Our Kids and a
Culture Devoid of Love
I was buying groceries the other day,
and as I was in the frozen food section, I overheard a portion of a
conversation two 20-something employees were having as they stocked the
shelves:
Employee 1: “She was wearing a ring, though,
and I think it was one of those ‘purity rings.’”
Employee 2: “Man, that sucks. But you just have to ask. The answer’s always ‘no’ until you ask.”
Employee 1: “But I’m really bad at
that and before you know it I’m stuck in the friend zone.”
Employee 2: “Come on, dude, do you
really think she’ll say no?”
I resisted the urge to break in on
their conversation (though perhaps I should have), said a prayer for the young
lady in question, and moved on to the juice aisle.
The conversation came back to my mind
on the drive home, though. I can’t judge
the young man for not valuing purity (though at some level he must have known
it is good). I suspect he’s never been
taught that value, and he lives in a culture that mocks it. But it was clear that the young lady he was
speaking of does value it. He certainly
knows enough to realize it is something important to her and a deeply held
conviction of hers.
His response to that knowledge? How can I tempt her to abandon her principles so I can get what I want?
Worse to me than the disregard for purity is the fact that
these two young men didn’t know the first thing about love. Love, which is based on sacrifice, which is
defined by the desire for another’s good for the sake of the other, was
completely foreign. I doubt the young
man would have claimed he and this girl were in love, and yet he was
strategizing about how to tempt her into sinning. Forget the regret and hurt it may cause her,
as long as he gets what he wants.
Even now I am not judging him, though I know it sounds like I
am. Just as he has probably never been
taught to value purity, he likely has never been taught anything about
authentic love. (Which, by the way, is
why I had second thoughts about not breaking into the conversation. Perhaps a simple charitable wake-up call
would have at least made them think.)
This is the world in which we live, and which our youths are
confronting. As a parent, that scares me
to death. But it is up to us, as
Christians, to teach love to our children, and to teach them purity. Though my kids are six and under, I have even
begun praying for their future spouses (if they are not called to the religious
life).
Perhaps, if we form our children well, and pray like crazy,
we will unleash a mob of holy warriors on our culture who will continue, with
success, the work we are striving to do now.
