Governor Palin's Daughter and Teen Pregnancy

Alaska governor and presumptive GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin released information on Labor Day that her 17-year old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. The young woman plans to marry the baby's father.

I don't expect this news to have much effect on the presidential campaign. Senator Obama responded quickly by stating that criticism of the Governor's family was off limits. He threatened to fire any of his staffers who were found to be spreading accusations against Palin's daughter. Obama's statement has not kept some partisan voices from heaping criticism on Governor Palin and her stand in favor of abstinence-only sex education. CNN, in particular, has been guilty of some low blows in their handling of this story. Former education secretary Bill Bennett was incensed at CNN reporting by a female staffer who admitted that she had gone to Alaska looking for dirt on Palin. If anything, vicious comments by far-left zealots might provoke a favorable backlash toward the Alaska governor's campaign.

On this one, I agree with Senator Obama. Bristol Palin needs to be accountable to the Lord for her actions, but she does not deserve to have her private life opened up to the prying eyes of the media. That is especially true when shameless partisans are eager to use those details for political advantage.

Leaving young Ms. Palin aside, this issue does raise important considerations about how Christians should deal with the unpleasant reality that a certain percentage of young people from even the most moral of families do have sex with pregnancy being the result. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind.

1. Getting pregnant is not a sin. The sin comes with having sex and the wrong committed is the same whether or not pregnancy results.

2. When pregnancy does occur, young women who choose life for their babies ought to be commended. Not commended for having sex, but commended for dealing responsibly and morally with the consequence of the sinful behavior.

3. The goal should always be restoration (to the extent it is possible). Teenagers who fornicate (to use the old-fashioned biblical word) cannot have their virginity restored to them. Many aspects of their lives inevitably change after teens become sexually active. When pregnancy ensues, the complications are multiplied. While clocks cannot be turned back, the souls of the young people can be rescued. Repentance and forgiveness are always possible and that should always be the goal of anyone who has an opportunity to influence the thinking of teens who have slipped from the moral standards they have been taught.

4. Marriage is not necessarily wise when teenagers conceive a child. "Shotgun" marriages should not take place because a couple of kids got caught misbehaving. Marriage is intended to be a lifelong commitment. Thus, those entering marriage need to be mature enough to make that kind of lifelong decision. All things being equal, it is better for a child to grow up in a family with mom and dad living together in harmony. However, when teenaged parents aren't ready to marry, it is better to let a child be born out of "wedlock" than to wed prematurely.

Satan’s Summer Success Season

Blue skies and warmer temperatures are finally making more regular appearances here in the Pacific Northwest. Just about every good thing, though, has some way for Satan to make something bad out of it. In order that we will not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes [2 Corinthians 2:11], let us think about some of the obstacles he throws in our paths during the summer season.

1. The way we dress: The Lord wants his people to dress in a way which honors their bodies and shows respect to the ideals of holiness and Christian morality. Satan, on the other hand, wants people to wear as little as possible because he knows that lust is sinful thinking [Matthew 5:27-28]. He also knows that dressing in a way that provokes lustful thoughts in others makes you a participant in that sin. At the first sign of sunny weather, some people begin appearing in public in skimpy attire. Satan scores a success whenever he entices a Christian to join in and follow the trend to show as much skin as possible.

2. The way we act: Summer is a time when it is more pleasant to travel on vacations and other trips to faraway places. Some people leave their convictions about moral behavior behind when they get out of town. After all, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” right? Wrong! The Lord knows everything we do wherever we are. Everything needs to be done in the name of Christ [Colossians 3:17]. It is never right to do wrong, no matter where you are or what people around you are doing.

3. Obligations to God are neglected because we want to take advantage of good weather to participate in all the summer sports, recreation, and cultural activities. Most of these activities are fine within themselves. There is nothing wrong with camping, fishing, going to ball games and the like. They become wrong only when we do these things instead of doing what we ought to be doing in service to God. It is wrong for us to miss worship assemblies of the church because we have chosen to do something else. It is wrong to neglect prayer, Bible study, and helping other people because we are so busy with the fun activities of summer. Whenever we let that happen, Satan wins!