Raising Abel in Cain's World



Parenting today must be daunting. Children have computers for toys. They’re accustomed to spectacular motion picture graphics; dozens of entertainment options, and many have after-school programs keeping them busy until their parents pick them up after work.

I’m not sure I’d do so well as a modern mom. Today’s parents must monitor online time, downtime, school time, and save precious hours for family time.

With more kids having their own phones, email, and social media accounts, parents can literally lose their child in a virtual world.

Hormonally driven puberty pressures assail kids, but now there are over two-dozen STDs instead of just two or three. Add in racy TV shows, sexy ads, computer porn, sexual predators, and the slippery slope of peer pressure and it can be overwhelming. Addictions to video games, drugs, and porn—begin younger then ever.

By the teen years, parenting has been ratcheted up to intimidating levels. Wrong turns can be devastating. Some teens live dual lives—the teen you see at home isn’t the teen living in the world, where they dress and act in ways that are totally contrary to all your expectations. And you know where that crooked road leads.

Today’s children have eyes to see all that we see yet sometimes they lack the judgment to make wise choices when they need to. They need conversations about how they dress, how they talk, and what they do with their time. They'll need help considering where they want to be in a decade and help strategizing how to get there. They need to know that getting there depends on what they do now.

God’s insights haven’t changed, but many are choosing to look elsewhere for guidance. Cain’s world sucks in the unwary and delivers empty promises. Notice how brokenness seems to beget more brokenness? America, we can’t live like Cain and raise an Abel.


I truly admire the parents who love their kids so much that they draw critical boundary lines. My heart and prayers are with today's parents. Question....what other things do you parents do to raise an Abel in Cain's World?



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