There is a certain power and unrelenting force found in young people. If used for good, positive change will come. Adversely, if used for bad, horrors will be unleashed.
Most leaders, change makers, know this. They know if they can get the young people on their side, they will have momentum. Marketers focus on the young as they desire loyal customers for life. They are willing to lose a little to gain a lot. Many revolutions are started through harnessing the will of the young.
Even perusing through Scripture, we see young individuals like David, Joseph, Mary, Esther and more who partnered with God to save lives from cruel forces. The familiar passage in Proverbs 22:6 offers this exhortation, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Ideas and beliefs taught in the younger years, will have the most influence over people’s lives.
Greg Stier, who trains young people to share the gospel, points out young people have been the targeted force behind many evil agendas. “Hitler hijacked teen culture and used it to advance the Nazi agenda. Communists harnessed and unleashed the idealism of teenagers to spread the message of communism. For years radical Muslims have recruited young people to spread a message of hate and, in far too many cases, trigger acts of terrorism around the globe.” (1)
The same mission can be said for the pro-abortion agenda. In fact, in the Strategic Road Map of 2016-2018 for Planned Parenthood, they expressed, “Young people will greatly impact the future of the agency and our role in advocating for abortion rights. Our public affairs and education departments regularly and robustly engage with teens and young adults ages 15-24, and it remains a high priority.”
Planned Parenthood and other similar organizations have diligently and unswervingly spent years gaining access to the hearts and minds of our youth. As one of the top education sources for sex education in our schools, they are wanting to indoctrinate young people to believe sex before marriage, unfettered access to birth control and abortion, is what will bring them freedom. Young people are in essence the cash cow for pro-abortion groups. They know if they can promote casual sex, they will be customers for life.
I happen to believe our young people are worth so much more. They are more than just a sexual experience, an object for someone’s pleasure, a transaction, … They are worth more than empty lies that result in brokenness, regret and loneliness.
Our focus on reaching our young people should be ten-fold more than any other group. Not for our agenda, but because of their value as human beings created in the image of God. Instead of offering cheap trinkets as the world does, we can point the way to God’s unlimited resource of true love, power and peace. Instead of allowing evil ideology to mold our young people, let’s be diligent about offering the life-giving message of the gospel. God’s standards produce joy and peace to those who hold fast to His truth.
In regards to the push of abortion on our young people, one helpful resource is Scott Klusendorf’s book Stand for Life: A Student’s Guide for Making the Case and Saving Lives. You can find more information HERE. Let’s empower our youth with the answers to their questions. If young people see their intrinsic value in Christ, they will make decisions that bring value to themselves and those around them.
Helping our young people think rationally and to be able to discern agendas, will raise a generation of smart, selfless, kind and powerful change makers. After all, who cares more for our young people? Them or us?
Let’s push back on the social and spiritual agenda of Planned Parenthood and others. Instead, let’s offer our young people a life-saving lifeline so they can move from surviving to thriving. They are not a commodity, a price tag, an object to be used for someone else’s gain. They are priceless individuals of intrinsic worth.
