In The Know – When the Baby Hits the Spot
Today’s post is written by my friend Suzie Eller. She has written a great book I highly recommend Real Issues; Real Teens. You can find it here.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of pregnancy among teens is rising for the first time since 1991. Does this make you want to run to your office and write a few sermons on saying no to premarital sex?
Think again. While the rate of teen pregnancy is up, the percentage of teens having sex has remained stable for the past few years at 46 percent, according to the report.
Perhaps it’s not about sex, but about commodity.
Huh?
A commodity is something that meets a need. If you’re mowing the lawn in 90 degree heat, a swig of Gatorade hits the spot. Gatorade is the commodity.
If you are a teen girl and you are cynical about relationships—whether with the opposite sex, family, or even God—then perhaps the love you can give and receive from a child will meet the need. The baby becomes the commodity.
Television programs like The Baby Borrowers are working with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy to send a “clear message” for adolescents not to get pregnant. It’s a great effort by the media, but does it address the underlying heart issues?
Seventeen girls who live in a small Massachusetts town recently made a pact to get pregnant, and it hit national news. When interviewed, Amanda Ireland, a teen and new mother, said, “They’re so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally. I try to explain it’s hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m.”
Instead of responding to this trend with another sermon on modesty or purity, perhaps we can address the deeper questions: Why do these girls want to be mommies so badly? What happens when a child isn’t able to fill the hole in a young mother’s heart?
And what does Christ offer to a teenaged girl looking for unconditional love?
Helpful Resource: Seduced by Sex: Saved By Love by Jan Kern, Standard Publishing, ISBN 9780784721582, released in 2008.
Statistic Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,380323,00.html
July 11, 2008 Foxnews.com Teen Pregnancy Rate Hits 15-Year High
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112100.php
NEW NBC Reality Show National Campaign to Deter Teens from Getting Pregnant
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1815845,00.html
Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High, June 18, 2008 – Time.com
Originally run in Enrichment Journal UTHTRX 2009
When I was in my late teens, between 17-19, I used to think if I got pregnant and had a baby I'd finally have someone to love me. I didn't really know God and I didn't feel loved by anyone including my family. I'm so glad I never had a baby even though I wanted one because it would have been hard for me to take care of it.
Yes…the deeper issues are often glossed over…we women do the same things as teens..seeking someone who will love us..marriage, children, work, friends…deep within when we let Christ fill us we begin to find a love for who He made us to be …we can finally love who we are in Him and in turn truely give love without strings….it all begins within!
We all are desperate to be loved, aren't we?