Rick is a 16 year old High School Junior living in rural South Carolina. Most of his free time is spent hunting, fishing, playing football, or hanging out with his friends. As for his home life, Rick’s situation can best be summed up by saying that he tries to avoid his parents as much as possible. His mom keeps to herself and would rather watch soaps than attempt to connect with her son. His dad is an alcoholic that Rick describes as an “angry drunk.” Most people would say that Rick is just a good ole boy with a not so good home life. On one Friday night in June several of Rick’s friends invited him over for a party they were having. Soon after arriving, Rick’s buddies began hounding him to have a beer. Pretty soon he had downed the first can and within a couple of hours had polished off a six pack. By 3:00 am Rick was toast, but he decided to drive home anyway. On his way home he rounded a turn too fast and slammed his truck into a tree. Though Rick was fortunate to escape the wreckage with only some bruised ribs and a broken collar bone, he lost his license, became further distanced from his parents, and was told that his upcoming football season was a no go. How had it come to this?
In this second post on teens and alcohol, Rick will serve as a fictional (though very true to life) example of a teenager whose life has been ravaged by a one night stand with alcohol. If we are to get at Rick’s real struggle and truly provide an answer to give to both Rick and those seeking to help him, we must begin by asking this simple but profound question -- What motivated Rick to take that first drink and subsequently get drunk? Some may say that the answer to this question lies in understanding that Rick’s father is an alcoholic. After all, isn’t there a biological link between an alcoholic parent and their alcoholic child? Others would say that the peer-pressure Rick experienced was too much to overcome. Or perhaps Rick’s problem is that he lives in a small town. Since the town offers nothing constructive for youth to do, Rick’s only option was to do something destructive. And the list goes on. Are these assessments of Rick’s problem accurate and helpful? If they are, then scripture should attest to their accuracy and helpfulness. Right? Yet, as these “answers” to Rick’s problem come under the searchlight of scripture their helplessness is exposed. Biological predispositions (if such a thing really exists and that is a BIG if), peer-pressure, living in a small town, and any other external factors should be acknowledged, but these factors are not what the Bible says is central, foundational, or helpful in pointing him in the direction of change.
The Bible says something radically different about Rick. The Bible gets to Rick as a real human being. It doesn’t make him simply a biological thing. It also doesn’t make him a reaction to a circumstance or a response to verbal cues. Rick is a real fella who is really struggling and he needs the real help that only scripture can give. So what does scripture say about Rick that is so genuinely helpful? The whole counsel of scripture gives us three important facts about Rick:
1. Rick is a worshipper.
2. Rick’s worship flows from within (the Bible calls this the heart, see Luke 6:43-45).
3. Sin has deeply twisted Rick’s heart and, therefore, corrupted his
worship.
Rick has a worship problem. He made a conscious decision to reject God’s law and became a law unto himself. Clearly, he is not worshipping God, but he is still worshipping. When we realize this, we begin to really get to the motivational level. Within his heart, Rick is adoring and honoring someone or something other than God. This is why he drank and got drunk. Some God-substitute (what the Bible calls an idol) has seized Rick’s heart and if he is not helped to see this reality and given guidance on how to change from within then he will not be lovingly helped and will most likely remain in his sin. Do you want to help Rick? Are you a little like Rick and want help yourself? Then we must get to the heart of the matter. In a soon to be written post (part 3 in the present series) we will look at unhelpful approaches to getting at the heart of a teen struggling with alcohol and later look (in part 4) at the help teens like Rick really need to change to the glory of God.
In this second post on teens and alcohol, Rick will serve as a fictional (though very true to life) example of a teenager whose life has been ravaged by a one night stand with alcohol. If we are to get at Rick’s real struggle and truly provide an answer to give to both Rick and those seeking to help him, we must begin by asking this simple but profound question -- What motivated Rick to take that first drink and subsequently get drunk? Some may say that the answer to this question lies in understanding that Rick’s father is an alcoholic. After all, isn’t there a biological link between an alcoholic parent and their alcoholic child? Others would say that the peer-pressure Rick experienced was too much to overcome. Or perhaps Rick’s problem is that he lives in a small town. Since the town offers nothing constructive for youth to do, Rick’s only option was to do something destructive. And the list goes on. Are these assessments of Rick’s problem accurate and helpful? If they are, then scripture should attest to their accuracy and helpfulness. Right? Yet, as these “answers” to Rick’s problem come under the searchlight of scripture their helplessness is exposed. Biological predispositions (if such a thing really exists and that is a BIG if), peer-pressure, living in a small town, and any other external factors should be acknowledged, but these factors are not what the Bible says is central, foundational, or helpful in pointing him in the direction of change.
The Bible says something radically different about Rick. The Bible gets to Rick as a real human being. It doesn’t make him simply a biological thing. It also doesn’t make him a reaction to a circumstance or a response to verbal cues. Rick is a real fella who is really struggling and he needs the real help that only scripture can give. So what does scripture say about Rick that is so genuinely helpful? The whole counsel of scripture gives us three important facts about Rick:
1. Rick is a worshipper.
2. Rick’s worship flows from within (the Bible calls this the heart, see Luke 6:43-45).
3. Sin has deeply twisted Rick’s heart and, therefore, corrupted his
worship.
Rick has a worship problem. He made a conscious decision to reject God’s law and became a law unto himself. Clearly, he is not worshipping God, but he is still worshipping. When we realize this, we begin to really get to the motivational level. Within his heart, Rick is adoring and honoring someone or something other than God. This is why he drank and got drunk. Some God-substitute (what the Bible calls an idol) has seized Rick’s heart and if he is not helped to see this reality and given guidance on how to change from within then he will not be lovingly helped and will most likely remain in his sin. Do you want to help Rick? Are you a little like Rick and want help yourself? Then we must get to the heart of the matter. In a soon to be written post (part 3 in the present series) we will look at unhelpful approaches to getting at the heart of a teen struggling with alcohol and later look (in part 4) at the help teens like Rick really need to change to the glory of God.
Teens and Alcohol Part 1
Teens and Alcohol Part 3
