She exploded with excitement when Bailey pulled up in an ice blue Honda Civic with chrome swivel wheels. The car’s handles were shaved and it had geometric shape designs on both sides of the car in silver and black decals. The sound coming from the speakers filled the air with a rhythmic beat of throbbing bass.

With the flick of a switch, mounted near the gear lever, the car began to show off its new custom hydraulics. The boys and girls shouted their approval and urged Bailey to turn up the music and show them more. She gladly agreed and grabbed the remote from her to change the CD to an even better bass tune.

This was a typical Saturday night, with teen and young adult car clubs gathering to show off their latest accessories. It also brought with it gangs, drugs and alcohol that accompanies members who like to have a lot of fun. The air was thick with obscene language and talk of graphic sexual exploitation.

The crowd wore colors that were symbols of their gangs and most sported different colored tattoos, body piercings and spiky hair. Bailey wasn’t like the group, because she didn’t talk dirty about girls or swear. He was dressed in the latest fashions and loved hot cars, but he had been raised with Christian discipline and moral values.

At sixteen, all Bailey talked about was how he dreamed of owning his own custom car shop. She talked about the money that she would earn and the club that she would found. As the years passed and Bailey achieved her dream, the world of cars that she loved so much began to change for her.

It wasn’t that Bailey abandoned his faith in God, but the people he surrounded himself with began to influence a change in the way he handled his life. He was a man now and he could do whatever he wanted and he didn’t have to live his life like his parents. He wanted to be part of the ‘crowd’.

He turned ungrateful and full of pride towards his parents. He only loved them when they gave him what he wanted. His only motivation was to go to parties and do what they said was fun. He started having sex with his girlfriend and staying out all night. He became violent and verbally abusive towards his parents. He started drinking and getting into fights. Finally his girlfriend got pregnant.

Today the condition of our world has spawned many stories like Bailey’s. Most parents of rebellious children have no idea how to handle a child who has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. They can tell countless stories of fights over curfews and fights they had over the friends they planned to hang out with. These are parents who tried to teach their children to make the right decisions and now feel like failures. They even feel that God has abandoned them!

How can this happen to parents who are good and loving? Did the parents, who took their son to church, taught him to pray and practiced his faith religiously? How can a child who has been given correct moral teachings be so bad? More importantly, how can I fix my son?

The first thing a parent must understand is the purpose of our world. When Adam ate the apple he brought sin into the world. Suddenly our world was no longer perfect and all people became players in a global game that teaches them the difference between good and evil.

Satan entered the world to tempt people to do evil and God defended himself by giving us the Rules of the game of life. God gave us the Ten Commandments and then sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

The Laws condemned the sinful nature of man, but Jesus’ death on the cross changed the rules of the game of life by introducing the world to the concept of faith and grace. Grace makes it possible for God’s children to take wrong paths in life. That is why there are good Christian teenagers who are attracted and trapped by the lust of sex. This is why young Christians make poor decisions with whom they associate. More importantly, this is why it’s easy to make mistakes when we’re all players in an intricate, multi-faceted global game.

Romans 11:32, “For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience, that he might have mercy on them all.”

It is very important for Christian parents to understand this verse. When you live in an evil world, your children will be tempted and many times they will fail the test by giving in to temptation. If we understand our world, we will allow our children, without judging them harshly, to make mistakes. Because they are destined to fail many tests in life. God takes our failures and shows why this type of behavior is destructive through the trials they face when they take a wrong turn.

Romans 11:33-36, “How great are the riches of God! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways? As the scripture says, ‘who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is it? Who has given you something that you have to return it?

Because all things were created by him, and all things exist through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen.”

God uses the bad things that happen in the world to teach His children. Sometimes a child will indulge in sin for a while and others will take a lifetime to realize what they are doing wrong. As parents we should never stop loving our child. We must forgive his mistakes and pray that God’s will be done in their lives. I know this is not easy to do, but you must preserve it for the sake of your child.

I know what it’s like to want to instruct your child according to the scriptures, but once he reaches a certain age you can’t force him to do the right thing. You can push God towards them to the point where they will turn away from God altogether!

As parents, it is your Christian duty to never give up on your child! This is why you should love a grandson who was born out of lust. This is why you should not judge your son or daughter because they will discover by raising their own child why they need God’s influence in their lives. God is not a coward! He will not let his children go astray forever, but in his time, he will bring them back!

Many parents, churches, and society view rebellion as unforgivable. Tattoos, hair colors, and body piercings may upset some people, but their outward appearance isn’t as important as what’s in the heart. You are being evaluated just like your child is being evaluated. Don’t fail a father’s test and give up! You must put your trust in God and believe that He has the best in mind for your child; even if you think your child is too bad to be saved.

When you are in a world game, everything that happens in the world teaches you! This is the reason why there are examples of evil. This is why there are repercussions for sin. Sin creates evil in the hearts of men and because men are weak in their human nature, they fail many tests.

Anyone who has had a sexually transmitted disease learned from the lifestyle they led. Teen pregnancy teaches the ramifications of having sex without thinking about the responsibility that comes with it. When a friend dies from drunk driving or being high on the latest drug, the people affected learn from that event. Anyone you hang out with becomes an example of what’s right or wrong and what happens when you’re not in control of how much you put into your body.

We are in a teaching world where parents need to be smart about how the game of life is played. You must cling to God’s principles without holding them over your child’s head. You must love unconditionally and take fights with your child one at a time. Let go of past problems and love. Above all, you should pray and ask God every day to protect your child from Satan.

Satan is your son’s greatest opponent. He will tempt his son over and over again to get carried away. He prays the Lord’s Prayer every day and listens to the words and he will understand that Jesus gave parents the right words to fight Satan’s attacks on his family.

Bailey spent many years of his life rebelling against those who loved him most. His parents loved him anyway. They were next to him. They prayed for him and over time, God became a powerful influence in Bailey’s life again, because his parents refused to give up on him.