How Not To Be A Juvenile Delinquent Series

A father and his son were riding in a trolley car and the father decided

to have fun with his boy. He lifted his cap off his head and pretended to

throw it out of the window. The boy started to cry, but the father solved

the problem by snapping his fingers and producing the cap before the boy.

The boy's tears disappeared and he grinned with delight at his father's

amazing ability to bring back his cap with the snap of a finger. He said,

"That's fun, lets do it again." And before his father could intervene he

threw his cap out the window.

This was only innocent fun, of course, but it illustrates how one who is

admired can influence the conduct of the immature. They can be made to do

foolish things by the influence of false impressions received from adults.

Teens are not so immature as that little boy, and they are not likely to be

impressed with such sham magic as bringing things back by finger

snapping, but the fact is, they are still at a very impressionable age. They

can be deeply impressed by charming appeals to follow a path that leads to

the loss of far more than a cap, but to the loss of their good name, and

possibly even the crown of righteousness. Solomon was well aware of the

dangers that a young person faces in terms of being misguided by alluring

appeals to sin, and he makes this his first matter of instruction to his son

after he told of how obedience to instruction would lead to attractiveness

of character.

Verse 10 begins with a negative on what not to do. It is important to

recognize that youth need some basic don'ts to follow to help them avoid

many of the problems and sins that youth fall into. Solomon says that if

sinners entice you, do not give into them. He prepares his son for what is

almost inevitable. The word for sinners means those who are habitual

delinquents. They are those who delight in and willfully follow the path of

crime and sin. It is important to note that the warning is not against the

enticement of sin, but of the sinner.

Young people need to recognize that the personal element is the source

of the power of deception. If you ever hope to escape the snare of Satan

you must be aware of this fact. The personal element is the power behind

both sin and salvation. It is not only the Gospel that wins people to Christ,

but the person who presents and embodies the Gospel. Likewise, it is not

just sin in itself that attracts and entices, but the sinner who embodies the

life of sin. It is the attractive and glamorous appeal of the movie stars, and

not just their sins that entices young people to follow their footsteps to

folly. Many a sinful person has a very appealing and persuasive

personality that enables them to become heroes to many young people.

Many atheistic professors are charming, witty and intelligent, and they

influence many students to follow the path of unbelief. Atheism would

never attract them, but the atheist can and does.

In the realm of crime that Solomon is concerned about at this point, it

is almost the enticement of persons that causes an otherwise good young

person to become a part of a crime. The smooth talking young thief who

has gotten by with it may urge you to join him for some easy money, and

that can be a real danger. It is not robbery but the robber who can entice

you. You might think that all of this is quite irrelevant to your life, and for

some of you it may very well be, but for thousands of youth, even from

Christian homes, it is relevant. Remember that Solomon is speaking to a

young person brought up in a godly home. If it was not possible for a

godly young person to be deceived by devilish delinquents, there would be

no need for this warning in the first place.

Every Christian young person must honestly recognize that the evils

of their generation can ensnare them. Do not try and fool yourself, and

approach life with a blind and naive attitude about your weak and sinful

nature. All that happens to the non-Christian can ensnare you as well.

Studies show that 85% of the young people who get into trouble with the

police had a church background, and they were from homes where parents

were church members. The enticement to crime and sin is universal, and

reaches all young people to some degree. There is so much money involved

in enticing youth that it has become a major industry. Christian youth are

targets for this constant bombardment of enticement to evil.