According to a friend of mine, a conversation he had at work not long ago went something like this (starting with his buddy’s words): “I took my daughter to the mall the other night, and she showed me a pair of shorts she wanted me to buy. They cost $107. Man, there was more cotton in the top of an aspirin bottle than what it took to make those shorts.”
“Did you buy them?” “No, I’m not going to buy something like that. Her mother buys her all that stuff.”
If I had the opportunity to talk to the three members of that family, here is some advice I would give to each one. I could say a lot more than I will write here to each one, but the short statements here represent a lot more that could be said – especially to the Dad.
To the daughter I would say, “Do you have any idea what kind of person you are attracting by the type of clothing you are choosing to wear? Do you really want somebody to be interested in only what you have to offer physically? Are fashion and popularity more important to you than your reputation, your future and your soul?”
To the wife/mother I would say, “I do not know what your teen years were like, but do not try to relive it or remake it through your daughter. Please do not encourage her to grow up too fast. You are setting her and yourself up for a lot of heartache. Oh, and one more thing; why are you and your husband working at cross-purposes in childrearing?”
To the husband/father I would simply say (in the current vernacular), “Man up!!!”
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4 ESV emphasis added).
