23. (a) Will the struggle against immorality continue forever? (b) Why should you be willing to put forth any effort to please Jehovah?

²³ True, the pressure is on young ones today. To be faithful is a daily battle. However, once beyond the “bloom of youth,” the fight can become easier. Still, the battle will not continue forever. Soon Satan, the chief instigator behind this wave of immorality, will be destroyed. In God’s new order so near at hand, there will be a righteous environment that will make our course so much easier. Reflect on the blessings of that new order. Surely you agree with the sentiments of one young woman, who said: “I think of everything that Jehovah has done for me and promised me. He hasn’t given up on me. He has blessed me in so many ways. I know he wants only the best for me, and I want to please him. Eternal life is worth any effort in Jehovah’s behalf.”​—Rom. 16:20; 2 Pet. 3:13.

Parents, Reach Your Child’s Heart

“My son, if your heart has become wise, my heart will rejoice, even mine.”​—Prov. 23:15.

1, 2. (a) What is the desire of Christian parents, but how did one father feel? (b) In child training, what needs to be reached, and why?

CHRISTIAN parents yearn to protect their children from devastating moral pitfalls. No doubt you, if you are a parent, share the same apprehension as that of a Christian father with four teenagers who wrote: “The morals that our young ones are faced with keep getting worse, and sometimes it is hard to keep up with each new approach the world takes. My constant prayer is to be able to help them. I love them so much.”

² Yet, why is it that at times, even after being taken to religious meetings and being taught Bible morality, a child may still become involved in sexual immorality? Though head learning is important the heart plays a vital role, especially with regard to morals. What can a parent do to reach a child’s heart so that it becomes wise’?​—Prov. 4:23; 23:15.

DRAW UP COUNSEL OUT OF THE HEART

3. What does Proverbs 20:5 mean, and what action does this require of parents?

³ Before you can reach the heart, you have to find out, to some extent, what is in it. “Counsel [one’s real purpose or deeply rooted intentionsa] in the heart of a man is as deep waters, but the man of discernment is one that will draw it up.” (Prov. 20:5) The real feelings in the heart of a child are like waters at the bottom of a deep well. In Bible times, some well openings were over 100 feet (30 m) down, and people had to walk down stairs to “draw up” the waters. It was a real task! To “draw up” your own child’s intentions