teens attitude

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Dear brother and sisters, just an old humble layman's opinion concerning " Teens' 
Attitudes ". Several years ago I wrote an article  that was published in the LA 
Challenger- titled- " The god of doctrinal truth" In this article I wrote of the 
incident with Israel involving the firey serpents and how God forgave them and commanded 
Moses to make a brazen serpent to hang on a pole. By looking at it the people would be 
healed.
  The people's attitude was what struck me, instead of being thankful for the UNDESERVED 
divine gift, they put it in a tent, burned incense to it, gave it a name, and made it 
into a god. Hezikiah, many years later finally broke it in to pieces.
   It reminded me of a man that I knew, he received the great truth of Acts 2:38, became 
a great soul winner but something happened to this man. He began to display his 
salvation with pride instead of being thankful for this GREAT, UNDESERVED, DIVINE GIFT.
He began to measure people by HIS standards, he slowly lost his love for people, rather 
than love his fellow man and the God of his salvation, he began to love his salvation.
   We always quote the scripture,that says to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, but 
this man began to worship God in Truth without Spirit. He lost his patience with people, 
if they wouldn't accept truth he would slam the door in their face. He will never know 
how many people could have been reached had his attitude been different, this is 
something that he will have to live with.
   As attitudes go- in my opinion, like begets like, teens' attitudes are usually passed 
on to them by their elders, spiritual genetics. I have a 19 and 25 year old, and I have 
been teaching teens for over 22 years. We as adults lay the foundation in the lives of 
our teens, not God, and not the pastor. Monkey see, monkey do. Anyone that openly 
measures another simply isn't praying, using judgment and passing judgment are two 
different things. Acknowledging a person's problem is one thing, but openly talking 
about it is another. Pentecostals that do this need to put God's mirror before them and 
take a little closer look at themselves. You will NEVER	win an offended person to the 
Lord. I'm not talking about compromise.
    Getting back to the man that I spoke about, somehow God was able to get through to 
him and break his hard heart. He opened his eyes and was shocked at how he had become.
After much repentance he vowed to never again measure another, saint or sinner. God 
forgave him, changed him and he has never been the same. I know, for I am that man.

          Your friend and brother in Jesus Christ  Roger Evans