Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 4:9 (NASB)
(note: For the purposes of this series of posts, the terms parent and step-parent are interchangeable)
I am convinced the correct answer to Cane’s question is a resounding “YES!” If we take time to reason out the complete meaning of “Loving God and Loving People” then we conclude that loving God means caring for (Gen. 2:15) God’s creation and loving the things HE loves. Loving people, means we take an active role in helping and protecting each other. This brings us to Cane’s question and my response to that question. When people are in crisis, either physical, spiritual, or emotional, the loving response is to intervene.
The age group at greatest risk today is that group between the ages of 11 to 25. The key ingredient in crisis intervention for this age group is loving parents.
Intervention (or in Cane’s words, “becoming my brother’s keeper”) cannot be left up to parents alone. There are too many angles of attack for parents to handle the battle alone. A battle that often overwhelms single parents. The battle against self destruction requires other adults to work along side of parents toward protecting students from the messages of self-destruction that appear to be bombarding teens daily. In short, crisis intervention involves Christian adults battling the cultural forces that make destructive solutions attractive to troubled teens.
Teens in crisis will only get the intervention they need when adults acknowledge that a crisis exists.
No comments:
Post a Comment