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This week, we're in Chapter 7 of the Give Them Grace book club. To join us, all you need is a copy of Give Them Grace. After that, read these posts:
Join us in the Family Discipleship Facebook Group for more discussion throughout the week!
I've been reading Give Them Grace with the Family Discipleship Facebook group. We've made it to Chapter 7 where the authors are discussing “The One Good Story.” Chapter 7 has a lot of parenting decisions that I am sure every parent has an opinion about but I'd like to focus in on the 3 reasons the authors state our children should be familiar with modern media/content.
1. Children Grow Up
This instantly grabbed me as I remembered sitting in my room on a college campus and I spotted the TV and thought, “I can finally see that movie now.” Even when I got around to digging back into the 80s and 90s for films I couldn't see as a child, I was equipped with discernment. I am not sure if my mother did this intentionally, but I did hold up other stories to the One Good Story.
Even more so than “children grow up,” children are growING up. My son asked me the other day, “What is 50 Shades of Grey?” Even though no one in our home has seen the movie, it reminded me that we cannot shelter our kids. They are in the world even if they are not of it. When I asked him where he heard about the movie, he told me he read the movie poster at Wal-Mart.
I did not go into major detail but I gave him a synopsis of the movie and asked him if anything seemed off. He replied that men aren't supposed to treat women that way. Jesus loved women. I'm not saying that he's arrived at the tender age of 9, but I do see the need to not hide every single thing. Why let them see anything at all? Because children grow up. Right now, they are growing up.
2. Evil Is Not Only Outside
Watch a two-year-old and you'll understand that we never have to be taught how to sin. We all have a sin nature. Sure, the name of the sin may be different and it may look different on me than it does on you, but it's still sin. So then, the media is not the source of evil and it's not causing you or me to sin. We're born sinful. The television didn't do it. While I do believe we should have ear gates and eye gates, we must understand that sin is already in us.
I often see Christian mommy bloggers confess to a few guilty pleasures throughout the year. Overwhelmingly there's a TV show on the list. As I continue to read the post (or think about what I already know about them), I can spot why that particular show attracts them.
Typically, the evil we're attracted to on the outside is already on the inside. When I read about the “rooftop woman” in the New Testament I am reminded of myself. Likewise, the media I'm innately drawn to has a powerful in-your-face, non-submissive woman as a lead character. Even though I will remain guarded, some media helps to serve as a reminder to myself of how I look (as a rooftop woman) so I do not become her.
It can be beneficial to me if I allow it. I do the same with my children. We discuss why they even desire to see certain things and what's coming out of their hearts as a result. Then, back to the One Good Story. Keep pointing them there over and over again.
3. Able to Minister to a Media-Saturated Culture
My son plays with the same neighborhood kids every time he is outside. One of them does not know the Gospel. They both like movies and games and I've told my son that's one way to help reach unbelievers. When his buddy says, “Have you seen {insert title} before?” he can use it as a way to minister the One Good Story.
A few weeks ago my son was asked to watch a clip of Planet of the Apes. He did not know I could see or hear him. I just waited to see what he would say or do. Apparently someone had brought up the idea of evolution in the viewing room because on his way out he mentioned that a monkey movie is cool but he's made in the image of God and not a monkey.
He had a very good evolution-Creation chat and fought back lies with Truth in a very loving, logical, and clear way. But the chat was only made possible because he saw the clip. Because he understands that he cannot shun everything just because it isn't “Christian.”
Our hope is that if we have taught how to discern the One Good Story and judge every other story by it, they'll be better equipped to answer the wicked imposter's lies when they hear them.
Your Turn
After reading chapter 7 of Give Them Grace, what do you have to say about the One Good Story? When making decisions about interacting with surrounding worldly culture, are you more or less protective? Do you see the value in allowing your children to interface with society and its varied forms of entertainment?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and in the Family Discipleship Facebook Group.
