Rockin’ the Suburbs
The original idea behind the suburbs was to create a place to escape the undesirable elements that live in the cities. In other words, people in the ghetto would not acquire the means to move out to the suburbs... thus making the bucolic and homogeneous communities safe from the crime and debauchery that would seem to be indigenous to the... erm, riff-raff.
This thinking has been debunked, however, by a number of disturbing trends... such as sex, drugs, and your diverse manifestations of immorality.
And the wide reach of the internet has made it so much easier for perverts and predators to reach into your home and to cause harm to your precious children... like the 12-year-old who was abducted and sold into prostitution on Craigslist and other web sites.
Sex... drugs... prostitution?
Not in my neighborhood!
After all, my kids go to church every Sunday.
Consider this, however... that going to church won’t make your kids Christians any more than going to McDonald's makes them hamburgers. And, if you are not exercising wise stewardship over them, then...
So take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will be furnished richly so that he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.
Matthew 25:28-29 [AMP]
Wait a minute, are you saying someone is going to take my kids away?
That’s right!
Who?
The devil!
The Bible tells us:
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
John 10:10 [AMP]
Whoa... wait a minute, you mean I moved my kids to a safe neighborhood... away from crime, away from poverty... and the devil can STILL get them?
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search [of a place] of rest (release, refreshment, ease); and finding none it says, I will go back to my house from which I came. And when it arrives, it finds [the place] swept and put in order and furnished and decorated. And it goes and brings other spirits, seven [of them], more evil than itself, and they enter in, settle down, and dwell there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
Luke 11:24-26 [AMP]
In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus explains that a person set free from demonic possession is only temporarily free. The way to permanent freedom is to have something occupying that space where the demon previously lived... something bigger and stronger than that demon... bigger and stronger than the seven others he brought with him. And who is bigger and stronger than satan himself?
Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.
1st John 4:4 [AMP]
So just moving your kids to a safe neighborhood doesn’t cut the mustard. They are better off in the deepest darkest ghetto with Christ in their hearts and the baptism of the Holy Spirit than to be in the most exclusive gated community with nothing protecting them from the enemy.
Cases in point:
The Lost Children of Little Rock
Teens left to their own devices... even in affluent suburban climes... got involved in all kinds of immoral behavior.
This came to light, as reported by the PBS Frontline team, when an outbreak of syphilis derailed the “fun times” and reality hit the parents in the face like one of Soupy Sales’ custard creme pies.
Kids need more than $1,000,000 homes in gated communities.
They need Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
They need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
To put kids in such nice surroundings and spend so much time away from home, working to pay for everything, is just a disaster waiting to happen!
It happened in Little Rock... and in many other places around the world.
Sex Is The New Goodnight Kiss
This was (and likely still is) a huge phenomenon in the affluent areas of Asia such as Japan and Singapore... but now we have old guys in North America buying sex from teens for a pair of designer shoes or whatever.
And, as the economy continues to drag... people are going to all kinds of lengths to satisfy their materialistic lusts...
In teens, those lusts are fed by the media and peer pressure.
Overall, society is materialistic... you aren’t anything, the world tells you, unless you wear clothes by this designer or jewelry by that jeweler, or shoes with those logos on them... etc. And in these days of recession and bailouts, what other option do your kids have to feel good about themselves?
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
1st John 5:3-5 [NIV]
If your teen knows who he or she is in Christ, then they can have self-esteem in knowing that their name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, and not in knowing that some designer’s logo is written on their backside.
Murder in the Nation’s Capitol
One mother wanted to raise her child away from all of that, so she and her Ex moved to the nicest suburban area that money could buy. She also hovered over him both physically and electronically. Still, while her 14-year-old honor student was riding his bike not very far from their home, he was beaten to death by schoolmates who had organized into gangs.
Unfortunately, the local police are busy swimming up the Egyptian river called “de-nial” to accept that gang activity exists there. The sad story appeared in the June 2nd edition of the Washington Post.
If you have left the violent suburbs for the more safe exurbs... don’t worry... trouble will find you.
Why?
Because evil is not a matter of geography, it is the spiritual nature of fallen man. And when we realize that we need to put something into the souls of the youth, we won’t have to worry so much about the zip codes of the youth.
God’s Prescription for Protection
Pray Psalm 91 over your children every day... and have them put that scripture in their hearts. That is your protection.
Then, when the enemy wants you to worry about them... try sending this to your child as a text message (right after you send it to the Throne of Almighty God as a faith-filled prayer)...
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121 [NIV]
Safe in the Suburbs?
You and your family can be safe anywhere... but your safety is not in man made fortifications or structures... but in the Living God.That clinches it—help’s coming, an answer's on the way, everything's going to work out. See those people polishing their chariots, and those others grooming their horses? But we’re making garlands for God our God. The chariots will rust, those horses pull up lame— and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.
Psalm 20:6-8 [The Message]
Some trust in horses and chariots. Some trust in Smith and Wesson. But your family will be safe when you put your trust and confidence in the Creator of heaven and earth.
No Christ, No Peace. Know Christ, Know Peace.
If you have never asked Jesus to be the Savior and Lord of your life... or of your family... say this simple prayer right this moment:Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have put my trust in things that are untrustworthy. I have spent my life worrying over things that I can not control, when I now know that I can put my faith and trust on You, because You have the power to control all things. So Jesus, please take control of my life. Fill me with your Spirit... in love, and in power... so that I may make the right choices in my life, and in the lives of those whom I love. Thank you, Lord, for saving me.
