Family Matters

Why has God given teens such strong a sexual drive and no healthy, acceptable way to satisfy it? This just doesn't seem fair. In Bible times people got married at a younger age. As a result, it was normal to have sex and start raising kids before you reached the age of 20. These days, much of society still frowns upon teenagers engaging in any kind of sexual activity. Why has God given us these feelings if we can't do anything about them?

What should I do if my primary school child is getting so much homework that family time hardly exists and he has little energy for anything else? He spends hours on his assignments every night. As far as I can see, he isn't slow at completing his tasks. There's just too much to do! Is all this homework really necessary for effective learning and healthy childhood development?

How can I help my teens deal with the fallout of my divorce? It's been painful for everyone, but I'm especially concerned about my oldest son. Ever since my ex-husband left a year and a half ago, he seems to be putting himself under a lot of pressure to assume the role of the "man of the house." This is especially difficult for him since he was looking forward to going away to university next year. Now he feels obligated to stay at home and help the family. What can I do for him and the rest of the kids?

Marriage is a God designed institution in which a man and woman become one flesh and commit to sharing life together for the rest of their days. The problem very often, however, is that couples don’t seek to serve each other in marriage but rather endeavour to have their individual needs met, sometimes by allowing themselves to be drawn into extra-marital relationships. Unfortunately when we take our focus off our spouse we can let outside influences gain a foothold in our lives. On the next Family Matters we’ll be discussing how emotional affairs are cause for great concern and should be treated with a zero tolerance approach, stick with us.

Is Christian sexual morality unhealthy or unnatural? I'm young woman who is trying to live a chaste life, but my boyfriend is always pressuring me. He says that my concerns about sexual morality are just an expression of an unhealthy "fear"-that in trying to live by God's standards, I'm basically rejecting the beauties of creation and avoiding the joys of life in the flesh as God intended it. I'm finding it harder and harder to answer him when talks this way. Can you help me?

Will my pet be with me in heaven? I'm really sad right now because my dog just died. We've had the same dog ever since I was a little kid, and I can't even imagine life without him. I asked my mom if I'd see him in heaven and she told me to go ask my Sunday school teacher. I asked my Sunday school teacher and he said no, heaven is for people, not animals. That really upset me. Do you think my Sunday school teacher is right?

What do you think of Christians who adopt a "survivalist/off-the-grid" mentality? Who sell their homes, move to remote desert or mountain locations, stockpile food, grow their own crops, live like "pioneers," and strive to be as independent of the "system" as possible? I know several people who are moving in this direction. I don't completely disapprove-after all, I'm sure we'd all be better off if we eliminated some of our modern luxuries and learned to live more simply. Still, I can't help wondering if this is really the way God wants us to behave as His witnesses in the world. What do you think?

Is there any legitimate place for the arts within the biblical worldview, or is it simply a frivolous and "worldly" pursuit? How can we tell good and godly art from bad art? Our daughter is an art student at the university, and we're worried that she's just wasting her time and energy. More importantly, we have deep concerns about the moral aspects of what she's doing – her Life Drawing class regularly requires her to sketch the nude human figure from a live model! How do you feel about that?

How can I help my adolescent son deal with his anger? It's easy to tell that he is very angry about something, but I have a sense that he's trying desperately to squash his feelings and keep a lid on his emotions. Try as I might, I can't get him to talk about it. What should I do?

I've just discovered that my spouse has been cheating on me. As you can imagine, I was devastated when I first learned of his infidelity, and I still haven't recovered from the shock. I have not confronted him yet and have no idea what I'm going to do. Can you give me some direction?