WHY INTEREST EVAPORATES             by Carl McMurray

                 Why is it that young people who have been raised up going to Bible class and worship every time the door is open sometimes lose interest in spiritual things as they get older?  Of course, there may be a variety of reasons unseen and unknown, but of reasons that can be addressed the following are a few.

                 Asserting Individuality.  As teens mature, it is right and normal that they begin to assert their own personality and individuality and not just repeat verbatim the opinions of their parents. If they have not been impressed deeply with spiritual things, however, they can put their spirituality on the same shelf with what they perceive to be simple opinions and traditions. While proving their independence from their parents that mental shelf can be swept clean without regard and important value systems can go out the window.  We need to be sure our children understand the difference between real spiritual issues and convenient traditions. Parents cannot be afraid to drill real spiritual values into their children when they’re young and to drive home the relevance of those values to everyday life when they get older.

                 Shaken Faith.  Just as abuse victims and war veterans often experience a type of post traumatic stress syndrome, children who are close witnesses to church fights and fusses often develop a stress reaction toward confrontations.  Of course, the answer to this is threefold. 1) Diligent effort toward unity that avoids problems rather than encouraging them. 2) Behavior that is becoming a Christian when unity cannot be found. 3) Damage control when the first two options become untenable. That might consist of generous helpings of prayer, lots of love shown all around, and clear explanations about dealing with problems since they will always be a part of life. 1 Corinthians 11:18-19.

                 An Unreal Message.  It is hard to develop a real personal interest in a message that doesn’t seem to apply. When claims are exaggerated and applications ignored in Bible teaching, interest will wane. The need is for accurate, clear, and applicable teaching, not just history lessons. The word of God is a tool for daily living that is real and relevant.

                Perceived Hypocrisy.  The idealism of youth makes this a real problem because young people have a knack for seeing through our poor job of acting out on a regular basis.  Saying one thing and practicing another is a clear way of destroying hope in another.  What is really unfortunate is that this is often done in the home.  That’s where most opportunities to view hypocrisy arise. “Talking” love in a Bible class will never replace living it in our homes. Likewise, with gentleness, kindness, peace, joy, godliness, etc.

                 Poor Examples.  Along with the above reason, adults who set a poor example can be faulted for observant young people losing interest in their own spirituality.  Who would want to purposely drive down a dead end road when you’re trying to get somewhere?  Don’t even think young people aren’t listening and watching all the time. When adults are apathetic about Bible study or family devotions, consistently late for services, critical and fault-finding, or just plain non-participatory in church activities – why would children be interested in going down that dead end road? If apathy, mediocrity, and lukewarmness is  the perceived end of spiritual growth here, don’t expect young people to be interested in achieving those goals.

                 Discounted Maturity.  Lastly, for our purposes here I want to mention this interest killer.  Young people want to be considered as mature because that’s the way they view themselves.  When their feelings, interests, and viewpoints are discounted as unimportant then one reaction from frustration is to just turn away.  Keep your children interested by expressing your pride in their spiritual growth and an interest in them personally doing well in this part of their life.

                 As we said in the beginning, there may be a variety of unknown and unseen personal reasons why a person loses interest in spiritual things, but the reasons listed above can be seen and can be corrected.  We can at least take these tools away from Satan as he seeks to steal our next generation away from us and God.  Christians are the Lord’s army – be all that you can be.  By paying close attention to yourself and what you’re teaching by your actions, you can save both yourself and those that are following close behind you.  1 Timothy 4:16.