Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch and in today's episode we're asking the question, should Target ban teenagers? Now this has prompted by an article I read in the Atlantic recently by Julie Beck, looking at a growing trend among retailers. This article focused on Target particularly, but large box stores, shopping malls, public gathering spaces which are instituting bans for children under 18 who are not accompanied by an adult. So gone are the days when you and your teenage buddies could go hang out at Target or Walmart or the mall they don't want you. And retailers are saying that they're seeing a rise in shoplifting trends in disturbances and in really just a, reduced shopping experience for everyone else because of the teenagers. Now the article took a negative view of this. It was arguing that teenagers need to gather in public, that more than ever they're feeling isolated and alone and eliminating public space is only going to drive them further into in that direction. It was arguing basically that for the good of teenagers and their health, retailers should be letting them hang out there. And I gotta tell you, I couldn't think this article could be more wrong. And here's why. First of all, can we all just say anecdotally that we know stories in our area where teenagers, large groups of them, have been disruptive in Northeast Ohio alone. I know this has happened in shopping malls. I know this has happened at retailers. There's a reason why stores are instituting these bans. After all, Target exists to take your money and they will take your money through your teenager if they can. So when they say that teenagers can't be there, they're cutting off avenues of revenue. That's how bad they're saying that it is. But forget for a second the statistics about loss or disruption because what I think the article is getting wrong fundamentally is not whether or not teenagers are dangerous inherently, cuz I don't think they are. Or whether or not stores have a responsibility to think about teenagers health because I don't think they do. This is not a retail problem. It's not even a teenager problem. I can tell you what it is. It's a fatherhood problem. Because all the things listed in this article are the things that dads should be aiming at. Teenagers are lonely and isolated. That is the dad's responsibility to figure out if children are disruptive in public spaces. If they don't understand public decorum and respect for Property rights. That is a father's problem. Listen, let me point you to an interesting place in the Bible to drive this home in Malachi 4, 6. the Prophet is writing about the promised Messiah and what's gonna happen when, when he comes. Of course he's talking about Jesus and he says this to give Israel hope for how the Messiah will change the world. Listen to this. He says he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. In other words, God is looking at the state of the broken world that Jesus would be coming into and he's saying, you know, we have, we have a fatherhood problem. God understands that where fathers have their hearts turned towards their children, things like this don't happen. And that expression matters. By the way, hearts turn towards their children. Because I'm not talking about dads who come in yelling and screaming or with an iron fist of discipline. I'm talking about dads who are paying attention. Dads who are noticing what's going on in the heart and the lives of their children, noticing who their teenagers are hanging out with. Dads who are pursuing their kids over a milkshake or a burger, having conversations. Dads who have been doing the hard work of teaching respect, responsibility and discipline for the past 14, 15, or 16 years. We can't ask Target to fix the problem of absentee fathers. Whether they're absent the physically or mentally or emotionally by the time a 16 year old is walking into a target without any regard for anything else, Target can't fix that problem. To be honest with you, I'm not really sure who can. Absent the Holy Spirit and a complete heart change, dads matter. And, can we just start saying that? I mean, part of the problem is we live in a culture where everyone has to matter and no one's role matters more and more. And we're very worried about patriarchy and toxic masculinity. And so we either don't talk about men or we talk about them negatively. This article should have been titled where are the Fathers Because Their Kids are Ruining my Target. Dads, you have a God given sacred responsibility. Whether you realize it or not, a part of the mission of Jesus is to turn your hearts to your children. So let him. And together we might not only save our kids, we might even save Target. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!