Questions and Answers with Raul Ries

Youth

Q. What are the most critical issues that the youth face today?

A. First, the youth of today has no vision and are very complacent. They have this attitude, "Well, mom and dad have money in the bank, a house, and a car -- and I’m going to inherit it all." Young people have no motivation to go to work because they have no vision for their own personal life. They desire security but do not know how to obtain it. But it’s not their fault, I believe society has shaped this viewpoint. Another critical issue they are facing is substance abuse. Many teenagers are nightclub addicts. They sleep all day and party all night. Drugs and alcohol are taking a toll on the youth of today.


Q. When you look at issues such as teen substance abuse and unwed pregnancies, who do you feel is to blame for these problems?

A. I blame the media and entertainment industries. They have glamorized premarital sex, the use of alcohol and drugs, and the use of violence to our youth. Yet at the same time, it is the responsibility of the parents to instruct their children. When we neglect our duties as parents in training our children in the way they should go, they are going to rebel.


Q. What is the answer to these problems?

A. Parents need to spend time with their family. They need to love their children and communicate with them. The best prescription for families is to pray together, eat together and read the Bible together. It is a busy life today -- but if we do this I think it’s the beginning of renewal in our nation.


Q. What role do you see yourself playing in reaching out to the youth today?

A. I want to pour my heart out to them -- and I want them to see that I really care for them. Like the prophet Jude said in the Bible, I want to go and pluck them out of the fire. In addition to the children in the church, I want to reach the kids who are really drowning in sin and going down fast. My heart is to reach them before it is to late, pulling them out of the fire before they burn.