By: Nicole Alcindor
Imagine your life as a FAMOUS celebrity!!!
Everything you ever wanted is right under your nose—money, love, a mansion, materialistic items, servants, family, and fans.
When people see you, they scream, “Omg! That’s THAT guy!”
Whenever you leave your mansion, girls run screaming; “Can I take a picture with you!!” or “Can I have your autograph?”
This was the life of Job, the greatest man in the East (Job 1:3).
He had riches beyond imagination, but deep inside, he was just an ordinary parent.
His seven sons and three daughters were always on his mind, but he never let worry eat away at his soul.
Trust in the Lord is impaired when worry lingers in the heart.
When worry prevents productive functioning, it crosses over to dangerous territory.
“Temptation to worry differs from worrying itself. Choose not to entertain worry,” (Mitch Matthew’s Ministry).
During late adolescence, children want to spend more time around friends and less time around parents.
School social life becomes harder. It’s all about who hangs out with who. Everything is about being popular.
When children cannot get the level of popularity they want, they may try other superficial ways to get the popular kids to notice them.
They may develop an unhealthy fixation on the clothes they wear and materialistic items to impress the cool kids.
Image becomes everything.
Their biggest worries are feeling inferior.
The popular kids may become a child’s idol. They may even change their image and how they behave to fit a certain standard.
Idolatry doesn’t have to be a statue or an image that is bowed down to, (Daniel 3). Idolatry is seeking security or meaning in someone or something other than God.
Just when the popular girls start noticing a child. God may intercede. Something may happen, showing them that these popular girls aren’t gods.
For example, a child is super excited to wear the latest trendy outfit that her mom surprised her with. This outfit is super expensive and only available in selective stores. However, one of the popular girls was able to buy the outfit and she wanted to be the only one wearing it. Problems arise…
God may allow people to treat His children in rude ways, which will lead to pain.God wants to remind humans; “Hey, put me first!”
This pain may feel unbearable, but God won’t let any human deal with anything that is too hard for them to manage, (1 Corinthians 10:13).
When the child feels this pain and rejection from peers, it’s important for parents to be there to remind children that their confidence and value should come from God, not human opinion, (1 John 4:7).
When adolescents finally find other kids they get along with, their time becomes even more preoccupied.
As Job’s three daughters grew into late adolescence, they probably spent time gossiping with friends and calling boys.
They also may have spent time around boyfriends and less time around Job.
Job’s adolescent sons enjoyed
throwing expensive birthday parties, (Job 1:4).
When parents see their children behaving differently as they grow older, worry tends to evolve in their minds.
Instead of worrying, Job taught his children that God should come before everything. He also reminded them that their wealth is a gift from the Maker of heaven and earth.
No matter what his children spent time doing, Job always sacrificed burnt offerings. He did this in case his children had sinned. This kept his children pure and reminded them that even the wealthiest people need the Lord,” (Job 1:5 and Deuteronomy 11:19).
God gives everyone their own individual gift of will power–the ability to make your own decisions.
Job never stopped his kids from using their will power, instead, he replaced worry with spiritual action.
Children require certain experiences to develop reasoning, decision-making skills and to have opportunities to apply the lessons learned from parents.
Often times, children feel more connected to those in their age range. As a result, they will accept advice from friends over parental advice. Advice from their friends can sometimes change their life for the better.
If children are over sheltered, as adults, their decisions will lack experience.
Sometimes all a parent can do is pray, as their children grow and experiences bring new challenges and harder decisions.
Parents need to trust that God will take their children to new modes of wisdom, which will help them make good decisions in every aspect of their lives.
Some children need time to realize that they don’t need to try to be someone else, but instead they have the power to take a stand for what they believe and make a difference.
Rather than forcing his kids to follow God, Job prayed, sacrificed
and served as an obedient example.
Discipline without love gives birth to abuse. When love and discipline conceive, miracles are born,” (Proverbs 13:24).
Job’s faith gave him perseverance and hope while parenting.
“Love protects, while trusting, hoping and persevering,” (1 Corinthians 13:7).
Change can be hard for parents struggling to let go of their growing children.
Their minds are consumed with questions deeply rooted in worry; “Am I really loving my child if I let them make decisions that I predict will end badly?”
Consider the parenting tactic of a pregnant female turtle.
When she’s ready to lay her eggs, she crawls out of the ocean to a dry part of the beach.
She begins to fling away loose sand using her cupped rear flippers as shovels. This digging creates a hole, where she can lay her eggs.
At this point, the mother turtle knows that she has successfully developed the eggs, so they are ready to be released.
As two or three eggs drop out at a time, mucus is secreted and the eggs are flexible, so they do not break when dropped.
Parents can be confident that God will always be the spiritual mucus and flexibility, providing strength for their children, mentally, psychologically, physically, socially and spiritually.
Nesting sea turtles appear to shed tears, but the turtle is just secreting salt that accumulates in her body.
Shedding tears as children grow older can serve as a healthy emotional release for parents. However, a mind confident in the Lord’s ability to protect, doesn’t obsess over worry.
Many people believe that while turtles lay eggs they go into a trance from which they cannot be disturbed.
This is not entirely true. A sea turtle is least likely to abandon nesting when she is laying her eggs, but some turtles will abort the process if they are harassed or feel they are in danger.
For this reason, it is important that sea turtles are never disturbed during nesting because if the process isn’t done properly the eggs will be exposed to predators.
Parents mustn’t let themselves feel harassed or in danger by giving into the temptation of worry.
When given increased freedom, children will learn how to rely on God to help them make righteous decisions, as well as, how to deal with the consequences of their mistakes.
After a female turtle’s eggs are dropped, she will cover the hole with sand.
By throwing sand in all directions, it is much harder for predators to find the eggs.
If a parent wants to help their children stand firm and win life, they can support them by praying for the sins that go unnoticed (Luke 21:19). This can serve as offerings of gratitude to the Lord, similar to the gesture of Job’s sacrificial offerings, (Job 1:5).
By praying for children, parents are throwing sand in all directions like turtles do to protect their young. Prayer creates a protective barrier between children and the devil’s temptation.
After a female turtle finishes laying her eggs, she goes back to the ocean and never returns. (www.conserveturtles.org).
Parents shouldn’t leave their children like the mother turtle does, unless their called by God in a way that’s similar to Abraham’s testing, (Genesis 22). Abandonment and parenting should always be like water and oil.
As children grow older, parents usually increase privileges, such as giving a later curfew. This should never be confused with letting a child do whatever they want.
It’s also important not to regress when parenting. Consistency is key.
Once a parent has given their child more privileges, they should stick to that decision, rather than acting on worry.
After mother turtles lay their eggs and return to the ocean, they never turn back around to check on their kids.
Trust and faith in the Lord, shouldn’t involve turning back around. When Lot’s wife turned around, she became a pillar of salt, (Genesis 19:26).
When parents say, “I’m switching your curfew from nine p.m. back to six p.m. because I’m worried,” this shows a lack of trust.
A child may then question their ability to do things on their own.
With a lack of confidence, children will develop unhealthy avoidance issues stemming from a fear of facing obstacles.
Overprotective parenting can trigger the development of insecurity issues—teaching children that worry should influence every life decision.
Although worry shouldn’t negatively control human thoughts and actions, it’s important to recognize it’s purpose.
Worry was created by God to serve as healthy warnings, when ceased and acted on according to His will. It reminds humans to rely on God, so He can replace worry with tenacity, strength and perseverance.
The devil makes worry unbearable because he perverts every good purpose God has. He thrives off of seeing division in parent to children relationships, as a result of emotional turmoil.
It’s important that parents don’t allow worry to destroy their relationships with their children.
Once a child feels isolated, misunderstood and vulnerable, the devil will try to pounce and steal their souls through slavery to worldly things, people, behaviors and ideas.
Relationships can have a big impact on adolescents for the rest of their lives–especially when it involves close friends or romantic interests.
Educate kids on healthy relationships, by reminding them; “You are who you spend time with. The reflection of evil given off by those who you spend time with, will eventually be the image you see in the mirror.”
“Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces,” (Proverbs 13:20).
Even after a parent talks with a child they may refuse to listen.
It’s important that parents don’t yell hurtful comments at their children, such as; “You’re going to hell” or You’ll pay for what you did” or “God doesn’t appreciate sinners.”
In Galatians chapter 6, it says, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Holy Spirit should restore that person GENTLY.”
While Christian parents teach their children about obedience to God, it is crucial that they strive to show love, which is, “patient, kind and not easily angered,” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).
When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman in John 4, he spoke gently, despite the fact he already knew she was living in sin.
At that time, Jews weren’t supposed to associate with Samaritans because of discrimination. However, Jesus, as a Jew, looked beyond external differences. Jesus looked at the Samaritan women’s heart, as she longed for satisfying companionship.
Jesus knew that the Samaritan woman had married five different men and the man she was sleeping with wasn’t one of her husbands.
Instead of judging and condemning her, Jesus showed compassion. “Jesus said to her; ‘Do you realize that knowing God is a gift, which will provide you with living water–a never ending happiness and satisfaction, that humans cannot give you?'” (John 4:10).
Parents need to strive to show the love of Jesus Christ to children by having compassionate open discussions, gently informing children of their wrongs. Allowing worry to trigger fits of rage will result in despair, (Galatians 5:20).
Parents have a responsibility to show their children that they can be a trusted confidant.
Sometimes, bullying and feeling like an outsider among peers can trigger rebellious behavior in the home.
If a parent notices their child spending a lot of time by themselves, refusing to listen to parental commands, this can be a sign of bullying.
Parents can try asking their child how they are doing emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. This should involve patience, being sure to listen, while watching the tone of voice. This is not about discipline, but it’s about finding out what’s behind the rebellion.
When parent’s encourage, rather than discourage, children are equipped with the motivation to conquer hurdles.
Job encouraged his children through sacrifices, reminding them there’s hope in God. He demonstrated to his kids a loving Christian attitude. Because of this, his kids were probably less likely to avoid standing up to bullies, (Matthew 10:22).
Job probably didn’t know every guest that was invited to his son’s parties, but his confidence came from the word of the Lord. He trusted that it was a weapon sharper than a double edged sword, to protect from the devil’s schemes, (Job 1:4/Hebrews 4:12).
The devil convinces humans to join him in his main goal of stealing, killing and destroying, but parents can overcome this with scripture and prayer, (John 10:10).
When Job’s kids came into contact with party guests that gave into temptation and were enticed by their own evil desires, they were more likely to resist being tempted to follow. This was because Job continued to seek God on behalf of his kids. (Matthew 4:1, Mark 14:38, James 1:14).
Parents should pray for people that may associate with their kids.
The things that children spend time doing can have a huge impact on their development.
If a child isn’t stealing candy, but is sticking around to eat stolen merchandise with thieves, sin is crouching at their door.
The child wasn’t directly committing the sin of stealing, but if they don’t think eating the candy is wrong, they mustn’t think stealing it was wrong. Over time, they’re more likely to join in the stealing.
“If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you,” (Genesis 4:7).
Job made sure his kids understood sincere purification through sacrificing burnt offerings. In modern day, the equivalence to burnt offerings is called repentance.
It is important that parents teach their children about sincerely repenting from their sins.
Kids should know that the Lord is forgiving, but His mercy shouldn’t be taken for granted or abused.
Repentance—sincere regret or remorse—involves making daily and productive life changes to get further from sin and closer to God.
After explaining repentance to children, showing them obsessive worry will only lead to hostile environments. This will make children feel interrogated—like criminals on the loose.
It’s crucial for children to be informed about repentance in a way that won’t cause them to development unrealistic expectations of themselves, through perfectionism. Repentance wouldn’t exist if we could achieve perfection on our own.
It’s very important for parents to inform their children that God doesn’t expect perfection. Jesus died on the cross, taking on all the sins of the world, so humans could be forgiven for sins, (1 Peter 2:24).
People don’t need to spend time wallowing in self-pity , guilt, and worry, after they make mistakes. Repentance is a repetitive and everyday part of having a relationship with God.
Humans are naturally prone to having sinful thoughts and actions. There is no person who is without sin. However, God wants to see honest and sincere apologies for inadequacies and mistakes, as well as, efforts to make improvement.
Our Lord desires to be there to guide us and encourage us through repentance, but we must seek Him first, (Matthew 6:33).
If parents establish clear boundaries, they can help teach their children how to spend their time wisely. This can involve agreeing upon specific days and times when kids can go to parties or spend time out with friends.
Job allowed his kids to throw parties only when they were celebrating their birthdays. He didn’t allow his kids to party every night, (Job 1:4).
The habits formed by children at younger stages will affect them for the rest of their lives.
Parents should expect their children’s environment to change during the transition from young childhood to older adolescence.
Party environments will change from playing tag, hiding seek, and duck-duck goose, to playing spin the bottle and beer pong.
Children should be informed on how to handle peer pressure, (2 Timothy 2:22).
Ecclesiastes 9:7 says, “Drink alcohol with a joyful heart because God approves what you do.”
However, God also says, “Obey the people who rule over you because they were chosen by God,” (Romans 13).
God created alcohol, therefore, He doesn’t think drinking alcohol is wrong. However, God put rulers in charge and obeying their laws is obeying God. Therefore, God instructs humans to obey the legal drinking age of their countries.
“Avoid drunkenness from alcohol because it steals your focus from God, which leads to corruption,” (Ephesians 5:18).
In Ephesians, God is telling humans to watch their blood alcohol content, so they are not overcome by drunkenness.
Parents should inform their children and pray to God that they make the decision to stay far from situations and people involved with things such as, drinking games–which will lead to sin.
When a parent lays down house rules, sticking with them is key. Bending the rules in parenting can be hazardous.
After Job’s kids had their parties, he made sure they knew it was purification time, (Job 1:5).
If there was another party happening after their celebrations, Job’s children knew not to bother asking to go because Job established a consistent pattern.
His kids knew that after partying they were to devote some time for the Lord.
Job never said, “O.k. fine! Just this one time, you can skip your purification.”
If Job had used this inconsistent strategy, his kids would probably think, “My dad is a pushover! All I have to do is beg him and shed a tear and he will let me have my way!”
Job mastered the process of providing the perfect proportions of leniency and strict discipline in parenting.
This can be hard because children have the “I want it NOW,” attitude.
Sometimes parents go to the store with their children to buy necessities such as food and leave the store with several materialistic items their children convinced them to buy.
It can be rewarding for a parent to see the fruit of their labor, blessings and prosperity enjoyed when they treat their children to materialistic things, (Psalm 128:2).
However, this can be dangerous, when done habitually.
Children will fail to understand the difference between wants and needs. Each time they go to the store they will demand something and expect to get it.
Habitual spending can leave parents with economic problems and children will forget about the need to put aside money just to buy necessities.
Without discipline, children will fail to understand the value of money, by becoming blinded by what they think they need.
Job probably had to tell his kids no, at times, even if he could afford a lot of things. This gave them discipline. Parents need to learn to say no early in a child’s life and stand firm.
Even if a child decides to throw a tantrum in public, parents should remain firm in their decisions. Children learning crucial life lessons should be more important, than a parent worrying about enduring public humiliation.
If children do not learn the difference between wants and needs, they may end up transferring this to their relationships.
When parents ask their kids to come to the grocery store with them, it’s usually because they want to spent some time with their children.
If a child knows that coming to the food store means they can buy materialistic items, they will become blinded by the, “What’s in it for me” mentality.
The child is positively reinforced by the items brought for them, which can become the driving force for their willingness to spend time with their parents.
Parents that go shopping for necessities with their children should avoid asking a few questions, such as; “what do you want?,” or “Pick out one thing you’d like from the store?” or “If you come with me to the store, I’ll buy you something you want.”
Parents should tell children that there’s a separate time for everything, such as, toy shopping or buying nutrients for physical survival.
Job reinforced the idea; “Money can’t buy happiness.”
Wealth and blessings can make children forget their need for God.
Parents should remind children to give thanks to the Lord for what they already have and to pray for those that are in need, (Psalm 136:1/James 1:27).
Job’s kids probably had a very relaxed mindset. Because of their prosperity, they weren’t burdened with the typical economic worries of young people, (Job 1:2-3).
Humans have a natural desire to always want more than they have.
Job was probably tempted with worries about his children working towards further self-indulgence and eventually producing greed.
His children’s privilege could have stood in the way of their wholeheartedness in their relationship with the Lord.
However, as a conqueror, Job said, “Lord, I know I’m far from the perfection that you possess, so my ability to instill perfection in my children is far from possible without you. I offer burnt sacrifices on their behalf and on my behalf.”
The Lord gave Job the task of nurturing, raising and prospering his kids on an emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual level.
If Job didn’t sacrifice on behalf of his children, he would be held accountable, because he is their earthly father.
In modern society, it is uncommon for people to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord, however praying for children serves as an equivalent action.
When Ezekiel was called to prophecy, God told him not to stay quiet about the sins of the house of Israel, but instead to warn them.
“If you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from their ways, the Lord will hold you accountable for their blood. If you warn them and they don’t listen, they die for their sin, and you will be saved,” (Ezekiel 33:8-9).
Sometimes children want to feel their parents care, by seeing them actively working in their lives.
Job was able to form a closer bond with his children in the time he spent with them offering sacrifices.
One way parents can get more involved in their children’s lives is by joining together with children to pray for forgiveness. When a child sees a parent asking God for forgiveness and encouraging them to join, they will feel less alone and wrong for making mistakes.
Pressuring kids to talk about the sins they commit will make them feel cornered. Instead, a parent that tells a child their available to talk if needed, can help deplete feelings of isolation, while giving the child a choice if they’d like to talk or not.
Parents should encourage children to talk to God about the things they may not feel comfortable talking with an adult about. Confession is a very important part of overcoming certain sins, (James 5:16).
During the late years of adolescence, some children fall into sexual immorality.
For fear of punishment, kids may remain secretive around parents.
The devil thrives off of secret sins. He hopes that humans will feel embarrassed, fearful and stuck in sin.
1 Corinthians 10:13, says, “There are no sins that are not common to all humans.” The devil wants people to feel so strange or odd in their struggle with sins, that they keep it bottled inside.
Silence keeps humans from getting the support, encouragement, and prayer that they may need from others to help them to overcome or keep on working through sins.
“Pray for one another because prayer from a righteous person is powerful and effective,” (James 5:16).
Job never allowed worry to drive his children away, instead, he went to God.
Reinforcing the idea that God is the best counselor a person can ever have, will allow kids to start taking part in the free therapy the Lord offers.
If a parent has a hunch that a child is involved in an impure relationship, they shouldn’t ignore it or label it as “none of their business,” because this creates division in the household.
If the child isn’t being open about it, ignoring the problem won’t make it disappear.
For example, if an adolescent girl doesn’t have open discussion with her parents about if she’s allowed to have boys over in her room, she may just sneak her boyfriend through her window.
Luke 12:22, says, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.”
The adolescent girl may think her secret is safe, however God knows and sees everything. God may allow people to be placed in situations where they are caught in their sin. God does this out of love to help bring about awareness and possibly bring about repentance.
If a parent catches their adolescent in bed with another person, they should remember that love is patient, kind and not easily angered, (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Hebrews 5:2, “Humans are to deal GENTLY with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since EVERYONE is subject to weakness.”
After catching an adolescent in a compromising position, it is not a good idea for a parent to yell at them or the person they were with. This will create feelings of embarrassment and anger.
In this circumstance, the parent should respectfully ask the boyfriend to leave the house, making sure NOT to tell him that he is forbidden from the house. If a parent tells their child that they cannot have their boyfriend over, the child is likely to sneak out. It’s better for the parent to know where their child is.
After the boyfriend leaves, give your child some space, making sure to tell them, “Your’re not in trouble, we just need to talk about this.” When the child is ready, the best thing to do is discuss rules about the boyfriend. He cannot enter her bedroom.
“Just like one body has many parts, one household has many members that should work to operate together. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it,” (Romans 12:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:26).
After the dicussion, a parent shouldn’t have a negative attiude about their value as a Christian parent. Every family struggles with sin in different ways. The important part, is not letting the sin create permanent division within the household because that is letting the devil have his way.
“Be transparent—speaking the truth with one another,” (Ephesians 4:25).
Honesty and openness can help deplete worry, which leads to separation.
Even if a child isn’t willing to be open yet, hearing a parent share their struggles with sin currently and in their past, can help alleviate worries and create a comforting environment.
“You have put away your old self and you strive to live through your faith in the Lord, therefore avoid lying lips,” (Proverbs 12:22 and Colossians 3:9).
Lying is something a parent never wants to have to encounter with their children. With this in mind, parents should practice what they preach. This means that parents should avoid withholding certain parts of their sinful past from their children, because this could serve as motivation and lessons for their children.
“Parents should aim to be honorable in the presence of both their kids and the Lord because if they accept and admit the truth, children will follow by example, and the truth will set both free,” (2 Corinthians 8:21 and John 8:32).
Some parents may worry that their children will lose respect for them if they find out certain details from their sinful past. They may also believe that because they only started obeying the Lord when they were adults, that their children will only be able to obey the Lord as adults.
In 1st Corinthians 16:17-18, Paul says, “I was glad when Stephanus, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived because they worked to supply what was lacking from others. They refreshed my spirit.”
It is possible for anyone who calls out the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to have the power to encourage those who have become weak in spirit, regardless of their past.
The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in special ways. (1 Corinthians 12:7).
“We have been awarded a new life in Christ. We who were taught to put off the former ways of life, the old self, which was corrupted by its deceitful desire, have been renewed in the spirit of the mind. Now that the new self has been put on, with true righteousness and holiness in Christ, we can put away worry and falsehood and speak truthfully and confidently to everyone,” (Ephesians 4:22-25).
Children tend to behave as if they’ll be young forever. They don’t have a realistic idea of how time flies. A week can feel like eternity to a kid.
The human life is extremely unpredictable.
“A thousand years are like a day to the Lord. Humans don’t know if they will live another day, hour or minute,” (2 Peter 3:8).
Job’s kids may have felt temporary joy from the experiences their money allowed them to have. At times, this may have even been the way they dealt with their worry.
Parents should remind children that true happiness can only be obtained from the Lord. The worldly experiences of enjoyment are only temporary.
After everything is said and done, all a parent can do is pray for their children. In the end, the child has to decide for themselves; will they choose to accept God or reject God. To accept God is to accept ALL of His ways and surrender to Him. Ultimately, children have to live with the consequences of their choices. However, parents must never ever give up on doing their part.
The book of Ecclesiastes, is about the son of David, named Qoheleth who was the king of Jerusalem.
Qoheleth’s experiences with prestige are recorded in the Bible to give humans lessons to apply to their lives.
As the king of Jerusalem, Qoheleth had a lot more knowledge than the people he ruled over.
He had access to more resources than anyone else and he received the best education offered at that time.
King Qoheleth’s message was; “knowledge is meaningless because the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know,” (Ecclesiastes; 12-18).
Learning or trying to build up wisdom can bring frustration because an individual will grieve the things that remain mysterious.
Children will often say to parents, “You just don’t understand what I’m going through!! You lived in a different time!! Stop projecting your life experiences onto me!!”
These children fail to realize, with more time, comes more knowledge. Parents have experienced so much more and have had many similar experiences as their kids. It’s important for parents to allow their kids to understand that discipline is not just coming from sympathy, but from empathy.
Having lived a lot of life through mistakes, parents have a responsibility to guide children, keeping them from the same errors.
King Qoheleth decided to test out how receiving every materialistic thing and accomplishing every act of worldly pleasure would affect him in his life.
He came out of his experiment realizing that the rewards were temporary pleasure that only he got to experience.
The King even turned to alcohol to try to aid him in his search for pleasure because all the items of this world couldn’t satisfy his heart, (Ecclesiastes 2:3)
King Qoheleth and Job have a lot in common because they both knew that the Lord is the only one who can fully satisfy all human needs and desires.
Both Job and the King shared their faith. Through their stories, they both shared a message with the world: “without a relationship with God, people will turn to materialistic things or other humans, who can only temporarily fulfill an empty void.”
Children need to be reminded not to put other people in a superior position to the one God has in their lives, even if it’s a romantic interest.
Job prayed that his children wouldn’t choose humans over God.
In addition to praying for children, parents also have a responsibility to talk with their children.
If an adolescent girl wants to date a boy that her parents know is a bad influence, her parents have a responsibility to tell her honestly, regardless of her reaction.
If the girl still choices to date the boy, regardless of her parents advice, she may have to face a broken heart.
If he breaks up with her parents shouldn’t say, “I told you so.”
God calls humans to be comforters to others during their times of distress, (Romans 12:15/2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
With encouragement, patience, love, support, prayer and comfort from parents, their children can overcome any hardship, learn to love themselves, and learn to love God with all their heart, mind and soul, (Matthew 22:37).
The Call to Evangelize 