St. Thomas Youth Group Reflection
4/28/2013
“The Top (Three) Topics for Teens: Temptation”
Intro:
Hey everybody, let’s start with prayer: “May the words of my lips and the meditations of all our hearts lead to pleasing lives in your sight Lord God. Amen.”
Well it’s been quite a while since we last did this “regular” youth group thing. But now we’re basically back on track and so for the next few weeks instead of doing something awesome like having a soccer game you get to pray and sing together and hear me drone on about something boring :)
Series Intro:
Tonight we’re going to be starting a new youth group sermon series called “The Top Ten Theological Topics for Teens.”
Originally we were indeed going to spend 10 weeks looking at some great scriptures and theological topics, but as it turns out we simply had too much awesomeness happening this Spring and so instead of the “Top 10” we’re only going to cover “The Top Three.” And they really aren’t even the “top” three, but simply “three.” Ok, so that’s a bit of a let down, but I still think this is going to be a good series, so let’s dive right in.
Temptation:
Tonight our topic is temptation.. I know, I know, a sermon to teens on temptation is weird, and awkward, and unbearably cliche. So just take a moment to breathe in the awkwardness, embrace it. I know that it’s odd an strange and uncomfortable, but what would a sermon series that purported to look unflinchingly at tough and important and relevant issues for teens be if it neglected to speak about something that teens deal with every single day? And what would a good sermon series be without a healthy dose of awkward?
Teens and Temptation:
Teenagers are specifically vulnerable to temptation for two reasons.
1. Disenfranchised
The first reason is sociological. You guys live in limbo land: somewhere between childhood and adulthood. This has always been the case for adolescence, but it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century when the time between childhood and adulthood was so protracted. From the time you hit puberty to the time where you are a respected, functioning, and productive member of society is almost 10 full years! The causes for this lengthy time in limbo land are because of child labor laws which prevent you from taking on full time jobs, and because all of you are required to complete 12 years of formal secondary education. Before the 20th century it wasn’t uncommon for most people to stop their formal education at 6th or 8th grade. In other cultures adolescence is only 2-3 years long and those cultures don’t show nearly the amount of trouble in teens as our cultures does. Teens in cultures where adolescence is only a short period of time don’t have a tendency to do drugs, use alcohol, sleep around, commit petty crime, argue with their parents, drive too fast, act irresponsibly, or swing wildly in mood.
Our cultures’ extended transition time in adolescence is what causes a great deal of tension in the lives of teenagers, and contributes to why temptations are so great for you. There is simply a much longer list of things that you are not allowed to do, but what you may want to do or feel that you are capable of doing them.
For example, you may have political opinions, but you can’t vote. You may want to have the freedom to go where you want when you want, but you can’t drive until your 16, and even then you're likely to be on a pretty short leash. You may want to buy what you want but you don’t have any money. You may have lots of energy and want to have your way, but you don’t have any power. You may have lots of ambition, but you don’t have the required education to compete in our post-industrialized society. You may want to have sex with your significant other, but you can’t get married. You may want to experience the effects of alcohol, but you can’t drink until you’re 21.
In sum, there’s just a bunch of stuff that you can’t do, but that you are probably tempted to do, and the reason why there’s so much that you can’t do is that in our society you aren’t adults yet. In our society it takes a very long time to become a competent and competitive adult, and unfortunately you can’t skip ahead and start trying to enjoy adult privileges before the time is right. Thus you are in limbo, and that’s a tough spot to be in, and it means that temptation is probably one of the biggest realities of being a teenager in today's world.
2. Neurological
A second reason why temptations hit teenagers especially hard is neurological. Not only does it take a very long time for our society to train you to be an adult, but living in the post-industrial society we live in has also altered your physiology. In comparison to non-industrialized nations in the world, or even our country a few hundred years ago, puberty now starts much earlier than it once did, about 4-5 years earlier.
This change in the start date of puberty is important because the hormones that puberty turns on dramatically change some portions of your brain. Specifically it reshapes a part of the brain called the "socio-emotional network." This part of your brain processes information on rewards, especially social rewards. So basically, when the puberty hormones get ahold of this part of your brain, stuff just seems much more rewarding that it once did.
For example, hanging out with lots of friends, and having lots of people like you, seems much more important and rewarding that it did in elementary school. Likewise, having individuals from the opposite sex enjoy your company is much more interesting.
This is important when we are considering the topic of teenagers and temptation because normally there is a second part of the brain, called the “Cognitive Control Network,” which acts to suppress the urges of the socio-emotional network. The Cog Control Net deals with thinking ahead, controlling impulses, and weighing the cost and benefits of situations. If the socio-emotional network is the gas petal, the cognitive control network is the brake. If the socio-emotional network says “if you do something risky then everyone will like you”, then the cognitive control net says, “yes that’s true, but if you try a back flip off this cliff then you’re going to break your neck.”
Unfortunately this second part of the brain isn’t affected by the onset of puberty, and instead develops slowly over a long period of time. Thus there is in fact a neurological reason why teenagers seem like they are out of their mind! Haha One part of their brain that wants social rewards and encourages risky behavior has developed almost 7 years ahead of the part of the brain that can actually control impulses and process good decision making!
Thus when temptations cross your path teens are especially vulnerable to them.
Bad Solution: Will Power
Ok, so that’s kinda where we’re at and why I think talking about temptation in youth group is worth our time. But so what are we to do about it?
One common answer is to simply grit your teeth and resist with all your might the temptations that surround you. I really really don’t think that’s the answer because human beings in general have very bad self control or will power. How many of us have made a new year’s resolution that lasted less than a week? Or how many of us have resolved to go more often to the gym, eat healthier, study harder, stop smoking, or stop procrastinating only to have that resolution broken within a few days?
Yesterday, MC and I were grocery shopping and we were buying all kinds of healthy food; I even bought a V8! We were firmly on the healthy wagon, but then we went to Panoply and had servings of ice cream, a funnel cake, a gyro, and fried pickles. Psychologists tell us over and over again in their studies that people simply have very little self control or will power. If teens are to resist temptation then relying on will power is NOT a viable answer.
Better Solution:
A better solution I think is to simply run away. 2 Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace." Psychological studies have proven empirically that Biblical wisdom. In tests of will power, those who distracted themselves or refused to look at the temptation scored consistently and dramatically better on the test than those who didn't.
So if you want to resist eating a funnel cake at Panoply, don’t stand next to the funnel cake truck. You’ll loose that battle 9 our of 10 times, but if you walk to the other end of the park then you’re much less likely to be tempted by it.
Likewise if you want to resist the temptation to abuse alcohol then don’t be around those who drink; if you want to resist the temptation to check your phone while driving then put your phone in your trunk; if you want to avoid the temptation of sexual intercourse keep your clothes on, etc.
Conclusion with Good News:
Before we close I want to say one final thing about temptation. As a teenager in this world you’re in a really tough spot and you’ve got some major sociological and neurological forces working against you. You are like sheep sent out among wolves, so choose your friends thoughtfully and hangout with those who will be good influences, talk with your parents about making good decisions, when you feel yourself being tempted get out of the situation, and finally remember what Jesus said: “It’s not what goes in that corrupts, but what comes out.” Everyone is tempted. I am, you are, your friends are, priests are, your parents are, your teachers are, even Christ himself was tempted. The enemy is out there wanting us to fail and fall. But being tempted is no sin in itself; what matters is what you do in response.
Next week we’ll talk about what happens when we inevitably fail in our attempts at resisting temptation and look at what the Bible really says about forgiveness. Amen.
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