Challenging Teenagers

Just in case you mis-read the title of this blog post, I am not talking about the challenges faced by parents of teenagers. Instead, this is a comment about the teenage years, which these days is elongated and minimized under the name 'adolescence'.

"When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things." - 1 Cor 13:11

Just what is adolescence?

According to resources I reviewed, adolescence is the time from about puberty until adulthood. Some resources define it as a transitional stage of both physical and mental development.

None of these define restrictions on what young adults can do or accomplish. Society, however, has imposed a number of restrictions on young adults.

Some (the purchase and consumption of alcohol comes to mind) are intended to protect those without experience or to reduce the chance for peer-driven reckless behavior.

Unfortunately, many restrictions placed upon young adults today impose, or imply, the inability for real accomplishment during the teen years.

Modern society is needlessly coddling these youth and deluding themselves into the belief that young people must continue to be treated as children. Worse, they create a mentality in the youth of today that robs them of productive years as contributing members of society.

Treating youth as feeble-minded children is a relatively new phenomenon. According to one excellent article on the blog/web-site The Rebelution, by brothers Alex and Brett Harris, all of this youth-minimization began in the late 1800's as a result of social engineering.

Prior to that, youth moved seamlessly from childhood to adulthood. Consider a few examples:

• George Washington ended his formal education at age 14, became the official surveyor of Culpepper County, Virginia at age 16, and earned the equivalent of $100,000 per year by age 19.
• David Farragut was a midshipman on the warship Essex at age 10 (at a time when life at sea was much harder than we experience today), commanded his first ship at the age of 12, and later became the first admiral of the U.S. Navy.
  

The Bible also includes amazing examples of young adults:

• David was perhaps 19 when he went out to battle Goliath and saved the Israeli army.
• Mary was probably about 15 when she gave birth to the Savior, Jesus Christ. Consider that she was on the move with her husband Joseph, literally running for their lives at times, when most youth today are still in high school.
• Joseph, who's story is recorded in the book of Genesis, was probably 16 or 17 when he was sold into slavery. Soon after, he became a trusted servant and overseer of the household of Potiphar (the captain of Pharaoh's bodyguards). Not many years later Joseph became a ruler over Egypt.
  

If you search through the Bible (I used the NASB), you will find:

• The word for teen is found zero times.
• The word for adolescent is found zero times.
• The word for child is used 122 times.
• The word for youth is used 74 times.
  

Interestingly, the word for adult is also used zero times, but that is because the assumption was if you are not a child or a youth you are an adult!


Young person, put away the things of childhood (1 Cor 13:11). Stop being a stuck-in-childhood 'adolescent.' Begin by reading your Bible and serving God though obedience. Stop allowing days to float past like so many discarded leaves in a stream.