What's wrong with the kids today?

What's Wrong with The Kids

Today?

By Milburn Cockrell

'WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? THEY DON’T LET US PRAY ANYMORE."

"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame" (Prov. 29.15).

The older generation dares to sit in stem and solemn judgment of the younger generation.
Quite often you hear older people say that the young people have "gone to the dogs," or that they are "hell-bent."
To prove their case, the older folks point to some of these longhaired,

luxury-loving, unwashed, pot-smoking, leather-jacketed slobs who roam our streets and commit teenage crimes. Parents call attention to kids who have failing grades, use vile language, and abound with disrespect for those in authority. In horror and dismay the generation who now runs the world cries out, "What's wrong with so many kids nowadays?"

The answer is simple: The problem with most kids is their parents. Children are products of the home that produced them. While the school and the church in some measure aid parents in the rearing of their children, it is primarily the responsibility of the parents to properly bring up their children. God has put the responsibility there, and it cannot be transferred to the church or state.

NO CHILD TPAINING

When a child is born an existence is commenced for eternity. The hope of at least two generations hang upon the proper training of a child. Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train up a child In the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from lt." The parents must begin early to develop the intellectual and moral powers of the soul. Childhood is the special period of this. The correct training of a child cannot be over emphasized.

Every child born into the world has a totally depraved nature. Isaiah 48:8 says a child is a "transgressor from the womb." That little child who looks so sweet and innocent comes into the world with a mighty propensity to evil, the bent to form bad habits, the desire to enter an ungodly course, and the determination to revolt against all kinds of authority. Contrary to liberal thinking, he is not born pure and white (Ps. 51:5). He has a little heart full of evil. Proverbs 22.15 tells us: "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." This is why you don't have to teach a child to be mean, or to be, or to fight, or to be lazy, or to say bad words. You have to teach him not to do these things!

Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train up a child..." It does not say train up a teenager or an adult. You train a tree when it is a small sapling, or a horse when it is a colt; even so of a child. You cannot begin too early, but you can wait too late. A child must be conquered by its parents before he is 10-years-old. If he is not taught obedience, respect for authority, the importance of religion, and the fear of God by this time, it may very well be too late to accomplish much proper training!

My text speaks in plain language: a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." A child does not have to be nurtured in wickedness or even under the influence of a bad example, to turn out bad. He has to be only "left to himself." "Left" without proper parental training. The child left to himself follows the impulses of his depraved nature, his own pride and self-willed obstinacy, in order to bring his parents to shame before the world. What could be a greater neglect of obligation, than a child left to himself? The father stands dumb with confusion and grief. The dearest object of the mother's tender affection brings tears and terror to her eyes.

Either the child's will, or the parent's hearts, must be broken. Without early training of the child, the parent will be heart-broken and the child will be ruined for lite and eternity. A child left to himself will bring forth the saddest tears that ever an eye can weep! The shame is too public to be concealed. Eli's "sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not" (I Sam. 3:13). Their sins were so great that the men of Israel "abhorred the offering of the Lard" (I Sam. 2:17). The sins of David's sons brought him to shame before all Israel (II Sam. 13:12; 16.22; 18:33; 1 Kings 1:5-9).

Too often parents rely on others to fulfill their Godgiven responsibilities. They expect the Sunday school teacher, the pastor, the day-care attendant, or the public school teacher to do their child training for them. Some parents slap or kick their children because it is so much easier than teaching or training. The responsibility to teach and train children rests upon the parents. God put it there and there it will for ever remain. Deuteronomy 6:6-7says: "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart- And thou shalt teach them difigently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up" (cf. Gen. 18:17,19; Deut. 4:9; 11: 18-21, Ps. 78:1-8). Ephesians 6:4 declares: "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Child training requires time, patience and repetition Children must be trained until the instructions become a part of their character. It involves social and cultural manners. They must be taught how to develop their bodies and minds. Some parents have plenty of time to train their dogs and horses, but they have none to spare when it comes to training their children.

Children are not equiped to make right decisions without proper training. The parents must know the Bible well enough to be able to effectively impart it to their children. Father and mother should warn their children of the evils of premarital sex and unwanted pregnancies They should explain to them the bad results of smoking drug abuse, stealing and lying, watching bad movies, reading the wrong kind of literature, and listening to rock music.

A good number of parents leave their children as a prey to the Devil. These Inds end up in jail or prison They get on drugs and hard liquor. These neglected children are a terror to the neighborhood where they live. They are a luxury-loving, unwashed, pot-smoking, leather-jacketed slobs who roam our streets and commit teenage crimes. Parents call attention to kids who have failing grades, use vile language, and abound with disrespect for those in authority. In horror and dismay the generation who now runs the world cries out, "What's wrong with so many kids nowadays?"

shame and disgrace to their parents and grandparents. When I hear of boys and girls who go to prison for crimes against the state I know that in the main they are boys and girls who were not properly brought up by their parents. I sometimes wonder who really should go to the prison cell or the electric chair! The state should have some form of punishment for parents who neglect the training and teaching of their children. The state may not punish such neglectful parents, but God certainly will!

In childhood children are trained, either good or bad. The process goes on and it cannot be stopped. There is little hope for a child who is trained in wickedness. Jeremiah said: "We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God." A child brought up in the way he should not go will not depart from it when he gets older. This child will break the hearts of his parents and send them to an early grave. "A foolish son Is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him" (Prov. 17:25). Such neglectful parents will five to exclaim: "Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood" (Ps. 144:11).

The biggest problem with kids today is that father and mother are too busy with worldly things to have time to teach and train their own offspring. Daddy has to go to work, repair the house, mow the grass, play golf, watch the ball game on TV, and read the paper. Mother must clean the house, wash the clothes, attend club meetings, go shopping, talk on the telephone, and gossip with the neighbors, There is no time for the kids! At night dad and mom go out for a night on the town, leaving the children to terrorize the neighborhood, or watch TV and learn lessons in crime. Older kids are turned loose to go honky-tonking and hanky-panking! The pool hall, the night club, the dance room, the drive-in movie, and other devilinspired outlets do in a false way what parents have failed to do!

Parents in the main do not see the dangers of child neglect. Never has the responsibility of proper child rearing been so great. Never have parents abrogated their parental guidance and training as they have in this generation. Both parents will work day and night to provide the latest clothes, color TV, cars, and even pizzas; but they will not lift a finger to give their children moral and spiritual training. This is what is wrong with the kids!

NO EXAMPLE

We hear much about children being victims of unhealthy influence and a bad environment. This is true because it includes their parents! Parental example is a critical factor in right child rearing- Nothing renders the -4

parents' efforts in rearing more ineffective than parental hypocrisy. Children will not adopt standards their parents are unwilling to practice.

Too many times today a father attempts to correct his son by something like this: "Johnny, I want you to quit smoking my cigarettes!" Or, "Billy, don't drink any more of my whiskey!" Or, "Ted, slow down! You're driving as fast as I do." Or, "Son, go on to church and be a good boy. Daddy will stay home and read the Sunday paper. Please tell the preacher that daddy is sick."

A mother will seek to correct her daughter like this: "Sue, you painted hussy. You let my lipstick and rouge alone!" Or, "Jane, your dress is as short and tight as mine! Go change your dress this minute!" Or, "Joan, your cake is as big a flop as mine is! You simply must improve on your cooking!" "Kattie, you forgot to read your Bible today! You are getting as absent-minded as I am!"

Most kids are mean and wicked because they are aping their elders. They are following the bad examples set before them by their parents. A child learns more by the eye than the ear. He follows example more than precept. Ezekiel 16:44 says: "As is the mother, so is her daughter." Children are natural mimics. A child is the reflection of his parents. Mannerism, vocabulary, habits and opinions of children often mirror that of their parents-for better or worse!

Parents who smoke pot and drink alcohol to excess can expect their children to do likewise. If children hear mom and dad verbally attack, criticize and ridicule each other, they can be expected to follow suit. If a man is honest and hard working, he can expect his son to do likewise. If a wife is loyal and obedient to her own husband, she can count on her daughter doing the same. If parents neglect the Bible and the church, their children will follow in their steps all the way to Hell. If parents engage in extramarital sex, their kids will engage in premarital sex!

Parents reap what they saw. There is a good example of this seen in the life of King David of Israel. He committed adultery and murder before his children and the people of Israel. He lived to see one of his sons rape his sister and another commit adultery with his concubines. David also lived to see one of his sons slay the other. David's evil example was seen in his sons. There is some truth to the old slogan: "Like father, like son."

NO DISCIPLINE

Another thing wrong with the kids today is that there is no discipline in the home. Everything in the modem household is run by switches, except the children. Tom certainly have changed since I was a boy When I was growing up kids came to church and stayed quiet because of strict discipline administered by the parents. In those days we had no nurseries like the modem-day churches now have. Nowadays parents, aided and assisted by the grandparents, cannot keep the little fellows from throwing a tantrum in church. Some parents stay home from church because they can't control their children and fear public embarrassment.

Children of today are doing what the older generation would have done with the lid of restraint thrown off. The younger generation has not been held down by strict discipline like the older generation was. Instead of being whipped and rawhided into parental obedience, the present generation is a victim of treat-with-kindness, do-asyou-please psychology. Rather than punishing children for disobedience, parents of today try to bribe them with candy if they will only be "good."

Parents give children too much freedom. They are too permissive. Children win never grow up to respect overpermissive parents. "A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." More than a few children need to hear their parents say a plain, "No." When we saw wrong discipline and examples in the minds of kids we must reap the evil consequences. And that is just what we are doing right now. We are reaping a bumper crop of dropouts, hippies, young revolutionaries, Bible haters, and immoral kids.

The Bible teaches parents to discipline their children for wrong actions. The Bible gives four reasons for doing this: (1) Because we love them: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes" (Prov. 13:24); (2) Because they need it: "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him" (Prov. 22:15); (3) Because it will improve their conduct: "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame" (Prov. 29:15); (4) Because chastisement is a means of delivering our children's souls from Hell: 'Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from bell" (Prov. 23:13-14).

Proper discipline must never take the form of child abuse. Don't lose your temper or strike the child on the head or a vital organ. "Fathers, provoke not your chil- to anger, lest they be discouraged" (Col. 3:21). But don't be afraid to spank the child on his "sitting down place." Spank hard enough so the child will respond and be sorry for his misconduct Discipline with older children may be the withholding of privileges.

The child must be made to understand the justice of being disciplined. When discipline is correctly and consistently administered, it won't be long before the child will be hugging your neck and agreeing that he needed the spanking. He will feel more secure in your love and your genuine concern than before the spanking.

Not only do some parents fail to administer discipline themselves, but they also are determined that no one else do so. Susie may be a Jezebel on wheels, or Johnny may be a menace to society, but no one had better not even suggest they are less than perfect. It's the other kids who cause all the trouble. Woe to the church who dares to discipline such a child for disorderly conduct! Woe to the school teacher who whips such a child! Woe to the policeman who must arrest one of these teenage criminals who have been sheltered by the parents! The parents will respond with alibis, threats, bribes, and bail!

NO LOVE

Another thing which is wrong with the kids today is that they are not loved by their parents. No being in the universe needs and requires love more than children. The Bible teaches that "we should love one another" (I John 3:11). It also teaches that "love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13: 10). Loving parents produce loving children. The habit of expressing affection to children is something one should never outgrow.

I like the little sign which asks: "Have you hugged your kid today?" It is good for parents to tell their children: "Daddy and Mommy loves you dearly. We are proud God has blessed us with a child like you. We are honored to have you in our family."

Always let your child know that you love them and want to help them. Even in discipline remember love. God chastens only those that He loves: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (Rev. 3:19). What a good example to parents!

It is a known fact that most parents do not love their children as they should! We live in a time when even parents are "without natural affections" (II Tim. 3:3). In alltoomanycases, children are conceived in lust and born into the world unwanted. We hear much about "unwanted pregnancies" and kids whose parents have "kicked them out." Babies are left in motel rooms, bus and railway depots, on the doorsteps of houses, on the side of the road, or in garbage cans! They are neglected and forgotten because they are in the way of worldly pleasures. Children who grow up without love generally have no love for their parents or anyone else!

Why are youthful crimes and delinquency at an all-time high? Why are civil authorities wondering what to do with all the teenage crooks? Why do children roam the streets of our cities all hours of the night? Why do boys and girls run away from home? Why are so many kids on drugs? What is the real problem? In most cases it is because the parents do not love their kids! Even an animal knows when you love it, and a kid has more sense than an animal I

What can be done about crimes committed by teenagers? The policeman's club and the jailor's cell will not solve the problem. Neither will nine o'clock curfew laws, nor reformatories, nor orphan asylums. Church-sponsored ball games or parties are not the solution. What we need is some parents who love their children, who will take time to train them in right and wrong, who will teach them the Bible, and who will discipline them for misconduct. We need parents who set a good example before their children and who regularly go with them to Sunday school and church. Down the drain with modern psychology, which rejects God and the Bible and says we ought not to whip a child.

CONCLUSION

Young men and women can't blame their ills entirely on the older generation. These hippies and hoodlums are responsible for their own conduct. They are not forced to follow in the steps of their elders when their steps erred. Youth have brought themselves to this hippie way of life, and they are responsible for their own conduct before God. "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12).

It is time for the youth of this day to decide to channel their lives into productive channels. It is time that they cease the hypocrisy and pretended happiness of hippiedom. It is past time for them to turn to God and the Bible for help in their life's plans. It is time that they obeyed the gospel. "Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15).

This tract was written by Milburn Cockrell, and it Is for free distribution.
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