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father and mother. The child wants
to see them happy, to see them to–
gether. But when they are torn apart
by strife, the child's whole world
seems insecure.
The emotional effects of this inse–
cure environment on a child are just
beginning to be realized. We are
now experiencing a generation that
has been reared - or rather, allowed
to grow up - in homes devoid of
!ove and affection, in homes without
proper rules of conductor organiza–
tion. No wonder we have a "run–
away generation."
lf you are married, you have as
your first responsibility your mate.
You should make your marriage a
happy one. Nothing is more worth–
while to your own child. Loving
your husband or your wife totally is
one of the greatest benefits you can
bestow oo your child.
Next, parents and teen-agers alike
must begin building the bridge of
communication. In a survey taken
with young people, this question
was asked: "What do you do when
you are at home?"
"The activity most often men–
tioned was listen to records. About
half mentioned having sorne house- .
hold chores, but in general, I got no
sense of any activities that were not
solitary ones, including watching
TV. In most cases, 1 sensed little
participation in family life"
(The
Runaway Generation,
Bibi Wein,
p.
308).
Too often while parents are home
with their children, they might as
well be a hundred miles away. lf
you're going to spend time with
your children, spend it profitably.
Make it memorable.
You need common interests in or–
der to have conversation. lfyou and
a close friend separate for quite a
while, it is difficult to converse when
you meet again. You may find that
you have little in common. You will
have to spend hours bringing one
another up to date on your various
activities and experiences. Each will
have to do a considerable amount of
talking as well as listening!
This is the key to rebuilding a
bridge of communication with your
children. You will have to find out
wha.t their interests are. You will
also have to bring them into contact
with your experiences. But even
38
here you wiU need a common bond
of experiences and interests.
One very helpful activity is game
participation. A family can purchase
games that can be played by two to
eight people. These can provide· a
number of happy hours spent to–
gether.
It
brings about a closeness
and a common bond - and pro–
vides common interests.
Whatever Happened to Father?
Men tend to involve themselves in
their work, hobbies, and careers. lf a
father isn' t careful, he can soon find
himself consumed with all kinds of
outside activities, leaving littk time
for his family.
Many wives complain that their
husbands leave them alone too
much. They have virtually no com–
panionship with their husbands, and
the marriage suffers.
In the course of planning his life,
a man must recognize that he com–
mitted himself to certain definite re–
sponsibilíties when he married. And
these responsibilities take priority
over most personal preferences in
his life. He must insure that he takes
enough time to spend with his wife.
This should include taking bis wife
out occasionally - having time
alone with her for conversation.
If he fulfills these major responsí–
bilities and has time left over for
personal interests, well and good.
But what happens in most cases is
that a man wants to "have his cake
and eat it too." He wants to spend
most of his time working or engag–
ing in his favorite recreational activ–
ities and hobbies. Then he hopes he
has enough time after work to de–
vote to bis family. And it is usually
his farnily that is left without the
proper attention.
The course each nation will take
depends on whether fathers and
husbands in that nation have the
courage and the fortitude to fulfill
family responsibilities by puttiog
their job of father and husband in
its proper place as one of life's most
irnportant responsibilities.
If men would recognize how
im–
portant their responsibilities are as
husbands and fathers and give the
proper attention to their wives and
children, then children wouldn't
have to ask the question: "What
ever happened to father?"
O
DEVIL MOVIES
(Continued from page
JO)
booklet
Did God Create a ·Devil?
for
the full story.)
Satan is called "the god of this
world [or
age)"
(U
Cor.
4:4)
and
"the prince of devils [demons]"
(Mark 3:22), who has "deceived the
whole world" (Rev. 12:9). He is
pictured as "a roaring lion, walking
about, seeking whom he may de–
vour"
(1
Peter
5:8).
Satan's power, however, is lim–
ited. He can do only what God
allows
him to do, as is clearly seen in
the book of Job. Hollywood's por–
trayal of a great conflict between
God and Satan - which God, on
occasion, loses - is clearly unbibli–
cal.
Numerous cases of demonic pos–
session are found in the Scriptures,
as weU as cases of "exorcisms" -
casting out of demons by the ser–
vants of God. In nearly all cases,
God's servants (such as Paul in Acts
16) simply rebuked the evil spirit in
the name of Jesus Christ, "and he
carne out in the same hour." The
elaborate Latio incantations and ar–
duoos "rites of exorcism" depicted
in
some of the recent films are not
based on Scripture.
Demonic influence and, in some
cases, actual possession
still occur
-
yes, even in our modern, sophis–
ticated world of the twentieth cen–
tury. Opening one's mind to
demonic influence through a pre–
occupation with occultism and inter–
est in the supernatural is therefore
fraught with potenüal dangers.
N early 2000 years ago, the
apostle Paul admonished:
"Have no
fellowship
with the unfruitful works
of
darkness ..
."
(Eph. 5: 11). The
apostle James warned: "Submit
youselves therefore to God.
Resist
the devil,
and he will flee from you"
(James
4:7).
Yet there is precious little
resist–
ing
in evidence in the world today.
People are not guarding the doors to
their rninds!
·our free booklet
The Occult Ex–
plosion
is a must for a complete un–
ders·tand ing of · this important
subject. Find out wbat really líes
behind today's surge in occult inter–
est.
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1977