Drug Proofing Your Kids

On the front page of this issue, two national sources are quoted in regard to the drug problem in Plano, Texas, a suburb less than twenty miles from us. Twelve children have died of heroin overdose in the past year. Recently, another fourteen were arrested at school for heroin possession. However, what has been most disturbing has been the knowledge that these kids were not considered "bad kids" by their parents, their friends, their community. They were average kids, who looked like your kids and mine.

What is it then, that got them caught up in the deadly world of heroin? How can you and I improve the chances that our kids will not be so caught up? I believe there are key things parents can do which will help to prevent their children from being ensnared by this destructive evil.

First, kids must understand: Drugs are wrong! Where does the Bible teach such? Certainly, we can see a parallel with drugs and what the Bible has to say about alcohol (Prov. 23:29-35), but the Bible deals with drugs as well. In Galatians 5:20, as Paul details "works of the flesh," he uses the Greek word pharmakeia (hence the English pharmacy and pharmaceutical), translated in our English Bibles as "sorcery." It is translated such because of the close relationship of hallucinogenic drugs and occult practices of the first century. However, W.E. Vines is among the experts who say that even in the 1st century, the word "primarily signified the use of . . . drugs" (Vines Expository Dictionary, Vol. IV, pp. 51-52). Paul says of these "works of the flesh" that "those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:21).

Possibly the most important thing parents can do to drug-proof their kids is to monitor their friendships. Good friendships should be encouraged, and evil companions must be shunned. We should not be surprised to find, in the middle of one of the most inspiring chapters in all of scripture, that Paul finds it necessary to remind the Corinthians, "Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33). A 1995 study of teens in liberal churches found that when kids have friends who use drugs, 80% use drugs themselves, while among those whose friends abstain from drugs, only 10% use drugs. A letter to the Dallas Morning News from a seventeen year old prison inmate (convicted of drug dealing) discussed the death of another Plano teenager, "I've been following the articles on this subject, especially the Natacha Campbell story. She was a close friend." Perhaps this young girl might be alive today if someone had told her friends like this young inmate were unacceptable. Our children need our encouragement to build the kinds of friendships which will help them not to fall (Eccl. 4:9-12).

Another important area for parents is to spend time with their children. Every book on raising children, including God's book, speaks to the importance of this issue. God even assumes that parents will spend time with their kids, instructing them to teach His word "". . . when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up (Deut. 6:6-7). If we want our kids to understand God's will, they must spend time watching us put that will into practice in our lives.

A disturbing trend among parents in the Baby Boom generation is that few parents are willing to make children suffer the consequences of wrong behavior. This is disturbing because it teaches kids that there are no consequences for wrongdoing. The wise writer said it was important to practice punishment in our discipline of our children (Prov. 13:24; 19:18a), and whether it is spanking, grounding, taking away privileges or something else, children need to learn when they disobey, they will suffer the consequences.

Finally, our children need us to help them strengthen their relationship with God. Kids who are committed to God will be far less likely to fall into the trap of drugs, even with the constant peer pressure to succumb. God has stated that this building of committed kids is the work (more important than any job) of fathers (Eph. 6:4). We have an obligation, as stewards of God's gift, to guide them in turning to God. Nothing else offers such a potent defense against drugs than parents who are committed to God and who pass that commitment on to their children.

Drugs are a horrible scourge on our nation's children, but with God on our side, we can win this battle. If parents are willing to do what is necessary (that is, what God would have us do) to save their kids, we will win.