As a Christian teen, do you ever fear that you’re missing out on life sometimes?

Have you ever overheard people at school talk about a party they went to over the weekend? Tons of alcohol and almost getting caught by the police?

What about them doing pills or having sex and the “thrill” that is involved?

If you go to public high school, and sometimes even if you don’t, you will hear a consistent flow of these types of conversations. With our sinful nature, these stories can sound enticing and exciting. What a thrill it would be to do those things.

You may think to yourself, “Too bad I’m a Christian and am missing out on all the fun…”

Truth Moment

I admit that my “exciting” sin of choice in high school was lust. When people say teens are sacks of hormones, they mean it. I wanted to be alone with my boyfriend. I wanted to make out. Sex was always out of the question, but I wanted all the physical stuff leading up to it and it was SO DIFFICULT to take the straight and narrow and avoid that temptation.

Second on the list was alcohol. I would hear about people going to parties and it all sounded like soooooooooooo much fun. I did not grow up around alcohol, so hearing these stories fascinated me.

Do you ever feel left out as a Christian teen? You are not alone! Click for more. Click To Tweet

What this fear boils down to…

The “fear of missing out” really translates to- “All the sin people are engaging in around  me looks  awesome and fun and I’m over here living a boring ‘Godly’ life.”

I have heard people say that they don’t want to be a Christian because we can’t “do” anything.

You are not alone in this feeling. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Satan enticed Eve with the apple and made her think God was having her miss out…and brought sin into humanity. Sin ALWAYS has negative consequences.

Any sin that entices that you give into will always bring some type of destruction to your life. That is why God hates sin, it destroys His beautiful creation…you. So here we go, four ways to combat the fear of missing out.

1. REMEMBER we are required to obey God

There are many verse that attest to the fact that we are to obey God’s commandments. Even though we may think we will be missing out, in the end, following God’s commands isn’t something we can just do when it’s convenient.

2. REMEMBER the consequences of sin

Think about it. What “good” does any sin do for us and our health?

Sexual immorality causes STI’s, unwanted pregnancy, guilt, shame, and sometimes infertility. Abusing alcohol leads to liver damage, impaired brain function, and alcoholism. Pills and drugs destroy your body. So do tobacco, gluttony, and being lazy.

Whenever I would have the thoughts of “Oh that sounds” fun, I felt like God always provided gentle reminders to help me realize it isn’t fun. Like the time I overheard a guy talk about how he was so drunk he peed all over himself. Or the time a girl was so drunk at a party she had sex one a couch with a random guy in front of everyone with nothing but a sheet over them. She didn’t really even realize there were other people around. Or the time I overheard a girl waiting for the results of her pregnancy test my high school bathroom.

Not fun.

Overhearing these things, being told over and over that God’s way is better, and growing in my relationship with Him continues to keep my sin desires at bay.

3. REMEMBER that our bodies belong to God

1 Corinthians 6-19:20 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

Our bodies belong to God and we were bought with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. We are not to do anything that defiles our body because it keeps us from attaining God’s best.

4. KNOW THAT God does not want us to live a “boring” life

All the “parties” I went to in high school and college were drug and alcohol free, and they were awesome. I had sleepovers with my best friend. Susan and I went to school dances, athletic events, and were involved in sports and church. My life was FAR from boring.

If you feel like your life is boring, get involved! Join a club. Play a sport. Learn an instrument. Make and sell crafts. Help out at church. Staying busy keeps you from having idle time that can lead you to sin.

In Closing

What sin entices you? What can you do to keep from giving in? Think about it and write it down!

When you find yourself struggling with sin, write down Bible verses, like the one above, and hang them up in your room, binder, locker, etc. Being constantly reminded that God’s plan is better will help you.

God’s design is to give us the best life possible. Don’t let sin drag you down :).

Until next time,
-Sarah

More about our Ministry

At Transformed4More, our goal is to help those who want to grow in their relationship with God, and we do this in two main ways:

• The first is by providing resources. We have our own and ones we recommend. Click here or the graphic below to see them.

• Another way is through social media. We are most active on Instagram, but we update and connect on Twitter,  Facebook,  Pinterest, and YouTube as well!

• We also have a newsletter we send out every few months with updates as well! You can join it by clicking here.