Video Games, Alcohol, or Something Else?

This story is so sad... click to read the CNN article.

It is about a 17-year old male and a 16-year old female who were babysitting her 7-year old sister while their mom was at work. The older one was drunk playing video games and the two girls were wrestling. Eventually the teens starting attempting moves from Mortal Kombat on the little girl. They kept beating her until she stopped breathing. The two unsuccessfully attempted to revive her themselves until they eventually called the mother and 911. The girl died at the hospital.

This could have been prevented.

Sometimes we must look at sad stories like this and learn from them. We must look at our own lives and figure out what we are doing that may cause pain like this in our future. We must think about our legacy. We must plan ahead.

I am excited to be a daddy some day. I am looking forward to spending time with my kids, watching them grow and develop into adults. However, I must remember that these kids won't grow up on their own. I will need to love, discipline, teach, and encourage my kids. I will need to be involved.

I don't know all the details of this particular family's issues, but I am pretty sure that the fault shouldn't be put on the video games or the alcohol. The problems lie in the heart of the family.

All families deal with sin problems in their lives. Thankfully, we are not expected to be the solution to the problem. Jesus has already come to the earth, lived the perfect life that we could not live, and has died for us as a sacrifice. God has given us saving grace through Jesus, but also empowering grace through the Holy Spirit. We have God's power to make the necessary changes in our lives to better glorify Him. We must stop being selfish. We must stop ignoring that which is obviously our fault. We must begin to own up to our problems and seek the solution for our hearts.

When was the last time we thought about our family legacy? How often do we think about how we will raise our kids? If we continue focusing only on ourselves instead of others, especially our kids, then why would we expect anything but another sad story?

Image from askmen.com.