Q:
Maybe I'm just from a different generation, but why on earth would any young person turn to drugs? Don't they know they're endangering their lives and may even destroy them? It doesn't make sense.
A:
Young people today face issues and temptations that those of us who are older seldom faced, and the consequences are often disastrous. Almost every day I receive at least one letter or e-mail telling of a life or a family that’s been ripped apart by drugs or alcohol, or some other demonic scheme.
Why (you ask) don’t young people realize the dangers they face from drugs or other sources? The problem isn’t limited to young people; how many older people do you know whose lives have been wrecked by alcohol or marital infidelity, in spite of the obvious risks? Why do we keep doing things we know will destroy us, as has happened since the beginning of the human race?
One reason, I’m convinced, is because sin blinds us to its consequences. We see what it does in the lives of others, but we think that somehow we will be the exception. But we won’t be, and the evidence is all around us. The Bible’s warning is true: “You may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).
Pray for our nation’s young people. Pray, too, for their parents, and for all who seek to guide them — teachers, youth workers in churches, and so forth. Most of all, pray that we may be examples to them of what it means to follow Jesus Christ and experience His peace and joy. And may each of us follow Paul’s admonition to his young friend Timothy: “Flee the evils desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace” (2 Timothy 2:22).