It is stunning how men waste time and money to find answers when God has already given them to us. Perhaps the biggest waste of all is the US space program. It is devoted to finding out the mysteries of the universe, chiefly the origin of it. If they would just open their hearts and a Bible, they would see the answer. This same scenario is true with other issues.

Recently, while going through the web site www.familyfacts.org I ran across the following findings; things that the Bible has taught for thousands of years, but men felt compelled to verify with studies. Don’t get me wrong about this, I understand the need to defend what is right using God’s word and at times it helps to pull in other evidence. The point is, so many of our problems and questions could be resolved and answered if we just open the Bible and read.

Finding: “Compared with peers who had lower levels of religiosity as pre-teens (measured by participation in religious activities, studies, services, and importance ascribed to religion), those with higher levels of pre-teen religiosity tended to exhibit higher levels of religiosity as adolescents and young adults and a lower likelihood of engaging in substance abuse.”

This finding basically says that children brought up to practice religion are affected by it in later years. It helps shape their behavior, continuing to practice religion and refraining from harmful activities. The Bible put it this way, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).

Finding: “This finding looks at the relationship between youths’ religiosity and alcohol use.
Compared with peers with lower levels of religiosity (in terms of church attendance, importance assigned to religion and frequency of prayer), adolescents who were more religious exhibited higher levels of self control and were less likely to use alcohol. (The effect of religiosity on substance use was mediated somewhat by levels of self control.)”

Children who are raised with religion in the home behave better. The religious principles instilled in them while they are young give them more self discipline and keep them away from destructive behaviors. Self-control is one of the fundamental pillars in the life of a Christian. “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control…” (2 Pet. 1:5, 6). The study finding shows what the Bible has taught all along, religion benefits a person’s life.

Finding: “This study examined the link between the amount of sex viewed on television and teen pregnancy outcomes. Teens who were exposed to high levels of sexual content on television were twice as likely to become pregnant during a three-year period than peers who had lower levels of exposure to sexual content.”

Duh! It takes a study to see that? I do not doubt FamilyFact.org knew this to begin with. It is a secular organization and feels compelled to do academic studies to bolster their position. Again, I have no problem with that. Society, however, seems to lack common sense. The Bible does not. It is an imminently practical and logical book. Long ago it said, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Cor. 15:33). Filth in, filth out. Simple enough.

Finding: The Bible contains all that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). It is the Book of books; the sole source of spiritual enlightenment. It is the word of life. The ills and ails of society can be corrected if all people would submit to the word. Let us not be guilty of failing in this, but live by the truth, raise our children in the truth, and therefore be a blessing to one and all.

For more information go to http://www.familyfacts.org.