In two recent incidents involving 18-year-olds with Charlotte connections, the issue of parental involvement and control over children emerges starkly. In the first case, Brooklyn Decker, a young woman from a Charlotte suburb, achieves rapid success as a model, appearing in revealing attire for Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated. Her parents fully support her choices, expressing pride in her achievements and showing no shame in her provocative images, believing them to be beautiful and artistic. This permissiveness raises questions about the boundaries of parental guidance. In the second incident, Brock Franklin, a high school senior from an affluent Charlotte neighborhood, drives drunk the wrong way on I-485, resulting in a fatal collision that leaves two dead and himself in a coma. His public persona reveals a life of partying, drinking, and drug use, with no apparent intervention from his mother, who has remained silent on his behavior. Whether through ignorance or exasperation, her lack of control suggests a failure to curb his destructive tendencies. Both cases highlight a broader concern: although these young individuals are legally adults, the behaviors in question likely developed over time with parental permissiveness or absenteeism during their younger years. Parents seem to have allowed their children to grow up without sufficient guidance, potentially leading to shame and ruin. The need for parents to provide moral, ethical, and commonsense direction to channel the energies and aspirations of youth is evident, yet many appear hesitant to correct their children, risking long-term consequences for their well-being.

Western civilization, particularly in the U.S., struggles with an unhealthy obsession with children, often placing them at the center of life to the detriment of all else. Parents hover over their children, monitoring every move, showering them with toys and clothes to fit in with peers, and striving to throw the best birthday parties to maintain popularity. They neglect discipline, resorting to bribes and pleading to avoid seeing their children unhappy, thus fostering selfishness in them. This idolization leads to children growing up either incompetent and codependent or hostile and eager to escape smothering influences. Such worship of children damages both the parents and the children, resulting in unhealthy family relationships and misery for all involved. Parents may later resent their children for lacking self-reliance, a trait they failed to teach, or feel heartbroken when their children distance themselves. This misplaced priority pushes God to the bottom of the list, causing spiritual stagnation. God commands that He be loved first with all heart, mind, body, and strength, ensuring balance in life, while loving others as oneself remains a secondary priority. Valuing children more than their Giver disrupts this divine order and leads to detrimental consequences for society as a whole.

The frenzied pace of modern life, filled with stress, anxiety, and busyness, profoundly impacts not only adults but also the next generation. If children are not properly instructed and cared for amidst this chaos, they risk becoming lost. The demands of life call for adults to prioritize instruction over material gains and to willingly sacrifice time, that most precious commodity. Without such care, the danger of children being neglected or spoiled by the lack of guidance grows. We cannot afford any more lost children.