconquered ation.To turn his noseup at the royal cuisinewould havebeen onsideredn nsultof thegros-sest ort.And to have esistedhe ex-presswishes f the king himself wasincredibleo say he east.ButDanielwasdeterminednot to compromise.Wisdom s an importantaccessory

to character. Realizing he was tread-ing on thin ice, Daniel diplomatical-ly and tactfully suggesteda test. Heknew if he could prove the efficacy ofhis own diet over that of the king,then he might be allowed his own dieton a regular basis. He requested adiet of vegetablespulse)and water.(Not that he was a vegetarian. t islikely the meat offered by the Chal-deans had not been properly slaugh-tered according o God's Law or per-haps it had been offered in sacrificeto idols. Lev. 3:17:,Acts 15:20. Orpossiblyonly those meats considered"unclean" were being served. Lev.l l ;Deut . 14.)In any case, the chief eunuchagreed o the test and it was carriedout. At the end of the l0-day period,it was evident that Daniel's diet hadbenef i ted him great ly (Dan. l :8-l6) .Daniel and his fr iends were thenallowed o continueon the diet theyhad chosen,and the king's cuisinewas withdrawn. Daniel 's character,u'isdom and determination to doright had paid ofAnother Test of Character. Some1'earsater. under a dif ferentadmin-istration.a governnrent rder uas is -sued forbidding anrone to pra),' toanr but the king himself (who wa sconsidered "god"l) . This rul ing wa sto be enforced for a one-month peri-od (Dan. 6:7) . But Danielwas n thehabit of pra_r'inghree times a day tothe God of Israel. He was not aboutto discontinue his practicewhich en-abledhim to remain close o his Cre-ator. In the face of being torn toshredsby vicious lions, Daniel main-tained hiscustomof prayingregular-lr'He would not be moved rom do-ing whatwas ight The governmentofficials-who were ntenselyealousof Daniel-found him doingso andhad him placed n a compoundofravenous ions. A large rock wasplacedat the entrancebarring anyescape. aniel pent he night n thecompany f these reatcatsand wasreleasedn the morningunharmed(Dan.6:10-23.) lmightyGod sentan angel o protectDaniel.Onceagain hestrongand aithfulcharacter f Danielpaid ofYouth No Excuse " l f I 'm oldenough o fight (in military service),I'm old enough o drink " assert


11/15

nran\ modernyouths.When it comesto the use of alcohol .cigaret tes. rthe indulgence n premar i tal sex,many youths wll l vehemently pro-claim their el igibi l i ty.Yet when t comes o learningmo-ral principles and exercisingcharac-ter and self-control-that 's for oldfolks. But i t 's nothing new. Youthhas long been used as a "cop-out"front respons bi t t' .Centur ies go,God chose o useayoung ntan o warn a wholenation ofimpending at ionaldisaster . ut l ikeso manv modern teenagers andyoung people,he too used the o lddodge"l 'm too young" to avoid re-sponsibi l i ty. is namewasJeremiahLet 's not icewhat t ranspired n Jer-emiah l :5-6. God said o young Jer-emiah: . . . I ordained heea proph-e/ unto the nat ions." Here was agiant responsibi l i tv thrust on theyouthful shoulders f Jeremiah.Butnot ice his al l - too- fami l iar eact ion" 'O Lord God. ' I said. '1 can't dothat l 'm pARTOOYOUNG ' r r . r Nr .vA Youru " ' (Living Psalms andProverbs With the Major Prophet.sPara h ased version.)But God recognized leremiah's"cop-out" Not ice His reply "Butthe Lord said o me. 'DO NOT SAY,I AM ONLY A YOUTH .. . " ' I(Verse7, RSV.) Of course, eremiahchanged is att i tude andw,ent headand Julfilled the respon.sibility Codhadgivcnhim. As a res ul tof dcmon-\trat ing c'haracter and doing what. , . \ r isht , Jcremiehwas nstrumcn-: - r1 n preserving he royal dynast ic: t of Israel .\ . , - ruthfulness hould NEVERbe-.-J . , ' r tn cxcuse o avoid rcsoonsi-Thc development nd exercis-

- - . . . : ' :e i rqers nd adul tsal ike.: - . : : : . is- f i l ledpoint n the hu-

oe', . , . : : . - j . :biding cHARACTER.G.lj '*:r . . ,. : , 'oe strcce.r.se.rn l i fe,t,.r e rr:,.: ,:..----^.r.rnd o real izeourmar imum :,- - :e: : r : i l rs human be-lngs.You orre t t r r c. rur :el lo look intothe matter ol chara, ' ter evelopmentand begin rour o\n personalpro-gram in it .

Il )F3N{ } l -{l i1 ,;*i "' t1 i,

r*t*,\r 11a\f t t ' . \1 tL '4 i$rtt LLl u

hThese real l thetoolsyouneedto improveyourBiblicail"understanding

Contrary o popular opinion, the Bible is a NOW book. lt isGod's revelation o mankind - of the way to happiness,peaceand prosperity.Formore than two decades he Ambas-sadorCollegeCorrespondence ourse asbeenhelping hou-sands o understand he Bible.This courseexplains he Bibleby letting the Bible interpret tself.There are twelve monthlytessonsof thorough, yet easily understood nstruction* allabsolutely ree.Why not enroll oday?Just send your requesttotheaddressnearestyou. See ast page for address.)

- : : . -cuddie ." Moral excel lence- - : - - : : :L-\ \ Can be d emOnstrated by


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an0p*Lmto the ApocalypseGeneration

1-tirst my credentials:'m twenty-J'{ three yearsold and have beenI associatedith the WorldwideChurchof God ong enough o knowwhat'sgoingon, or most of it any-way.So heregoes:The most nettlesomehing mostyoungpeople ind about he Churchis i ts teaching hat the "wor ld"(meaning rganized ociety)s goingto end soon.To be honest,he ideadoesn't etwell with anyoneunder thirty-orunderninety or that matter-whoseearthly existencesn't so bleak thathe hasnothing o loseby looking or-ward to a cataclysmic pheaval.I will beblunt-no matterhowoneintellectuallyacquiesceso the ideathat,shortly, heworldwill indeed ecoming o an end,one s hauntedbythe notion that somethingwill bemissing-that a givenamountof theexperiencef life simplywill never erealized.Another point a youngerpersonfinds hard to understands the ap-parent eagernessf one's elders owant o believeheend s imminent.Onerecoils t what might be calledthe "medieval" syndrome: he ten-dency o put all one'shopes n someafter l i fe because i fe now is sobleak.The net effect s to predisposepersonagainsta churchwhich pro-claims hat the end s near.The problem s that how one eelsabout truth doesn'tchange t. Indi-viduals ango ntoan apoplecticageagainst he sum of 2 * 2, but it isstill 4, no matter how hardthat factis to swallow.Or, to be more specific, f theworld really is coming to an end,sulkingabout he fact isn't going ochange nything.It ultimately s the problemof the"universe," of objective reality: I12

maynot ike t, but here t is.staringme n the face. may haveno appre-ciation or smog, uclearweapons,rhighcrime ates, ut there s nothingI personally ando to make hemgoaway.They are factswhichhave obe ivedwith.It's hesamewaywith heChurch.It really has no choice: t must betrue to itself,and if it believeshatGodHimselfsaid or it to collectivellsaycertain hings, t mustsay hemcome hell or highwater."The More ThingsChange . . Per-sonally,'m notat all impressedit hthe world bequeathedo my genera-tion by the onewhich wentbefore t:a worldof inflation. ommunism.er-rorism, and the threat of nuclearwar.Why did it have o be my genera-tionwhichgrewup under heshadowof the bomb? . . whichwashandeda worldwithaboutasmuchstabil it l 'as nitroglycerin?. . which got theprivilege f living n a time of poten-tial holocaust?Theproblems that my ownwordsremindmeof thesentimentsf t*en-ty-three-year-oldohnFranklinCar-ter who wrote: "The older genera-tion . . . certainlypretty well ruinedthis worldbeforepassingt on to us.They gaveus this Thing. knockedopieces,eaky, ed-hot, hreateningoblowup.. . . "Carter wrote thosewordsat thebeginning f the 1920s.My senti-mentsexactly.Yet I can't escapehefact that Carter's generationonlymanagedo make he world,on thenet,worse, nd can'tconceive f myowngeneration oingany better.In otherwords,he mess heworldis in is a functionof the natureofman and the universe, nd not theanticsof oneor twoparticulargener-at ions which just managed touniquelybotch hingsup.

@1976 Ambassador CollegeAll Rights Reserved

True, I am a little older han mostteenagers oday (four years ) andsometimeshe gap seemsmore likeeons.My owngeneration reatedhehistorical ebrisknownas he 1960s:we were the "perfect generation"idolized y the mediaandpoliticians,infall ible, he oneswho would banthebomb, nd heVietnamwar,andfight for the civil rights of blackpeople.Remember he idealismoftheearll 'sixties?t'sgone.Gone ikeso much old brown grass. t waskil ledb1- he realityof humansocie-t1'-the nature f man.The *orld just wasn'tready forCamelot.'et.There t is again.The dark figureuith the hoodand he ong.bony in-ger pointingal -ou: eality,depress-ing realitl which won't go away,e$en hough "-ou ould ike it to.

-\fter Camelot anished.he Viet-nam $ar refused o go away, andpoverttstubbornly esistedts aboli-tion b1'Lyndon ohnson. he creep-ing realization et in: we live in animperfectworld, a world in whichprogress assticky.cold. cruel. Notthesortof placeonewould ike o livein.My owngenerationearned ts les-son.So did the one ust younger.nresponseo an imperfect,unfortu-nate wor ld, both generat ionsm-mersed hemselvesn a Philosophyknown as "existentialism":ive forthe moment, he "Now" generation.The deawas hat nothingmakes nydifferencebut the immediatemo-ment-the ttow. Since he universeis onechaoticmess, nemustconcen-trateon mmediacy.Ah, but theremustbe somethingbeyond.Life can be fun, but can berather fragile also: it doesn't akemuch o end t. And, howeverife isl ived, t is terminal: one hing hap-pens o themall" (Eccl.2:14).


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But there s something eyondhechaoticphysicalmess n which theworld inds tself.And it is the dutyof religion-true religion-to revealthat something.If the world s in chaos,hen t isthedutyof the rueChurchof God otell heworldwhat t know s o be hewayout: he returnof Jesus hrist.. . . The More They Stay theSame.Back o theuniquenessf ourgenerations.' l l be blunt.The returnof C hrist is "inconven ient,"o saythe east.Thereare all sortsof thingsI'd like o do n the meantime, omeof which will n all probability everget o do.But here's where perspect ivecomes n. While the typicalAmeri-can middle-classeenager as manypositive hings to look forward to,given he ndefinite ontinuityof this"presentevil world," mostpeoplenthat world, particularly he ThirdWorld, don't. For them, grindingpoverty s a permanentot. Further-more,what about he personalrage-dieseven n our affiuent ociety: rip-plingsickness,ccident, uicide;heprivate ramaswhich akeplace e-cause he world is the way it is-withoutChrist.It comes own o this:Christ's e-turn may cut short my life the wayI'd like to live t out physically-butfor most of the world any changewouldbe blessedelief. After all, ifthe world s evergoing o be straight-enedout by a divine miracle,some-body'sgenerations going o have obe "inconvenienced."Oneof the iterary adswhen wasin high schoolwas the Lord of theRingsby J. R. R. Tolkien.A passagespeakserl'eloquentlyo ourgenera-tions: l wish t neednot havehap-penedn my time," said Frodo. Sodo 1." Gandalfanswers,and so doall who live to seesuch imes.Bu t

that s not or them o decide. ll wehave o decides what o dowith thetimegivenus."Andwhatshallwedowith"the imethat sgivenus"?Wastet? Gandalflswordsecho hoseof theapostle aul:". . . Redeemhe ime, ecausehedaysareevi l "Eph.5:16).Yes, he daysare evil.And short.Which is all the more reason ot tosquanderhem."The PresentDistress." 5sw I'rrreally going to be blunt. flre mosthaunt ing mage hat dogs )'oungpeoplewho accept he biblical stric-turesagainst ornication s the spec-ter of neverexperiencing sexual e-lationship.It is as f onewerecaught n a vise:Godprohibits exuntil marriage ndthenproceedso end heworldbeforeonecan get married. t just doesn'tseem air.Bearwith me for a moment, nd Ithink I can demonstratehat suchfearsare argelyunnecessary.This is becausehel' apply only toselectagegroups:hose ew whoareold enough o be baptized nto thefamily of Godbut not matureenoughto marry. Thosewho are younger,and who are trying to live by God'slaw, could ive over nto the time ofthemillennium ndbe married hen.Thosewhoareolderand not marriedwouldbe n that condition egardless

of how ar awayChrist 's eturn s.Here's he clincher. n individualwho sn't preparedo face he possi-bility of never marrying becauseChristmight eturn, eally sn'tpre-pared o be baptized nyway.God really s fair and he hasn'tplotted o deny his generation hathe providedor all the others.When Life Throws You Lemons. . .Make emonade. ne can ook exclu-sivelyat what might havebeen,andwhichpossibly on'tbe,andproceedo

develop greatcosmic unk. But thisignores he goodside of the coin, theunique ositivepportunities.Our generationsave he opportu-nity to physicallyescape he holo-caust which threatens o cut shortour physicalives.The prophet Ezekiel speaksofGod's supernatural rotect ion nthose who "sigh and cry" for theabominations round them (Ezek.9:4) .Solomonpointedout that Godwould not permit the righteous ofamish Prov. 0:3),whi le,most m-portantly,God promises irect pro-tection or His Church n the imeofthegreat r ibulat ionRev. 2:14).In the meantime,ife can be fun.There's othing n the Bibleagainstsports,games,hobbies,music,cars,friendsor clothes.True, there aresome imitationson the useof somethings (the Bible does condemndrunkenness,or example), ut Godnever intended hat we becomemonksand withdraw o monasterieswhere we could affiict ourselves llday becauseGod is in somewaypleased y our pain."Rejoice.O youngman, in thyyouth;and et thy heartcheer hee nthedays f thyyouth, ndwalk n thewaysof thineheart,and n the sightof thineeyes: ut know hou, hat orall these hingsGodwill bring theeinto udgment" Eccl. l:9).Granted,our generationmay nev-er get the opportunity o live out fullphysical ives.Still, there are betterthings o do in the meantime hanmopearoundall day, contemplatingour navels, ransfixed t what couldhavebeen. t wouldbebetter o focusone's ttention nwhatcouldbe.Aslong aswe'rehere,we might as wellmake he bestof it. Regards,Jeff Calkins

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One of our editors nvited a groupof teenagers to express theirthoughtsand feelingsaboutgrowinginto adulthood n these complicatedandtroubled imes.Heaskedthem oopenly, honestly, and anonymouslywrite down whatever was on theirminds, including their gripes andproblems.Below are edited excerptsfrom their replies, plus letters fromotheryoungpeoplewho have writtento us. The staff has commented nsomesensitive oints.HairPeople ave he dea hat ndividualswho have onghairare no-good,azybums.My parentshink hat ustbe-cause guyhas ong airand hippie"clotheshathe sdumb, utnine imesoutof ten hey're rong.

I think eople xpectmore f us hanthey ughto. They eeour. air ettinga bitover urears nd hey ay o hem-selves,lf had cissorswould ivehekida haircut."SexI knowhis sa great roblem.ll hekidsat school ragabout heir xperi-ences ntil ouget o believingt's hethingo do.ParentalCriticismIt seems henevernyguypays heleast itof attentiono me,myparents,especiallyymother,ooffon antrumstryingo keepusapart.Myneighborcrosshestreets onlyin herearly wentiesndall hegirlsnmy family onfiden heraboutevery-thing. he's very ood istener.he shelping e ounderstandymom ittlebetter.Mymothernd donotgetalongverywell.)Myneighborellsme 'm ikemymothernmanyways,which psetsmegreatly.knowwhat wanto be ikeandmy mom sn't t Perhapst'sbe-cause he's lways rguing ithdad nfront fusand he's lwaysellingtus .She ad urnedmeagainst arriagel-mostcompletelyefore startedikingmyboyfriend,alkedo him bouttan dmyneighboroo. decidedustbecausemy mother asn't appily arried asno reasonor menot o be.14

Mosteensknow ave ctuallyhoughtseriouslybouteavingome, ecauseheparentsonstantlyag, ripe nd omplain.They everomplimentou, utalwaysetonyou. ealizehisspartlyhe eens' rob-lem ut hinkime hould e akeno ronthe roblemsutl

Myparentsrealways omparrngeto other eople ndpointingutmybadpointsnsteadfexpressingheirhanksfor mygoodpoints.I dreadmymother'soming earmebecauseheusuallytarts rit icizingeShe's eengone or a weekand venevereltso ruly appyorsuch longperiod f time nyears.

CommunicationWe need o makemoreparentsaware f ourgripes ndhowwe (bothparents nd teenagers)an elminatetheproblemsogether.As teenagers e need o feel ha tsomeoneasa personalnterestnus Ipersonallyhinkhatparents reat aullin someways. heyare ryingo pushinstead f guide.I wouldike o seemaybe series farticlesn thesublect f teens. hopeyoucan helpme and heother oungpeoplehatarehaving roblems.We teensneedencouragement:eneedcommunications,ust talk ses-sions, ouknow,when here's obodyaroundouget onely. ndwhen ou elonelyust orsomeoneo alk o,yougoanywhereoucan ind omeone.I am happy,hought maynotsoundlike t,becauseknowwhat's head ndwhere 'm going. 'm happy herearepeople ikeyou around o listen ndhelp. hose rticleshathave eenwrit-ten or eenagersre hegreatesthingwe can receiveromyourmagazineonlywish here ould e a lotmore

OverprotectivenessMygripes hat am reatedike itt lekid My athers verymuch verprotec-tive,Beinghe oldest nda girlmakesmy athermoreoverprotectivehan f Iwere boy,I'm ifteenears ldanda uniorn high

school.As you can see. m two or threeyears head. his resentsuite problem.My fatherhasdecided hat cannotdateuntil turneighteen.When graduate'llbesixteen.'ve ead TheMissingDimensionnSexbookandabout his ime ind 'msup-posed o bewhatanadultwould onsider"litlleknow-it-all lf that'swhat am. henthereiesmywhole roblem.ut don feelIshould ave owait ill 'meighteeno date,especially ince 'll graduate.beforehenandhalf fmy riendsandatealready.. Firstof all,youshouldhavean attitudeofrespect for your parents' wishes. "Honorvour father and mother" is the fifth com-mandmentOurparentsmaynot alwaysbencht but theystillbrought s nto hisworldarc are entitledoour oyalty.

Scneltmes parents just need a little-... pn t:altnn .9nlvinnhesesituatiOns-a; 'ec-tre scme patrentexplainingon:.e ta, 3f :aensDon'tsellparents hort.7^- . '^ , . -a. -: , t , --:3 I\ i-::^j:-s-r a carents main goals'l-tt:: l: crecarehrs:hildreno takeonar--;'t:-ri'-S{j,iies and make wse dect-,


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LETTERS ROMTEENAGER^,^:^"^ ^I - ^; ,1 '^ -^l ;^^^ ^^ 4^r^^PIUIUUJ UI d gI I I J dLI IUI IJ UI I UdIVJ-cross-examinrng er and demanding ablow-by-blow ccounlof how she spenther tirne-she nat De doubly emptedto "have scme fun since she'I benr t l lor ' t , ,n ' - ' - - r rol t t rn nO matlef hOWrt ' t .v vtsvwell she .^r,is On the otherhand, fpar..:: j\ai-':' ihetr ids to behavewell,.t:-.r : i a-:-i-.- r,e truSt Openly,Cha CeS.;'. '---,.j - cs willact as theirparentsi , : - : ^3' . . lhemact .- ----:-ir or fatherwhohas aken ime:- :'-[:., tnslruct heir eensandbuild. .',1'- ,elalonshrp with them are in a.:': .:' . ,^stttono gaugewhen hat een s._ :- -^ . . ,n /r anattnh tn be tfUSted tO::.i.d time away from home wlth a'rtind or fnends Thismight be earlierorater than hisbrothersor sistersor the':st ol htspeer group But to arbitrarily-rr/ .?nagc ("You can't date untilyou're=';hteen")can be veryunwise.t fails o::.: rntoaccounta teen'spossibleear-=' -talurilyand developmenlof a sense- ' '::ponsibility-=t tnggo-trusting a son or daugh-': ' '- ' not 'depart out of the way""--, ; - 0een auqht-is one of the most: :kttlosa Darent as to learnhow:.,I /hrss part of thegrowth pro-' --onlrol s not relinquished rad-

. j-: ,,,.tsely, child may feel forced' ''. aDron tnngs" n a moredra-: -'.ieasanl fashion.ChangedLi fe- . : - : . . ,?S trme ot ongagowhen,, : : . : ' . . . - ' "cey I went rompi l ls nd. - -. ' - -=arsuicide.became ard.- : ' : ' - ? cthers. real ly ur t he

: -=- - , . . - - shedmy eleventhear- :. - - : . ' : . , ' . my ob. tooka Grey--- - - r : - : - : l '= j tn andstayedwitha': - - " : . ' , - '= ' . repented. nCe, ' , :S ' , - : : - : : :^ aaCeafn bOUt Od,I cr 'a^-= ' 'aa, z'a I wanted o helpOlherS ,1: ' ) : ' - . ' .^ f t wayWaS eal lythe r rght vailhave many ' : - :s ivhosmoke, et

Wc hlvc availablea \ ' r \ in i l r rnrr t ivepublic lt ion n hc subjcct ri cncrerldis-c.r 'e. Srr t t f t l ] *ri tc to u\ iur \ ' ur ircre, , l \ \ol" 'Thc Si lcnt Epidemi, '

drunk, ake drugs,steal,havesex an dmuchmore.They hink heyhavenoth-ing to lose,so why not? myself an'tconvince hem that what they do iswrongand 'mnot saying 'ma holyper-lectoerson, ecause know 'mnot,Bu tcan't theysee and learn rom the mis-takesof others?Rock Music

It cameas quite blow o themajorityof teens nourchurchwhenwe were ol dto stop isteningo rock music.Mostallof us have istenedo i t srncewe wereoldenougho turn he adioon.We real-ly feelno incentiveo stop.. Some people find certain types otmusic depressingor unpleasant,and itwould make good sense lor them toavoid that type of music Also, someelectronicallyamplifled ive bands playlheirmusic so loud it damages he ears,at least temporarilyand sometimesper-manently.Different ultures poreciate i f ferentformsof musical xpression.he criteri-on by whichwe ludgemusic s a verysubjective ne: ls it enjoyable o us?Does t upl i f tus or make us feelgood?Or does t appeal o our "lower" eel ings

and desires, ausing s to want o dowrong hings? nysuchmusic hould eavoided.Loneliness

I havewritten n various ccasionsorinlormation bout he SabbathThe itera-ture receivedwas excellent, s lar as itwent i find hatyou directnrostof yourattentiono the problemsor adults,andrightly o.But wouldappreciateerymuchmorearticleshatdealwith heproblems fyoungpeopleand,specifically,dviceonhow odealwith heproblems teen acesin ryingobea Christ ian.I would rkevery much o becomeaChr ist ian,nd t s not he"crowd-buck-ing" hat mind.t s he onel iness.feeloverwhelmed,nd al though know Imusiovercomeheseobstacles,heressimply o one can urn o for help,noonewithwhich o share heSabbath t sr rerv lnnolv P leeqo heln. lf you are interested n meeting otheryoung people who are trytng to obeyGod and who attend Sabbathservtcesat their local congregatton of th eWorldilde Church of God, please wilteto the address ol aur office nearestVOU. U

lfYoud iketoKnowMoreMany hundreds have wri t len askingi l we have represenlat ives tn thetrlocal areas to counsel with them per-sonal lyand lo answer hetr questlons.The answer rsyes, we do.The WorldwrdeChurch of God sta-t ions personal represenlal ives mostare ordained minislers) rn the UnitedSlales and Brrt ish Commonwealthand many other areas of the world

These local ministers wrl l visi t you, t linvi ted,direct ly n your own homeSo if you hav e spi l tual matlers todiscuss or quesl ions to ask aboutbibl ical toprcs such as repentance,baptism, elc , please eel ree to wr l teus and requesta pi lvale appolnlmenl.Worldwide mai l ing addresses andphone numbers are as fol lows.o UnitedSlates PO Box111,Pasa-dena, Calr fornia 91123 (or simPlYdial th is lo l l free number in the

continental US 1-800-423-4444In Cal i fornia, Alaska and Hawai ical l 213-57 '5225 col lect)o United Kingdom, Europe, Indtaand Afr ica, P O Box I11, St Albans, Herts , England (or dtal thtsnumber in U K Radlett [092 76]2670)o New Zealand and Paci l rc ls esP O Box 2709, Auckland 1 New

Zealand (or dral Auckiand 686-I 14-reverse the charges)o Auslral ia: P O Box 202 Bur erghHeads, Oueensland 4220 tor dtalthrs number 075 15-4233-re-verse he cnarges'o Canada P C, Bor .1-1 tatron , Van-couver BC '6C2M2. South Alr ca P O Box 1060, Jo-hannesburg2000 (or dial th is num-ber 01 1 216406)

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Are We Neglecting Our Youth (1976)

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