No surprise

There are some statistics in reports that will shock you speechless. Other times you know the truth in your heart and mind and just need someone to prove it.

During the last month the youth minister at my church has been leading a series on dealing with temptation. One week he handed all the students a sheet of paper that simply read "The top 3 things I am tempted with most are...." From this survey he gained the following results-

1. Sex (28%)

2. Drugs/Alcohol (27%)

3. Lust/Pornography (26%)

4. Gossip (26%)

5. Profanity (17%)

6. Lying (16%)

Now I know this is only my church, but I'm pretty sure we equally represent many other churches. And as sad as the results are, they really weren't a big surprise to me or to many others. Many of the items listed are the same temptations that the students' parents faced when they were in high school and middle school.

What did surprise me was a recent study released by British scientists, and their information is causing quite a stir. These scientists are rating alcohol as a more dangerous drug than both crack and heroin.

Various drugs were scored on a scale from zero to 100. The higher the score the more harmful the drug. The scientists found alcohol was most harmful with a score of 72. Other drugs tested included heroin (55), crack (54), meth (33), cocaine (27), tobacco (26), speed (23), cannabis (20), Valium (15), and LSD (7) among many others. To read the full article click here.

"It is intriguing to note that the two legal drugs assessed - alcohol and tobacco - score in the upper segment of the ranking scale, indicating that legal drugs cause at least as much harm as do illegal substances," stated Professor David Nutt, chairman of Britain's Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs.

The World Health Organization estimates that risks linked to alcohol cause 2.5 million deaths a year from heart and liver disease, road accidents, suicides and cancer.

Some interesting statistics to think about and to discuss with students. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it is healthy or the best choice. And just because our society accepts and legalizes a behavior or substance doesn't mean that it is best decision for that society.

Although I am not shocked by the survey results of the students at our church, I am still concerned when I think about the temptations that face our students today and that they are the same ones we've been fighting for centuries. When I read about the early church and the temptations the early believers had to face, I wonder why after so many years we still haven't grasped how to overcome these temptations. Where are we missing the teaching and the mentoring opportunities? Why do we continue to struggle with the same old things? What is the secret to getting it right?

One truth I know in my heart and my mind and from the pages of scripture-that Satan does nothing without God's permission. (Job 1:6-12) God is not surprised by the temptations we or our girls face. He is not surprised by the statisics or the surveys or the studies.

Also, I wonder if the reason we continue to face the same temptations with each generation is because they are the things that distract us most from God. Distractions. When we fill our lives with distractions it often leads to disobedience to God and a broken relationship with Him. Distractions. A good tactic of the enemy, allowed by God to test and see where our faith and obedience lies. Distractions will keep us and the girls we minister to from being all that God desires for us - no surprise there.