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During your college careers there will be more input coming your way from a wider variety of people and personalities than ever before. That’s good and bad, exciting and intimidating. The measuring stick to use to decide between the good and bad – better or best, should be in with the stack of books you have for school. Your Bible - the book of wisdom and true life-sustaining knowledge.

Any number of people will claim to know what’s best for you, it is now your responsibility to investigate their claims and decide who really has your best interests at heart and wants to see you succeed at all levels of life. Some will attempt to manipulate you for their own benefit, others will use you just because they can, still others have belief systems that are genuinely held however under-developed or incorrect. A few will have had the experience to know, the faith to believe and the desire to share the way of the Gospel and the abundant life revealed therein. But it’s up to you to sort out and decide who’s who; the primary tool to use in any attempt at answering such crucial questions being God’s Word and participation in church activities where you will find genuine support systems of people from varying backgrounds, experiences and ages who can counsel you and lift you up in prayer. The cost of not doing so can be great, a decision made in haste or during the heat of passion often lasting a lifetime.

For instance, the U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancies in the industrialized world. Close to one million women younger than 20 bearing a child – 8 in 10 unintended – 79% of them unmarried teens. In fact, The National Campaign to Prevent Pregnancy estimates that one of every three girls has had sex by age 16 – two of three boys and girls by age 18; nearly four out of ten becoming pregnant at least once before the age of twenty. Research reveals that the younger a girl is when she has sex for the first time, the more likely she is to have had unwanted or non-voluntary sex; succumbing to peer pressure or unable to control a situation she allowed to start but has no idea how to stop – or possibly raped when she tried. Needless to say, alcohol and drugs play a huge role in these scenarios, 25% of young people admitting they were under the influence of one or the other during their first or subsequent sexual encounters. (A majority of sexually active boys and girls – 8 of 10 girls, 6 of 10 boys – expressing regret, wishing they had remained a virgin until marriage.)

The cost is often high for those who don’t; lost childhood, disrupted education, disappointment of family, ruined dreams, disease and even death the price to be paid for poor choices and rash actions. Specifically, teen mothers are less likely to complete high school (only 33%) let alone go to college, and are more likely to end up on welfare (nearly 80%); often trapped in marriages with little or no love felt for their partner – resentment over lost opportunities leading to more heartache and the trauma of abandonment and divorce.

Every year three million teens contract a sexually transmitted disease and yet a recent survey by the Office of National AID’s Policy revealed that 87% of young Americans still believe they aren’t at risk of HIV infection; while in fact young people between the ages of 13,24 are contracting HIV at the rate of 2 per hour! The American Social Health Association finding Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia and Human Papilloma Virus more prevalent in teens than older sexually active men and women.

So what’s the solution; passing out free condoms on high school and college campuses, allowing teens to receive contraceptives without parental consent from Planned Parenthood, or supposedly safe, easily accessed abortions? How about ‘Don’t start what you can’t – or shouldn’t – finish!’ Don’t allow yourself to be compromised in any way so that your thinking process and decision making is thorough and clear. Don’t place yourself in harm’s way by being somewhere you know you shouldn’t be. Strength in numbers and associating with others who have successfully navigated these tempting pathways always help, as does involvement in church and para-church organizations. True Love Waits has had marked success in their work with young people, even drawing the attention of the national news outlets with their emphasis on abstinence grounded in Biblical principles and the idea of “saving” oneself for that special someone God can and will lead you to. Although not 100% successful in their pledges, The American Journal of Sociology reports that young people who resolve to remain sexually pure until marriage are 34% less likely to have sex than those who don’t, 40% less likely to have a child out of wedlock and are 12 times more likely to be virgins when they marry. (Many individuals who have already slipped into a promiscuous lifestyle finding a sense of redemption and purpose in pledging abstinence and a renewed virginity from this point on.)

Listen, learn, discern; it really is of great importance. For from the decisions made now will come the ability to succeed in life - academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. Set your foundation firm in God’s word. Frame your life’s walls in the teachings and advice of loved ones and godly friends. Then build and decorate your life with the fruit of your labor, the wisdom of Christ and the principles of His church.

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

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