The mentality is so invasive of modern thought that many churches even advise against early marriage or early children-rearing or even prolific child-rearing.

Afterall, you can’t afford 1000 sq ft per member of the household, three SUVs (one’s a spare) , a large LCD tv with surround sound, a cable package as big as God’s (or in this case maybe it’s more like the size of satan’s), cell phone (only the newest most over-priced model will do), two house lines, high speed internet access, the latest computer, maximum health benefits, with dental and vision of course, an elaborate, two week getaway to an exotic and overpriced island or cruiseline yearly, a dog (and the medical bills that go along with treating it like a human), dog grooming, a cat or two, a riding lawnmower, or better yet, a lawn service, an in-ground pool, a new hobbie every 6 months, a new wardrobe from JC Penny or JOS Bank every 6 months, dry cleaning, a maid, a manicure, pedicure, hairstyling, hairdying, hair replacement therapy, therapy, prescription psycotropics, organic food, a laptop for when you’re not at home, student loans for an over-priced and unnecessary mis-education in a field other than the one you currently work in, SIRIUS satellite radion, an MP3 player with 120 GB storage (even though you only use 8,) alcohol, cigarettes, the patch, birth control and the occasional abortion, if you have more than two children!

Sorry for those of you who actually read that list; sometimes its fun to point out the futility of modern culture. I mean, people complain about the tithe, but then they go out of their way and make more and more money just to give it all the the god of this world! Go figure!

I agree wholeheartedly about family involvement and teen sex rates. If the family isn’t behind the young person, he’s not going to think twice about it. If they are, they have probably given him good, Biblical reasons for purity and they have (hopefully) discouraged the “recreational dating” scene. Both of those things simplify the ability to remain pure until marriage.

Charley
HomeDiscipling Dad Blog

But should teens really have children? Do we run into problems when girls aren’t fully developed?

Definitely things to think about.

I pointed out to her that the reason she cites for not marrying her boyfriend is equivilent to saying ‘we’re basically already married.’ I told her about Jesus and the woman at the well. I told her that the only difference between her ‘marriage’ to her boyfriend and a ‘proper’ marriage is a covenant with God. If she doesn’t believe that God cares whether she is married, then she actually has no reason to marry. I think she’s getting it.

Anyway I’ve recently been thinking about introducing her to some of the girls I know who have, out of their love for God, remained abstinent since birth and plan to continue to do so until marriage. I asked her if her parents ever told her that sex outside of marriage was wrong. No. They just said that they wouldn’t tell her not to have sex because they knew she would do it anyway. They just told her to have safe sex. HA! And this is a Jewish family. She’s scared to come home with a tattoo!

Anyway the point is that these girls were told by their parents that its God’s will to remain as virgins until their wedding night. And they did. And they didn’t die. But it dispells the myth of ‘We know you are going to have sex before you are married, so just be safe about it.’ It actually is possible to stave off sex until marriage. Not to mention beneficial.

Now, we can talk about the effects of the social marriage slow down, leading people to get married later and later in life, now into their middle ages! But thats a whole other topic.