Commentary by Ingrid Schlueter
How do you raise girls to be useful, Christ-centered, godly and modest in a so-called “Christian” environment that no longer values these things? Lip service is paid to “Jesus” by parents and church youth groups, but I find it heartbreaking to see a very different reality. (I have four sons, but I was thinking about daughters today…the same question applies to sons.)
As Christian parents, there are no guarantees that after instructing our children and raising them to love and fear God that they will do so. But before God we are responsible for sharing the true gospel with them and instructing them in the Scriptures so they are made fully aware of the truth. We are also responsible as parents to live it. But what saddens me is what I see among young evangelical girls who are obsessed with the latest Hollywood movies, praising movies that contain graphic immoral sexual content, (SO romantic), posting videos to groups that can only be described as evil in their worldview (Your Sweet 666?), who have no self respect in their dress or online conduct with males, who waste their lives texting gossip and foolishness, and so forth.
That secular kids live this way is hardly a shocker. But the world has so infected the church that evangelical parents are just relieved that their kids are not using drugs, jacking cars or creating babies. The bar is really that low now spiritually. So if you send your daughter off to a Christian youth group and she comes home with a Twilight henna tattoo, if her Christian school friends are chattering about a movie called “The Ugly Truth” which features graphic sex, if parents of middle schoolers are OK with her “Burnin’ Up” with the Jonas Brothers (Baby, who turned up the temperature hotter, cause I’m burnin’ up, burnin’ up for you, baby! —Christian parents, when did lust become cute?), maybe it’s time we started realizing this isn’t Christianity at all.
According to everything God commands in Scripture about purity, modesty, cleanness of speech, sloth, gossip and fear of the Lord, the current culture among kids from professing Christian homes is not remotely related to the narrow way Christ taught. Our children may ultimately reject what we teach them, but we need to immerse our young people in prayer and remain faithful as Christian parents to teach and live out for them a life that honors Christ. Jesus gave his life in agony on the cross for the things our kids are celebrating online. Something is wrong.
Listen to Crosstalk Radio Talk Show at 2pm Central today for more discussion on this theme.