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Point of Reference
by Fred Price
Two recently published studies lend credence to the concerns the church and your parents have expressed concerning who you spend time with and what you expose yourselves to through entertainment. Cataloging the behavior of young people and the influences that helped shape their actions, they corroborate the premise that who teens hang out with can and often does influence their decisions on sex, drugs and alcohol.1 These statistics go a long way in reinforcing the Bible's warning that, "Bad company corrupts good character."; even as it encourages us to, "Come back to your senses…, and stop sinning;…" 1 Corinthians 15:33,34 It would seem only logical that if you develop close friendships and associations with those who routinely misbehave and rebel against their parents, the church and others in authority – you may learn their ways and become entangled in their behavior. (Proverbs 22:23,24)
Research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse established that 45% of teens attend parties where alcohol is available; 30% where marijuana is available and 9% where prescription drugs are available. It also reported that 44% of high school students think boys push girls to drink alcohol or do drugs in order to get them to have sex. (These percentages being comparable for college students – if not higher.) And yet this same study indicated that teens who attend weekly religious services are at less than half the risk of smoking, drinking or using illegal drugs as teens who don't. Long-term social workers and family counselors such as Janice Gabe of Indianapolis concur. "I do think there is a connection between drinking and drugs and sexual activity… when kids are drinking and using drugs, they're going to do things they normally wouldn't do or go against their value systems… The key issue is how and where kids are spending their time." There being a, "…specific link between at-risk behavior – sex, alcohol and drugs – and non-structured, non-supervised hang time."
The conclusions reached by Rand Corp. behavioral scientists in their study dealt with the apparent connection between teen viewing of TV shows with sexual content and their own subsequent sexual activity.2 Young people watching TV shows such as, 'That 70's Show', 'Friends', and 'Sex and the City', etc. were twice as likely to start experimenting with sex, with a substantially increased incidence of non-intercourse behavior such as passionate kissing and oral sex as compared to those with little exposure to television sex. Shows only referring to sex without its actual depiction proved almost as powerful in increasing sexual responses from their audiences.
From innuendo to outright depictions of intercourse, sex is pervasive on TV, present in about 2/3 of all shows other than news and sports; with research showing teens watch an average of three hours of television daily. This prompted Rand's researchers to conclude that, "TV thus may create the illusion that sex is more central to daily life than it truly is and may promote sexual initiation as a result." Rebecca Collins, Rand's lead researcher commented, "When they're watching it for three hours a day, it really does become their social world. Those characters are people they identify with and pay close attention to."
Besides which, TV sex rarely deals with negative aspects most teens aren't' prepared to deal with, including unwanted pregnancy, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases; or the difficulties of maintaining legitimate committed relationships. In consequence, that "Sends kids the message that everybody's having sex and nobody's thinking about responsibility and nothing bad ever happens."3
Thus all that "preaching" from your pastor and parents – about guarding what you see and hear, what you expose yourselves to and who you associate with. "Above all else, guard your heart, (from which the motivation for doing what we do arises) for it is the well-spring of life." Proverbs 4:23 As, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored in his heart, and the evil man beings evil things out of the evil stored in his heart." Luke 6:45 It doesn't take a genius to figure out that what we do is often directly linked to what we've been stimulated by; a direct result of what we see and hear, what we've become comfortable being around, thinking about and contemplating. This doesn't mean we have no control over our impulses but does heighten the possibility that things we've exposed ourselves to may influence us unexpectedly in situations we're least prepared to deal with. Hence the admonition to, "Avoid (even) the appearance (KJ) – or every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22 The more routine the exposure the more difficult it will be to control the temptation they give rise to. "For as (a man) thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7 (KJ) Our private thoughts eventually becoming public actions. "Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matthew 7:20
I can still hear some protesting, 'Just because I watch some movies, music videos, or play video games with some inappropriate material won't automatically make me a drunken, drug-addicted, murdering rapist' – and you're right. But for some it may very well be that first step down a long road of wasted time and destructive behavior which no one believes would be true of them! Besides which, can you honestly picture Christ involved in these "somewhat" inappropriate activities? Do you really believe he is indifferent to your participation in them? Paul instructs all believers to center their minds on, "…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is praiseworthy (or worth doing) – think on (these) things." Philippians 4:8
Footnotes:
1 Indianapolis Star – John J. Shaughenessy
2 Indianapolis Star – Lindsey Tanner
3 Study appearing in Pediatrics Magazine
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Fred Price - married (50 years), father of two grown children, grandfather of six.
Fred retired earlier this year after 42 years as a factory worker. He has always had a heart for young people and the challenges they face today. Over the years Fred has taught Discipleship Groups for High School and college students.
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