I don’t know why this issue has been brought to my mind several times lately.  I know it started with a post over at Def.Con. about CCM lyrics.  If you’ve read here for any length of time you would know that the music our youth listen to and are introduced to in the church is a serious concern for me.  When I started researching the music, over two years ago, I became aware of the issue of lyrics discussing such things as harming yourself, suicide or depression in youth.  When preparing the CCM Pdf, that I shared with many in our previous church, I included a video of a young girl cutting herself to the song “Last Night” by Skillet.  That video has since been removed from the Internet, which is good, but there are equally disturbing images and videos out there.

“The Last Night”

You come to me with scars on your wrist
You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this
I just came to say goodbye
I didn’t want you to see me cry, I’m fine
But I know it’s a lie.

This is the last night you’ll spend alone
Look me in the eyes so I know you know
I’m everywhere you want me to be.
The last night you’ll spend alone,
I’ll wrap you in my arms and I won’t let go,
I’m everything you need me to be.

Your parents say everything is your fault
But they don’t know you like I know you they don’t know you at all
I’m so sick of when they say
It’s just a phase, you’ll be o.k. you’re fine
But I know it’s a lie.

The last night away from me

The night is so long when everything’s wrong
If you give me your hand I will help you hold on
Tonight,
Tonight.

I won’t let you say goodbye,
I’ll be your reason why.

The last night away from me,
Away from me.

Where is the hope?

What is the message?

Where is Christ?

This is a tough issue to deal with and it is also something that no one wants to talk about.  But while there is much value in protecting our children from even knowing about some of these issue, no parent should be clueless about the risks and dangers facing their child.  This is especially important if children are in public school or in youth groups or any setting where they spend lots of time with other youth or on the Internet, Facebook, My Space, etc.  While the below article is from Scotland, it applies to teens in other countries as well.

Children in grip of self-harm epidemic

MORE than 7,000 children in Scotland have been admitted to hospital after self-harming over the past decade, official figures released today reveal.

The shocking figures also show that more than 160,000 people aged over 16 have also been hospitalised north of the Border after intentionally harming themselves since 1999.

…

Dr Mary Brown, lecturer in psychology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said the growth of the internet and group psychology also played a part in self-harm. “With self-harm we are witnessing the effects of what is called the “risky-shift phenomenon” on the internet. If someone was by themselves they might say, ‘Oh, I feel so miserable I could cut my wrists’ but not actually do it.

“But the risky-shift phenomenon means that subconsciously people move each other along to do more extreme things. It is a form of ‘group think’ which has been observed in groups of people and partly explains why a group of drunken yobs will attack an individual while a lone drunk might not attack anyone at all.”

Brown said fragmented families and difficulties in forming friendships had also led to the rise in young people becoming dependent on online communities. “There is evidence to support the view that more young people are coming under the influence of strangers.”

The youth are getting many ideas and even encouragement from the internet and other forms of social media.

Internet addiction linked to self-harming among teens

About one in six reported some form of self-injury in the previous six months such as hitting, burning or cutting themselves.

Just over one in ten reported moderate or severe internet addiction: admitting to feeling depressed or moody when ‘off-line’, and fantasising about the internet when away from a computer.

When the results were compared, the researchers found that students were twice as likely to report high levels of self-harm (more than five episodes in the previous six months) if they also showed signs of internet addiction.

I know this is a tough and unpleasant subject but we need to be willing to share the hope of Christ with those enslaved by the world and their own pain and depression.

Psalms 69:29-30
29 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!
30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.  ESV

Revelation 21:3-4
3 … “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 
4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  ESV