by Greg Trimble on GregTrimble.com
This is a great article. The link is for the whole article. The end is my favorite:
“Friends, especially in your youth, have a more powerful influence over you than anything else. No kid just goes out and seeks after porn on his own or on a whim. No kid goes out and seeks to fill his lungs with dangerous carcinogens. No kid seeks to drink a beverage that is notorious for being so disgusting that people need to “acquire the taste.” They are usually “introduced” into these situations by their friends, and in most cases blind-sided into making a poor decision that could lead into a habit or an addiction.
“In the days when I was growing up, how many 13 year olds were innocently sent with a friend to have a “spend the night party” at a house where the parents allowed their kids unfiltered access to late night HBO, Showtime or Cinemax? But in the days we live in now, how many 10, 11, and 12 year olds can show one of their friends unforgettable animalistic and pornograhic videos in just a few taps of their smartphone.
“To avoid all of that together, the key is to help the youth discern how to choose their friends. The friends they choose will likely dictate the path they’ll go down in life. Most of the emotional, mental, and spiritual pain associated with this generation will be a direct result of the friends they’ll choose.
“Social media is not the culprit. Traditional media in general is not the culprit. Music is not the culprit. Yes, those outlets can be horrible, immoral, and soul crushing. But the real culprit lies in the quality of the friends we choose both within the media and in real life. Choose good friends on social media and you’ll have a good feed. Choose good friends in real life and you’ll probably stay away from bad movies, TV shows, music.
“If you listen to a certain musician all day and all night, that musician will become one of your closest friends and mentors. If you watch hours and hours of a filthy reality show, those actors and actresses also become your closest friends. You start to talk like them, think like them, and act like them.
“Without a doubt, the future of our children’s souls and the integrity of their future family depends on it. It is, to me, the greatest temptation that the youth will ever face.
“Everyone wants a friend. The temptation will be to gravitate toward the people who are fun and exciting. But if you do anything in this life, do what my stake patriarch begged me to do and “Choose your friends wisely.”
“It will make all the difference in your life.”
I agree.
AFTER SENDING THIS QUOTE to my adult kids (you are never to old to be reminded that friends and media influence your choices) one of my young adult kids replied:
“Why wouldn’t I want to gravitate towards people who are fun and exciting? I don’t want boring friends. Seems like [Greg Trimble] should specify that you can have righteous friends who are also fun and exciting. Pretty bold to say also that it’s the greatest temptation that the youth will ever face, but it could be accurate.”
– Anonymous
What would you say to that?
I did my best:
“I like your debate here, ____. Can we debate this for fun or is this too elementary? I’m fine if you don’t want to have fun with it. I think it is cool to see into your head on any subject.
“If you DO want to discuss this idea: Perhaps the whole article is necessary to get an accurate picture of what he is trying to say. He draws the conclusion that the greatest temptation is bad friends because friends are (according to him) the gateway to bad actions. This differs from other common conclusions that the temptation is the action itself. What role does friend choice play in being tempted? Do good friends have to be boring?
Love, Mom xoxoxxo”
What do you think?