 | |
| Teach children early what's right and what's wrong. I don't know what she's doing but it looks like she got caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do. |
The following story comes from a book that I feel everyone
should read (I get no credit or compensation for this mention, I just really
like it.) It’s called Standing for
Something by Gordon B. Hinckley. He shares the following experience of
meeting a young man in an airport in South America. The young man was unkempt, unemployed
and traveling in South America on his father’s money. He was a smart man and
earnest and sincere as they talked. He told Mr. Hinckley that he wanted peace
and freedom. He was using drugs to obtain that peace and believed the current moral
standards gave him more freedom than Mr. Hinckley’s generation or any
generation before it.
Having learned of Mr. Hinckley’s religious involvement during
the introduction, he asked Mr. Hinckley how he could defend personal virtue and
moral chastity.
“I shocked him when I declared that his freedom was a
delusion, that his peace was a fraud, that they would be bought at great
personal and social cost, and that I would tell him why.”
Mr. Hinckley didn’t get to tell him why because they were
called to board their planes at that moment, but he outlines it thoroughly in
his book. He says, “He represents a generation numbered in the millions who, in
search of freedom from moral restraint and peace from guilty conscience, have
sought to legitimize, even celebrate practices that enslave and debauch and, if
left unchecked, will destroy not only individuals but also the nations of which
they are a part.”
What are morals? And why
are they so important to families and society?
Morals are defined by Webster dictionary as: “of or relating
to principles of right and wrong behavior.” Our moral compass helps us decide
what is wrong and right and guides our actions.
For families morals need to be consistent to give the
children a standard to learn by and understand the world around them. Children
in stable homes have greater advantages over children in unstable homes. If the
morals that govern your home are constantly changing or don’t exist, there will
not be stability in that home.
In a 1997 nationwide survey, 82 percent of adults who rated
their marriage as “very strong” (9 or 10 on a 10-piont scale) did not have
premarital sex. Divorce is 32 percent more likely if they do engage in
premarital sex. I would say that’s a strong correlation. Strong morals are not
debilitating or enslaving. Good morals make life easier because we know what is
right and wrong already.
Society’s morals and standards are ever changing. It’s
really hard to establish right and wrong if the standard you live by changes
with the seasons. God has already set the standard and it doesn’t change. If
society’s morals as a whole were stronger, many of the problems we see would be
relieved.
Choose ye this day
It starts with us and our families. We must live a higher
standard than what is shown on TV. It might help to turn off the TV. The standards
shown on TV are society’s morals, not true morals. And if you don’t think it
has an effect on your family consider how much companies pay for just 30
seconds during the Super Bowl? If they think they can change your purchasing
behavior in 30 seconds, you are surely impacted by an hours of suggestive programming.
The young man in the
first story didn’t believe in answering for his choices or bridling his
passions. He lived by what feels good now. Morals help us understand that
choices bring consequences, even if it may not be immediate. Joshua was exactly
right when he told his people to choose whom they would serve. By choosing not
to serve God and live the standards he provides, we ultimately choose to serve
the Devil. The addictions of society are a testament to his service.
So in order to have true, lasting freedom I stand with
Joshua and say, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Next week: Family Virtues - Civility
No comments:
Post a Comment