“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” - John 10:10

In talking about what is going on with young adults who are having trouble finding direction for their lives, here is something more to consider. “Since 1983, the percentage of licensed drivers in the United States under age 30 has dropped from 33 percent to 22 percent, while the percentage of people in their 20s who have a driver’s license has gone from 94 percent in 1983 to 84 percent in 2008, according to the study published in the Traffic Injury Prevention journal.” This loss of interest in getting a simple thing like a driver’s license has been linked with the growth of electronic media. Young people simply do not feel the need for a car to connect in person with other people as much anymore when the social media will do all that just as well if not better.

Why should we be so surprised then when we consider that electronic communications might just as well supplant the natural desires to form marital bonds and start families? This is especially true for men who are visually stimulated. The widespread proliferation of pornography has surely played a role in replacing the need for female companionship among young eligible bachelors. It has been the devil’s stock and trade to substitute the artificial for the real ever since the Garden of Eden. While most of us are a might uncomfortable in talking about sexual issues, this is a killer, and we all need to build some safeguards into our lives to protect both ourselves and our loved ones.

The internet is the primary source of unsuitable and degrading viewing. If we think that we or our children are above temptation, it is time to put this ill conceived thinking aside. Thankfully, there are any number of screening devices and safeguards readily available. But we know that across our culture today, there are few who will avail themselves of these protective measures. Children are taking smart phones to school and pulling up any and all websites at will and sharing them around. This is not a victimless crime. A searing of the soul will surely result with any number of resultant side effects. Is it any wonder that so many young adults are wandering aimlessly when they have a twisted view of life through viewing perversity or have been used and abused through careless and thoughtless relationships?

The whole sexual revolution has wreaked havoc on countless thousands of our young who think that they can indulge in licentious behavior without a thought and then suddenly exchange that for a monogamous married relationship when the right one comes along. The new morality has robbed those who fall prey to it of their innocence and left scars that sometimes never heal. Hugh Hefner, the poster child for uninhibited freedom, has shown himself incapable of successful marriage. Twice. That he has given up on it is good news for women.

The best guarantee for a successful marriage is sexual purity before marriage. We need to preach this to our children early and often. This is incredibly important for both young men and young women. God has not given his commands to steal our fun but rather to enable us to experience life to the fullest and to know it abundantly, even more than what we might ask or think. Bringing young people to the marriage altar unscarred is probably one of the biggest challenges we face today. There is no room, however, for compromise or winking at sin. We are either all in on this fight, or we have lost the battle before it has begun.

It is plainly wrong to assume that young adults who marry late in life have fallen victim to sin. There are other equally strong forces at play today that militate against early marriage. But it takes but little imagination to understand the correlation between immorality and stunted maturity. “Flee sexual immorality,” the Scripture says. And for good reason.