Families of faith are being backed into a proverbial corner.
Daily… we feel forced by our media driven culture to represent or dismiss our Christian beliefs. No choice given for us but to hard-line our position with the black / white of a hostile, faith posture or the watered-down, relativistic shades of gray to preserve a semblance of a moral status quo.
What’s a parent to do…? So many voices in the mix.
As parents we maintain the highest statistical influence on our children’s formative values and beliefs. Barna Research points to families as having more impact on pre-teens (13 and under) and tweens than any other voice in their lives.
So as parents what we do, how we respond and what we say really, truly, deeply, matters!
The controversial issues of our time have entered our living rooms and roam the halls of our homes and are growing daily for modern parents.
These are not trivialities… but HUGE and essential, in-your-face topics for kids to process!
Today’s pressing social issues represent legitimate concerns paired with post-Christian philosophies in desperate need of biblically intelligent responses in our homes.
Let’s be sure to keep our parenting responses to these volatile issues as informed, compassionate, and consistent as possible. Insight and perspective that contains deep wisdom and truth, stuff that comes from time with our heavenly Father and a well-read topical library of trusted authors. (See below)
Be aware of the temptation that our culture offers to us as Christians…to simply take one of two uber-polarized, preformed positions, ‘for’ or ‘against’ the latest social trends… before we seek out the truth on our knees. We can’t just ‘knee-jerk’ our responses out of fear and misplaced anger, these issues are essential for us all to understand and navigate well.
Mom – Dad; some encouragement if I may…
Keep close to Christ. Lean on and listen to the voice of your shepherd, not the winds of popular opinion. There is truth in your world, it’s found in the scriptures. There is a foundation you can live from, teach and pass on. But the battle for truth isn’t a debate of words and logic… it’s a tug of war for the longings of our hearts.
Ultimately it’s about the essentials of our faith… Is Christ who He claimed to be? Is the bible a sacred text? Can we live with clarity in midst of an out-of-focus world?
Answering those questions on your knees will bring conviction to your faith and confidence to your answers. As Christians we’re not going to have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines of social change much longer. We’ll have to take a position. Will we stand for the core values we claim to believe, or in our passivity, just fade…?
Our kids are carefully watching… Lord, help us to show courage and compassion in the days ahead.
