YOUTHS-RESIST THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD

Conclusion of Showing "A Different Spirit"

Avoiding harmful recreation will not condemn you to a joyless life.  We worship a  "happy God,"  who wants you to enjoy your youth!  (1 Timothy 1:1; Ecclesiastes 11:9)  But the Bible warns:  "He that is loving merriment [ "entertainment," lamsa] will be an individual in want."  (Proverbs 21:17)  Yes, if you make recreation the most important  thing in your life, you will suffer spiritual want.  So follow Bible principles in your choice of recreation.   There are many ways to enjoy yourself that will build you up and not tear you down. -  Ecclesiastes  11:10.

Showing modesty in your dress and grooming, rejecting the world's fads will also mark you as different.  (Romans 12:2; 1 Timothy 2:9) So will being selective in your choice of music.  (Philippians 4:8, 9) "I have music that I know I'm supposed to throw out," confesses one young Christian,  "but it sounds so good!"  Another young man similarly admitted:  "For me music is a pitfall because I love it.  If I find out something is wrong with it, or if my parents call it to my attention, I really have to force my mind to take command over my heart because  in my heart I love that music."  Youth, do not be "ignorant of {Satan's ] designs"!  (2 Corinthians  2:11) He is using music in an effort to turn young Christians away from Jehovah.  Articles have appeared in Watchtower publications discussing rap, heavy metal and alternative rock music.  However, Watchtower publications cannot possibly comment on every new form and style of music that might come along.  You must, therefore, use "thinking ability" and "discernment" when you select music. -Proverbs 2:11.

Finally, you must keep morally clean.  The Bible urges:  "Flee from fornication."  (1 Corinthians 6:18) The original Greek word for fornication, por-nei'a, refers to all illicit sexual activity involving the use of the genital organs carried on outside the bonds of marriage.  That would include oral sex and the deliberate fondling of sexual organs.  A number of Christian youths have engaged in such behavior, imagining that they really were not committing fornication.  However, God's Word clearly says:  "This is what God wills, the sanctifying of you, that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you should know how to get possession of his own vessel in sanctification and honor." -1Thesalonians 4:3, 4.

Next time: YOUTHS  - TRAIN YOUR PERCEPTIVE POWERS!

Watchtower, 1999