At the same time the proponents of “progress” are demanding that
traditional moral restraints be reconsidered, the culture of political correctness
won’t tolerate any real debate. There is only one “correct” viewpoint, and any
deviation from it is heresy.
And thus the conversation tends to be one-sided, with the forceful demand
for “change” and “progress” being met only by silence or a simple assertion that
“it’s not right” without any explanation of why it is not right. Children need
more when they ask: “what’s wrong with it?”
So, what can parents tell their children? First of all: that there is such a
thing as right and wrong, and that the ability to tell the difference is what
distinguishes humans from beasts. Even this most basic truth needs to be
clearly taught and explained and defended.
And how do we know the difference between right and wrong? Because
the Lord has told us in His Word, beginning with the Ten Commandments.
And because, if we take the teachings of the Word to heart, we will develop a
genuine conscience, an inner voice that will tell us that certain things are right
and others are wrong.
We aren’t born with a true conscience, it has to be acquired – not from
sitcoms or MTV or pop psychologists, but from our Creator, from whom all
life and human goodness flow.
And we can explain to children and young people that “wrong” is not just
an abstract concept or arbitrary category, but means things which are harmful,
things that cause sadness and pain, because they are contrary to the genuine
order of human life, the order of heaven, established by the Lord out of His
Divine love for us.
We can see what is right and wrong by observing the consequences of
different ways of acting. “You shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)
Over the centuries, people have learned from experience what brings life and
happiness, and what brings death and misery. Genuine morality is mentally
and physically healthy and life-affirming and life-enhancing and life-creating.
The only reason the Lord forbids anything is because it will diminish our
humanity and bring sadness upon us. If it were immediately obvious to us in
our natural state what these things are, we would not have to be taught. And if
we were not attracted to them, there would be no need to forbid them.
The fact that someone desires something does not mean it is good; if all
human desires were good there would be no sin, no temptation, no need for
repentance and to be “born again” spiritually. Human life would be easy. But
it is not easy. The path of life that leads to heaven does not come naturally to
anyone. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) But that path, the path of real human
progress, is the one path that many – in the name of “progress!” – fail to honor,
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