8 Things Teens Need To Avoid

 

1. Having no walk with God

Psalm 63:1
“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”

Don't waste the teen years of your life by not having a relationship with God. It  is vitally important to whether you make it for God or not. How is your time with God in the morning! Work at making it a special and sacred part of your day where you can meet and talk with the Lord.

2. Wasting Time

Ephesians 5:16
“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

It sure seems easy for me to waste time. There are some things in my life that simply waste time and add no value to my life. Right now I'm thinking about video games and movies. Beware of falling into the trap of wasting your precious teen years. These years shape who you are as an adult.

3. Bad Friends

Proverbs 13:20
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

We are social creatures. We desire friends. But there is nothing more dangerous than a bad friend. Be careful of the influences around you. Your future self will be made up of the books you read, and the people you hang around. I can take you to verse after verse where God warns us against hanging around people that are worldly and a fool.

4. Comparing

2 Corinthians 10:12
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”

God gives us a warning in this verse against comparing. Comparing takes everything in our life and turns it into thoughts of worry, envy, and peer pressure. We would be better off if we took our eyes off others and put them on God. You can only run your race of the Christian life.

5. Having no dream

Proverbs 29:18
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

Many young people will never make it for God because they have no vision, dream, or desire for serving God. They have no goals and no future. Having a dream to accomplish something for God is putting purpose into your life. Don't perish in the Christian life with not having a dream.

6. Unhealthy eating

1 Corinthians 6:19–20
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

This one is tough for me. I like junk food. I like mtn dew, sour patch kids, and anything deep fried😏. But a crazy convicting question to ask myself comes at the end of this verse. Is what I'm putting in my mouth glorifying God and taking care of the temple of God? 

7. Forsaking the parental relationship

Exodus 20:12
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

One of the most benefiting relationships you can ever develop is found in your parents. Some teens need to change how they view their parents. We should respect and treat our parents with kindness. They would love nothing more than you spending quality time with them. You don't think that's true? Just ask them.

8. Selfishness

Galatians 5:16–17
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

Don't grow into the habit of always looking out to please the flesh. Our sinful flesh has no good intentions when it comes to your time, purity, and obedience to God. Just because it pleases you doesn't mean you should do it. Your strength as a Christian is often determined by what you say no to.