Open Letter to My Teenagers - No.1

To My Kids,

Your mother and I love you more than you understand and as you are in varying stages of your teen years, it seemed a good time to write this out for you; so you can hopefully keep it and make it your own. We are in this awkward phase of life when you are moving from a child, having complete dependence upon your parents, to a state of complete independence and you will be responsible for your lives. It’s a clumsy and bumpy road to navigate the teenage years but hopefully we all make it out sane and in one piece.

PRIORITIES

The first topic I want to talk to you about is priorities. Always keep your priorities straight and keep them in their proper order. I know that we’ve talked to you about this, but it needs to be repeated. Nothing in your life will be good if your priorities are out of line and not in proper proportion.

GOD

The first and most important priority is God. He is the source of being itself and we owe our very existence to Him. Nothing exists without Him actively and constantly willing its existence. If for even one moment God did not actively will your existence, you would immediately vanish. So He not only has created us but continues to always will our existence.

So your first and highest priority must always be your relationship with God and properly & reverently worshipping Him. We must go to Mass each Sunday and go to Confession regularly. We must pray to Him and we must obey Him. We must keep ourselves free from sin and we must do good works (acts of charity) when possible. Everything else must follow behind in importance to this.

FAMILY

The second priority is your family. Your friends may come and go, but your family will always be here. Your siblings will always be your family. So never take your family for granted. Always make sure to spend time with your family and prioritize them over things like electronics and recreation. Both of those things have a time and a place, but they should never interfere with your relationships, especially with your family.

Remember as well that when you get married, you must place your spouse above everyone else except God. They are a higher priority than friends and other family members. (Of course this does not justify or condone separating from friends and family in any way.) This means that private matters between you and your spouse should remain private. It should never be broadcast online. This is a rule you must start implementing in your lives now. Keep your private life exactly that, private. A few pictures and other things that you share on social media sites with just friends is fine within moderation. Do not broadcast your life online.

COUNTRY

You need to be involved in your community. You need to protect and defend your country from enemies, both foreign and domestic. You are not allowed to vote for communists. You need to participate in your community by volunteering and charity work. But you also need to participate by going to community events rather than scrolling on your phone or streaming a new show. You cannot love your neighbor if you never come outside your home.

WORK

As you move into adulthood, the fundamental thing you must do is accept the burden of the responsibilities of your own life. As children, it was our duty to carry those responsibilities for you. But as you get older, more and more of those responsibilities will fall on your shoulders. You must start to take care of your own needs. You must learn to manage a household through chores so you will be ready to do so on your own. If you want more freedom in your teenage years, you need to accept more responsibility. There is no such thing as freedom without responsibility.

RECREATION

The levels of recreation today are wildly out of proportion to their proper role and priority. Fixing this one area would dramatically improve every single problem in our country today. The VAST majority of people today have made recreation their false god that they worship. Whether it is their phone, electronics, sports, alcohol & drugs or a combination of those things, the amount of recreation and priority level of recreation is catastrophically out of proportion.

Recreation in moderation is a good thing. We were created as humans by God, not machines. We need times of recreation not only for our health but also to improve the very lives and existence we share together. When recreation is in proper order and moderation, it is a wonderful thing that can bless our lives. But when it becomes outsized and rises in priority far above where it belongs, our lives start to spiral out of control. The very first things that we start to ignore will always be God and our family. We want only comfort and convenience. We start to avoid work and responsibility. We look for ways to ignore things that need to be fixed. Society itself is crumbling and falling apart today because people are addicted to recreation.

PRIORITIES

Keep your priorities in order, and attend to them diligently. If you do that, you are guaranteed to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life. You will be living life as it was designed by God Himself. You will keep yourself close to Him and to your family. Always remember the ultimate purpose to life is to know God, to love God and to serve God, so that you can enjoy eternity with Him. If you reach Heaven, then your life was ultimately a success. If you send yourself to hell, then your life was ultimately a failure. No matter how much money you made, or how much power you accumulated, or how many friends you had. None of that matters if you go to hell.

Keep your priorities in line and you will find yourself in Heaven.