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A teenager asked his father if he could go to a unsupervised party where there would surely be drinking. He denied his request. "Aw Dad, why not?" he complained. "I'm in high school now!" Dad replied: "Because some will drink and the party could get out of control." "But, Dad, those are just very small parts of the party! That's what my friend told me there would just be a few people drinking. "My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over. But you will not go to that party. End of discussion."
The teenager walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As he sulked, he was surprised to hear the sounds of his father preparing something in the kitchen. He soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and he thought, "Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to me with some fresh brownies. Maybe I can soften him up with lots of praise when he brings them out to me and persuade him to let me go to that party after all."
The teen was not disappointed. Soon his father appeared with a plate of warm brownies. He took one. Then his father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you very much." The teenager smiled, Dad was softening. "That is why I've made these brownies from scratch with the very best ingredients. The best stone-milled flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic pure cane sugar. Premium vanilla and the finest chocolate." The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teen began to become a little impatient with his dad's long speech.
"But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that ingredient from our own backyard. But you needn't worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies. The amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think."
"Dad, would you mind telling me what that mystery ingredient is before I eat it?" Dad answered, "Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a teaspoonful. You won't even taste it." The teen said, "Come on, Dad; just tell me what that ingredient is."
"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic...dog poop." The teen instantly dropped his brownie back on the plate and began inspecting his fingers with horror. "DAD! Why did you do that? You've tempted me by making me smell the brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell me that you added dog poop! I can't eat these brownies!"
Dad asked, "Why not? The amount of dog poop is very small compared to the rest of the ingredients. It won't hurt you. It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients, it has the same consistency as the brownies and you won't even taste it. Go ahead and eat it."
His son replied, "No, never."
The wise dad continued, "And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go to that party. You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your life? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation. So how can you in good conscience entertain yourself with something that could easily get you into trouble?"
The teenager lowered his head, then looked up at his Dad. He smiled. He finally understood. He never did go to high school parties with drinking.
And he always remembered what his Dad taught him about honoring purity.
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