459. Why I don’t sanitize Sunday messages for the youth
There are topics inappropriate to discuss with children because of their life stage. However for youth, there is no need to censor or hide anything when it comes to the Bible. Often well-meaning Christians try to omit difficult passages for others to experience. I agree that we should highlight first in the Bible what is clear and let newer and younger Christians digest that material first, we should not bring about a culture of Biblical censorship.
The Bible is not just writings about God. The Bible is writings about God in history. Therefore, it includes all the descriptions of what happened throughout that history, good and bad. There are descriptions of violence, sexual violence, slavery, war, betrayal, crime, and exploitation not because God condones it, but because these things really happened. This is the fallen world we live in, and the Bible is not shy to tell us so. Yet, often people worry that youth cannot handle such content so they censor it.
However, youth are in public environments, such as school, where difficult topics are already brought up all the time. Sex, money, politics, violence, and crime to name a few. They understand and discuss the challenges and brokenness of the world. However, if in their church and Bible all that’s presented is a sanitized view of life, it will turn them off from accepting it as the truth. The irony of sanitizing Christianity from sin is that it ends up having the opposite effect on youth. This is because youth already understand the world is messed up and they are messed up. They are looking for the best worldview that explains why and how to overcome it—the truth that works.
When interfacing with youth I try not to be afraid to share the truth and get vulnerable. We are not protecting them by censorship. Youth seek authentic voices, people willing to say the truth even when its difficult. They don’t like facades. I’ve found youth start to really listen and engage, when we explain God’s faithfulness in the midst of our failures, not when we say feel good messages. They don’t need censored self-esteem boosters. They need the courage to admit they are sinful, which comes from someone else first acknowledging how broken they are.
When we view the youth as emerging adults, it becomes clear. We need to treat and trust them as people soon to bear adult responsibilities. So, I don’t tone down the messages to a youth-level hoping adults understand. I preach to adults, and hope youth are able to understand. Even for youth retreats, I set the content level of my preaching to young adults or grade twelve. And when the temptation comes to avoid a topic or avoid a passage in the Bible, instead of explaining it away that, “they are too young for this,” I challenge myself to think, “I don’t have enough courage or wisdom to explain this.” And I turn to God for help.
