Life is Not Easy

Some of my fondest memories come from high school. Now I have a lot of memories from my adult life that I have cherished, but it was the experiences that I had in high school that set me up for the future. When I was young I did not travel all the time, but when I did it gave me the desire to see more of the world. So I travel when I can see new things. I formed bonds with friends that weakened as we made different paths in life so it drove me to find new friends that would build me up as I progressed in life. I had bad experiences that shaped the way I make decisions, and who I give an audience in my life.

Your teenage years form the base of the rest of your life. You think you are living young, wild, and free right now, but in reality you are setting your future into motion. Some of you are just starting your high school careers, some of you only have 1-2 years left. By the way it will absolutely fly. Slow down and enjoy your time. From FFA, to basketball, FBLA, FCCLA, FCS, baseball/softball soon to come, the club parties, the trips, the photos, the friendships. Everything will mold you as you grow. EVERYTHING

Let me get at why I am telling you all of this. You have decisions to make, memories to be had, but there are two ways you can handle them. There is always a right, and a wrong way to make a decision. Some decisions are easy. Do I go to lunch, or do I skip lunch and starve for the rest of the day. That is not really what I am talking about. What I am talking about is that new friend group that invites you to join them, but they are kind of known as the problematic kids by most groups. Whether they party, or are petty, or just don’t seem to be much at advancing life itself, they have something about them that is not right, but they invite you in and they look fun. What do you do? What about relationships? Maybe that girl that you have liked forever is finally taking interest in you. Maybe it is a new flame that has popped up out of the blue. But think about this. Would you want them to raise your kids? Right now you guys are teenagers, high schoolers, yourselves but eventually you will want to be a mom and a dad. Will that person you are flirting around with raise your kids well? Will they support you or help you support your family financial, or will they bring it down? Will they make sure that your kids are in church *If they’re not doing it now, they won’t be doing it then.* Your friends may be taking a path that is not so becoming of a Christian, do you stick with them or step away from them?

Matthew 10:16–25 ESV

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

You have to watch yourself constantly while you are making these decisions. The bible says that you must be as wise as a serpent, but in the same turn you must be as harmless as a dove. The serpent is called the craftiest of the creatures. It knows when to run, it knows when to strike, it knows how to wait patiently, it knows how to blend in. For whatever situation might arise, the serpent has the right solution. A dove is cute, a dove is timid, a dove is harmless. On the inside we must be vigilant and ready for every situation that life throws at you. The false friends, the ones who would take you down a bad path, the boys or girls who would ultimately bring you ruin, the scenarios you will be placed in that can severely alter the rest of your lives. You must be ready to make the right decision.

—On the outside you must be kind and loving. Just as Christ was while He was here. He loved all, but He did not lower Himself to there level.

Jesus had the right solution for every single situation, all while showing love and kindness. He calls us, and He shows us to do the same thing.

This means making the right decision, even when it is hard. This means taking the ridicule because you chose to make the right decision, but your friends chose poorly. (They will enjoy a few minutes of pleasure, and suffer lifelong guilt. You will take a small amount of jeering and maybe even mocking, but you will have a clear conscious and will not carry guilt along with you.) This means telling your heart NO when it desperately wants to choose what is bad for you. This means following Christ even when it is not the popular decision. Choosing Christ will always be the right decision, even if you are the only one making it. Make the tough choices.