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YOUTH MINISTRY
No Lost Causes
by Jennifer Price Smith
Some adults give up on certain teens, believing they are incapable of developing a character based on solid values. In God’s eyes, however, there are no "lost causes." The Bible is filled with numerous stories of transformed persons who accomplished great feats for the kingdom of God. King David and Paul the Apostle are two examples of biblical characters who overcame a shadowy past to become great leaders of the faith.
Some studies have shown that up to 70 percent of a person’s behavior is determined by a person’s values. On the basis of this statistic, one might conclude that changing behavior has more to do with changing the motivation of a particular action than with simply altering an undesired behavior. Changing the motivation for a given behavior leads to lasting change. Insisting that only behavior change may lead to surface change will more than likely lead to further misbehavior in the future.
It is important for those who work with youth to consider what motivates young people to act in the ways they do. Since values are more often "caught" through example than "taught" through rules and regulations, reflecting on teens’ speech and actions can help one identify where a young person "caught" their values.
Most youth have "caught" their values at home – which is usually, but not always, good. In cases where a teenager’s values are less than admirable, it might be better not to make personal attacks on someone who might have modeled the values or on how the values were transferred, but instead to reframe the values in light of the Christian ethic of behavior.
We can encourage our youth to ask the questions: "What would Jesus do?"; "How might Jesus respond, and why?"; and "With this knowledge, what will I do?" We can always point youth to Christ as a model for action. Additionally, we can be a role model for teenagers and let them "catch" values from the examples of our lives. Remember that in Christ there are no lost causes. No person is out of reach of Christ’s transforming love.
Jennifer Price Smith is a minister and counselor in Kenbridge, Virginia.
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