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For 30 years, Christian leader and spiritual adviser Billy Graham has been offering advice to the thousands of readers who share their problems ...
Read more about By Billy Graham, Tribune Media Services.
For 30 years, Christian leader and spiritual adviser Billy Graham has been offering advice to the thousands of readers who share their problems ...
Read more about By Billy Graham, Tribune Media Services.
Should We Let Our Underage Sons Drink Alcohol?
By Billy Graham, Tribune Media Services
Q: My husband says we ought to let our teenaged sons (15 and 17) start
drinking alcohol with dinner when we do, because they'll start
drinking soon enough anyway and we might as well go ahead and let
them. I didn't grow up this way, but do you think this is a good
approach? -- Mrs. D.McM.
A: You and your husband may not agree with me, but wouldn't it be better for you to teach your sons about the dangers of alcohol, instead of encouraging them to begin drinking now -- especially at their age, when it isn't even legal for them to drink?
Hardly a day goes by without at least one letter coming to us that tells about the way alcohol has devastated someone's life. And far more often than you might think, those letters reveal that the people became entangled with alcohol while still young. At first, they thought it was the exciting and "adult" thing to do -- but in time they found they couldn't get free of its grip, and their lives have been ruined. The Bible warns, "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1).
Remember that our children learn not only from what we tell them, but also from the way we live. I hope you will think about this issue very carefully and prayerfully. The Bible tells us to "set an example ... in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).
But let me ask you an even more important question: What place does God have in your life? Is Christ the foundation of your family? Put Him first, and urge your sons to do so as well.
========
Send your queries to "My Answer," c/o Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; call 1-(877) 2-GRAHAM, or visit the Web site for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: www.billygraham.org.
(c)2008 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
This news arrived on: 08/22/2008
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Posted Comments:
08-27-2008 11:21
Billy Graham wrote:
Teen drinking
The American approach is not unlike the liberal approach where the "government knows best".
I have lived in Europe where children are slowly introduced to beer and wine in the home where they have a learned respect for alcohol so that as adults they do not abuse it. It is very, very rare to see drunks there and driving is severely limited for drinkers.
WDW
I have lived in Europe where children are slowly introduced to beer and wine in the home where they have a learned respect for alcohol so that as adults they do not abuse it. It is very, very rare to see drunks there and driving is severely limited for drinkers.
WDW
08-23-2008 20:51
Kay Akharume wrote:
Alcohol For Our Young
Alcohol is not a sin when taken in moderation, but to teach or encourage our children to take alcohol at such an early stage in life is not advicable, especially when the obvious addiction to alcohol is very prominent in our society now, causing much devastation and deaths. DUI's is now a mobid trend in our youngs especially and this is a trend that needs to be stopped by any means necessary.
The bible said that we should teach our children and when they grow they will not depart from what was taught, also the new testament admonishes us not to be conformed to the worldly but rather to be renewed by the Word. So instead of joining the trend let us as christians magnify the way that God has planned for us to live.
Wine is a mocker and for the sorrowful, and these attributes are not for our children, that is what they need to know and no one else will tell them but us.
The bible said that we should teach our children and when they grow they will not depart from what was taught, also the new testament admonishes us not to be conformed to the worldly but rather to be renewed by the Word. So instead of joining the trend let us as christians magnify the way that God has planned for us to live.
Wine is a mocker and for the sorrowful, and these attributes are not for our children, that is what they need to know and no one else will tell them but us.
08-22-2008 13:46
Granny Pam wrote:
Alcohol for the young
You should definitely not allow your children to drink alcohol!! It is a known fact when young people take their first drink in many cases they become alcoholics. They have a certain gene that will trigger this. You "do not" know which young person (if any) would develop this. You certainly do know want to take that chance to find out. I have seen this happen among the young people I have worked with. Now....as far as smoking...my husband was a smoker for many years. When he had his cancer and heart attack he was in ICU for 17 days. They had him on many life saving machines...there was one in particular that I want to convey to you. In behind his bed I saw this huge container. It held about 1 gallon or more...I saw this stuff in it and I thought it was some kind of nourishment because it was almost black. I asked the nurse what they were giving him. She looked at me and said, "that is coming "out" of him from his lungs." I wish that every person that smokes could have seen this because I mean that stuff was black. I thought, "That is coming "OUT" of his lungs?" Oh my....what a horrible sight. None the less, he no longer smokes and has accepted the Lord as his Saviour.Please do not encourage any young person to do these things to their bodies.
08-22-2008 12:04
ANDREW OLIVER SATCHELL wrote:
ANDREW OLIVER SATCHELL
I DO NOT CONSUME ALCOHOL
08-22-2008 03:11
normajun wrote:
alcohol habit
whoever invented wine or liquor should be hung.Cigarettes or smoking is another.WHy?
Man should be wise and smart enough to know, what harm these can do to our body, minds and spirits!
Should I enumerate them?People have died from them already!One is mental and personality disorders.Second is-the vital organs like the brain, the heart, liver and lungs gradually are damaged, causing death within a few years, or cancer years later.Third, man loses control of his good nature, and he disintegrates and becomes a danger to himself and others, and is a menace to society.he is a pitiful person!If the public is aware of these, while young, parents should teach them, reinforced in school.This is satan's tactics, to capture man's spirit, heart and mind!Let us not be deceived or fooled!Pray the OUR FATHER everyday, and keep close to God and godly things!Evil will go away, if we do!Be wise like doves!Amen, for we are God's children!
Man should be wise and smart enough to know, what harm these can do to our body, minds and spirits!
Should I enumerate them?People have died from them already!One is mental and personality disorders.Second is-the vital organs like the brain, the heart, liver and lungs gradually are damaged, causing death within a few years, or cancer years later.Third, man loses control of his good nature, and he disintegrates and becomes a danger to himself and others, and is a menace to society.he is a pitiful person!If the public is aware of these, while young, parents should teach them, reinforced in school.This is satan's tactics, to capture man's spirit, heart and mind!Let us not be deceived or fooled!Pray the OUR FATHER everyday, and keep close to God and godly things!Evil will go away, if we do!Be wise like doves!Amen, for we are God's children!
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