But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
My family and I have had a couple of interesting encounters lately. The first occurred at my little cousin’s choral concert for her school. She attends a public high school that is geared toward college prep and advanced studies. She was singing her first solo and was excited to surprise her mom with her on stage performance. The theme of this particular concert was a tribute to Whitney Houston and her life as a performer. But her choir director’s song of choice for my little cousin threw me for a loop! She was selected to sing, “Saving All My Love for You”—a song about adultery. The first stanza reads as follows: “A few stolen moments is all that we share/ You’ve got your family and they need you there/Though I’ve tried to resist, being last on your list/But no other man’s gonna do/ Cause I’m saving all my love for you.” The second half of the concert was contemporary. My cousin did not sing in this part, but the student sang “Dirty Diana” by Michael Jackson and a few other songs by modern artists such as Usher and Rihanna.
The second odd experience occurred this past weekend as my husband and I, along with our precious boys took a last minute trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We arrived at the resort right at check-in on Saturday to hang out at the pool and relax. However, while we were there swimming in the family pool with the other parents and their kids, a large party of about fifty young, college age men entered the other end of the pool. The problem is that about fifteen or so of those men started to engage in really public displays of affection. Needless to say, it was time for us to get out of the pool. But what hurt the most was that my oldest son, who usually loves hotels and all things Disney, felt so uncomfortable that he was ready to go back home.
That’s when it occurred to me: we are living in very different times. The Bible states that, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9. But it was clear to me that by the time Mikey turns six, I will probably have discussed things with him that I had not even thought about until I was in high school. It’s not that we didn’t have inappropriate songs in our day, but we did not sing them in front of our parents and we certainly did not sing them at a school sanctioned event. There have always homosexual people, but I have never seen such a large, brazen display of public affection at a family resort. I agree with the Bible, sin has been around from the beginning of time, but the shame surrounding sin seems to be fading as everyone does what is right in their own eyes.
It’s clear that I need to be ready to give an account, or an answer, for the many uncomfortable moments life will present to my kids. It’s clear that I need to teach them to love the sinner, but hate the sin. It’s clear that I need to teach them that the Bible is our plumbline, telling us what true righteousness looks like. There are absolute truths: God is real. We did not evolve from the monkeys we saw at Animal Kingdom. Evolution is a theory, not a fact. Certain behaviors are wrong—i.e. adultery. God created us male and female in his image, and his Word governs the scope of those relationships.
I am sure that many would be offended by such “narrow-minded” remarks, but I’ve decided that as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. We will love on the sinner, but we will not conform to the patterns of this world. Moms, I would encourage you to encourage and pray for each other as we seek to raise this next generation of disciples, and that God would give us the words to explain the truth in love with our children and the world around us.
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15
Prayer: God you are so good, and holy, and right. Your word is true, and when you set boundaries they are for our good. When we are “in the grey” about something, help us search your word for the truth so that we may be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope that is in found in you. Help us to explain difficult and uncomfortable topics to our kids in a way that they can understand and in way that truly pleases you. Help us to teach them to love and pray for those around them, but to also distinguish the truth from a lie. Please gift our children with discerning hearts, steadfast minds, firm convictions, love that overflows, and hearts that rejoice in the truth. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen
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