Education of youth in freedom and abstinence

Abstract

One of the greatest aspirations of contemporary young people is to live in freedom. On the other hand, more and more teenagers and young adults lose their freedom by falling into psychotropic or behavioral addictions, of which the most common is alcohol dependence. The present paper presents the principles of educating the young generation in freedom and abstinence from addictive substances or stimuli. The first principle is to expose false visions of freedom, as well as explain it to the pupils that the meaning of freedom is love. Somebody who loves uses freedom he received from God in the most mature way possible. Such use of freedom is the fruit of solid education that takes place when parents and other educators show love to their children and pupils, and, at the same time, impose tough requirements on them whenever such requirements are necessary for them to achieve psychosocial maturity.