A Generation of Immature Young Love

As I sit here and read this article [Underage Dating: The Elephant in the Social Conservative Living-Room], it is clear that it quickly cuts to the core of one of the major arteries of concern in our country today: Relationships. Relationships [especially intimate and sexual] are what are presently governing our current issues of abortion, children out of wedlock, living together versus marriage, and divorce [just to name a few]. This is not just a liberal or left-wing issue, but rather a conservative or right-wing problem as well.

We are teaching our children [even before their teenage years] that they should be considering relationships [more intimate that mere friendships] with the opposite sex. And we are leading them to develop these feelings at a time when most often they are not even mature or responsible enough to even complete their chores, give proper time to study, maintain respect for adults, and have a healthy relationship with their own family and friends. How can we expect them to adjust properly to a couple relationship, while denying [or refusing to acknowledge] that it will most often be merely sexual in nature?

By encouraging our children into relationships – especially at a time when we should be preparing them mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for adult life – we are rather [whether knowingly or ignorantly] pushing them to embrace their hormonal urges [not yet even fully developed or understood] to the opposite sex. When children cannot even understand [or consider] all the [future] consequences possible from a momentary lapse in judgment [which is still developing; for even we adults seem often to have a problem realizing this] and are seldom able to control their desires [even to such things as food, sweets, games, fashion, alcohol, pornography, etc.], how can we expect them to abstain from what their flesh, the world, and the devil so want to press them to do?

It all begins with a relationship which is based on fleshly desire, whether because of physical attraction, out of necessity [because everyone else is doing it], or parental push [trying to relive out their life through their children]. Because they are most often unable to discern what a relationship should be [because they are immature, and they aren't learning anything moral from society], it is usually based on a selfish motive of “what makes me feel good”. Such is why they jump from relationship to relationship, and some end up pregnant.

We aren't teaching our children commitment – neither to God nor relationships – and we wonder why our nation is falling apart. Why are we pushing our children to “young love” when there is so much more they need to learn and are lacking at such a time in their lives?

God help us!