Dear brother Jeffrey,<\/p>\n
I hope you are doing well, and that everything is going well in your work and in the local church.<\/p>\n
Brother, I wanted to ask about this personal matter. I have a 15-year-old son who is not a Christian. He is generally a good boy and obedient to us like his parents, although he also sometimes makes some mistakes. Of course, he has always been attending church meetings with us, and he devotes part of his time to reading the Bible. He is also a responsible student at school and is involved in sports.<\/p>\n
But like every young person, he is also exposed to the influence of the world, which comes either through friendships or through media such as TV, music, the Internet, etc. He has some friends, but unfortunately, none are from a Christian family. We always try to know who his friends are and what influence they might have on him, and we think that in general things are going well.<\/p>\n
Recently, he wants to have his left ear pierced to wear a small hoop, like one of his friends. It is the practice of many young people in today’s society. But my wife and I do not agree with him and we have not given him permission to do this, basically, because we do not think this is good for the appearance and influence that a Christian, or a child of Christian parents\u00a0\u00a0(Matthew 5:13-16; Titus 2:10; Romans 12:2; I John 2:15-17; James 4:4 ?). And also because based on I Corinthians 6:19-20, I think that putting a piercing in the ear, makes an unnecessary wound (damage) in our body, which we should take care of and use to glorify God.<\/p>\n
And regarding this, I would like to ask you if you can answer these questions:<\/p>\n
I look forward to your help and advice, when possible. And in advance, again thanks for your help and friendship.<\/p>\n
God bless, with love in Christ.<\/p>\n\t
Different societies have different standards in regard to clothing and jewelry.<\/p>\n
Though used for a wicked purpose (to make an idol), we do find mention that both men and women wore earrings in Israel. “And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me” <\/em>” (Exodus 32:2). Later we find the men and women donating some of their jewelry to God. “They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the LORD<\/em>” (Exodus 35:22). Other passages are\u00a0Numbers 31:50;\u00a0Judges 8:24-26;\u00a0Proverbs 25:12; and\u00a0Ezekiel 16:12).\u00a0Thus, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with wearing jewelry, including earrings.<\/p>\n I Corinthians 6:19-20 makes a poor argument because it is about the spiritual damage that fornication causes to a Christian, and Paul’s argument is that we should not use our bodies to harm ourselves; rather, we use our bodies to glorify God.<\/p>\n What it boils down to is: What does having an earring represents to these young people? Clearly, it makes some distinction between those who wear one and those who don’t, so the question to ask is what does that distinction mean?<\/p>\n Something to keep in mind: the small hole used by most earrings heals quickly if the person stops wearing an earring. Men tend to be practical, so the fads of youth tend to get left behind, especially those that serve no lasting purpose.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Dear brother Jeffrey, I hope you are doing well, and that everything is going well in your work and in the local church. Brother, I wanted to ask about this personal matter. I have a 15-year-old son who is not a Christian. He is generally a good boy and obedient to us like his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20,1028,1034],"tags":[665,208,969,29,107,395],"class_list":["post-52540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","category-parenting","category-teenager","tag-child-rearing","tag-clothing","tag-jewelry","tag-parenting","tag-raising-children","tag-teenagers"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64249,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-a-clingy-one-year-old\/","url_meta":{"origin":52540,"position":0},"title":"How do I deal with a clingy one-year-old?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning brother, I read your articles regarding the biblical way of teaching children. I have a one-year-old son and he always insists on being held. He is always crying. Not even a second was left me. He doesn't give me time to do work. Even if his stomach\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13892,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-cant-get-my-daughter-to-drink-enough-liquids\/","url_meta":{"origin":52540,"position":1},"title":"I can’t get my daughter to drink enough liquids","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am having trouble with my daughter not drinking enough fluids.\u00a0 She gets really constipated and we all suffer for it. She may be in physical pain, but it messes with our bath and bedtimes. She was on the toilet for 45 minutes last night. She also makes us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Childhood"","block_context":{"text":"Childhood","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/childhood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61630,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/whats-wrong-with-todays-youth\/","url_meta":{"origin":52540,"position":2},"title":"What’s Wrong with Today’s Youth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bill Hall All along we hear questions raised as to what has gone wrong with today's youth. Recently, a brother expressed his concern along this line and then asked, \"What advice would you give young parents to help them avoid mistakes that we have made in our generation?\" The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43266,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-the-fact-that-my-daughters-were-molested-by-a-leading-member-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":52540,"position":3},"title":"How do I deal with the fact that my daughters were molested by a leading member of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi there, I have a complex issue that I am trying to sort through biblically and do right by my family, others, and the law. Two of my daughters have been sexually interfered with by a \"leader\" of the local church here.\u00a0 The first time was with my oldest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41362,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-son-is-getting-into-trouble-and-we-dont-what-else-to-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":52540,"position":4},"title":"Our son is getting into trouble and we don’t what else to do","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My 17-year-old son has some issues. My wife and I have raised him in the church since he was a baby. We thought we taught him well until he became 15. At 15, he seemed to forget everything that we taught him. He secretly became involved with a 23-year-old\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15077,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-14-year-old-has-become-rude-a-poor-student-and-mean-to-his-younger-brother-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":52540,"position":5},"title":"My 14-year-old has become rude, a poor student, and mean to his younger brother. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a fourteen-year-old son. In the past year, he has become very verbally rude. He is not doing well in school. He cannot get along with his little brother, who is seven. He used to be so sweet and loving and now I'm so worried about him. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}