YOUTHS-RESIST THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD

Manifestations of the World's Spirit


What are some manifestations of the spirit of the world among young people today?  Dishonesty and rebelliousness.  One magazine report stated that more than 70 percent of college juniors and seniors said that they had cheated during  high school.  Flippant, sarcastic and unclean speech are also prevalent.  True, on occasion, Job and the apostle Paul used what some might view as sarcasm to express righteous indignation.  (Job 12:2; 2 Corinthians 12:13)  However, the cruel sarcasm heard on the lips of many young people often amounts to verbal abuse.

Excesses in recreation are also manifestations of the world's spirit.  Youth nightclubs, raves and other forms of wild reveling are popular among young people.  Extremes in dress and grooming are likewise prevalent.  From oversized hip-hop styles to shocking fads, such as body-piercing,many of today's youths identify themselves with the world's rebellious spirit.  (Compare Romans 6:16)  Preoccupation with material possessions is another manifestation.  According to one educational journal, "marketers are pummeling kids at every turn with a formidable arsenal of techniques and panoply [an array] of products." By the time youths in the United States graduate from high school, they will have been exposed to 360,000 TV ads.  Your peers may also pressure you to buy.  Says a 14-year-old girl:  "Everyone is always asking.  'What brand is your sweater, jacket, or jeans?"

Since Bible times, unwholesome music has been a tool of Satan to stimulate unclean behavior.  (Compare Exodus 32:17-19; Psalm 69:12; Isaiah 23:16)  Not surprisingly, then, music with sexually seductive-if not explicit-lyrics, profanity and wild, arousing tempos is popular.  Yet another manifestation of this world's unclean spirit is sexual immorality.   ( 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)  Reports The New York Times:  "Sex for many teenagers has become almost a rite of passage . . . More than two-thirds of high school seniors have had sexual intercourse."  And article in The Wall Street Journal cited evidence that children between the ages of 8 and 12 are "becoming more sexually active."  Says a recently retired school counselor:  "We're beginning to see a few pregnant sixth-graders."

Next time: Rejecting the World's Spirit

Watchtower, 1999