Christian Teens and High School Proms
A Biblical Perspective
 

Well, here you are, finally at that point in life when your local high school is hosting a Prom. Many of your friends are going. If you're a young lady, perhaps some young men have asked you to go. Perhaps if you're a young man you may be wondering just what to do. Now for the Christian young person you have more issues to deal with. First and foremost, does God want you to attend this prom? It would be really easy to just sweep this question under the rug and try to ignore it, but Christians should never ignore the things of this world that confront them and the things that tempt them to do evil. So let's get some answers from the Bible and then let's really determine to stand for the Lord Jesus Christ no matter what others in the school may think.

Let's first describe what usually goes on at proms, regardless if you'd be involved with all of these activities. Sometimes teens get drunk before and after proms. I'm sure not all teens do this, but prom history supports this truth as being valid. As a result of teens getting drunk, some get pregnant because they do what they normally would not do. Some are even killed as a result of auto accidents. Now you might be saying, "Hey, I'm a Christian, I'm not going to be drinking and carrying on like that. So what does this all have to do with me?" Let me put it to you this way, would God want you to hang around at bars, knowing all the evil things that take place at bars? What's the answer? We'll let God give us the answer:
1 Thessalonians 5:22, Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Ephesians 5:11, And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
Psalms 1:1, Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
So it's clear that God would not want His children being identified with such worldly activities as drinking and drunkenness, but what about dancing? Does God's Word say anything about dancing, especially the kind of dancing that will be found at proms? First, let's ask ourselves, "what kind of dancing will be taking place at proms? Certainly not the polka or square dancing (not that I'm advocating them). No, proms are not noted for their FOLK dancing. Proms are however known for their dancing that involves guys and girls dancing in such a way that they are tempted to be involved physically. The fast dancing, involving so much lustful movements of the body, is just the beginning, and then comes the slow dances that bring unmarried couples far beyond the temptation zone.
Is God all right with this kind of dancing? Again, let's look to God's Word for the answer. You may remember that when Moses went up to speak with God on Mount Sinai, that the people of God made a golden calf and began to worship that calf, which was an idol. But did you also know that the sinful people got involved in fleshly dancing and that led to all kinds of immorality?

Exodus 32:6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play (dancing & sexual immorality).
7, And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.

Exodus 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." 18 But he said: "It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear."

We see a number of things in the Exodus passages that displeased the Lord. Obviously the people of God had worshiped an idol, something that represented worshiping the things of this world. Once they had abandoned the care for serving God alone, many other sins followed. Christian, you need to ask yourself, will attending this prom be putting God first, or will it be ignoring God and pleasing yourself. If your aim is to please yourself and not God, you'll be opening yourself up to go down that road of sinful self pleasure.
There is another verse that we must deal with in the light of what goes on at typical high school proms:
1, Corinthians 7:1, Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2, Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."

The word to "touch a woman" means to light a fire. The context of 1Cor.7 is quite clear; a man should not touch a woman to start the fire sexually, unless they are married. The dancing at proms will actually provide specific songs for couples to dance extremely close. This kind of closeness, biblically, is only meant for married couples. God would not want you involved in this kind of activity.
The Lord would also not be pleased even if you did not dance like this, but you joined yourself to this activity by association.

Now step back for a moment and ask yourself, "Will a prom help you or hinder you from worshiping God?" Will a prom and all it's activities allow you to practice the principles set forth in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." With all the worldly influences and ungodly activities that take place at a prom, how could this help you "think" about the things just mentioned in Phil. 4:8?
Next, can the dancing, that is worldly in fashion, help you to serve God, focus on God and please God. Or will the dancing be a HUGE temptation to you to let your mind and body go where they should not as a Christian? For the Christian who wants to SCREAM out, but there is dancing in the Bible that honors God. Let me just say that some ancient traditional dance done in the right place, at the right time with the right motives, "may" have pleased God, if there was nothing worldly about the dancing, but the Bible never states this emphatically.

Finally, we have the issue of a "date" for the prom. What exactly do we mean by this? Are two people going to the prom just to be friendly for the evening or is there more expected in the typical prom date? Can a Christian young lady and a Christian young man attend a prom and come away enriched in any way spiritually? Can this same couple come away knowing they've honored God in attending this activity? Can this couple come away not having been tempted to be involved in worldly dancing and perhaps immoral behavior, that they will certainly see at these dances (immoral from God's point of view would include all the close sexual dancing and kissing, before, after and during the prom)?
Some Christian teens have argued, "But I'll miss out on an important part of my teenage experience." For the Christian teen that wants to serve God without compromise, there are many teen experiences that the world holds up as "MUST HAVES" that God sees as "MUST NOTS". Every believer regardless of their age has the responsibility to live according to Romans 12:1-2:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Your body and what you do with it should all be about serving God as a living sacrifice. I believe attending a prom would be like offering yourself to this world's system and it's ways. Remember verse 2 of Romans 12, "do not be conformed to this world". Sometimes Christian teens struggle so much with peer pressure, what everyone else is doing, that they forget that God has not called them to be like every other teen. God has called you to be like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God has called you to be Holy as He is Holy. God has called you to be Salt in this corrupt world. God has called you to be lights in this spiritually dark world. Sometimes being different and not doing all that your friends are doing is the BIGGEST Witness you'll have. Sometimes not being involved in what everyone else is doing will give you an open door to tell people of your biblical convictions. Christian teen, you need to be willing and happy to give up any worldly teen experience for the opportunity of experiencing your own obedient walk with God. Going to the prom will undoubtedly make no impact on eternity, in fact, it could have a negative impact. However, standing true to God and His Word could impact eternity. You may struggle with the world's sadness for a short period of time because you didn't attend your high school prom, but you'll struggle a lot longer if you went, felt guilty afterwards or worse, fell into sin that impacts the rest of your life. Any genuine Christian will always feel better about their whole life when they've obeyed God.
For Christian teens that make the right choice about what not to be involved in, you'll be on your way to a life time of making right decisions for Christ. So don't let the world dictate to you what's right for you, listen to God's Word. Don't let emotions determine what's right or wrong, let God Himself tell you through His Word. And remember, the Christian's joy should always find it's source in the Lord and not in the world.