Taming the Media Monster in the Home – Part 4
You’ve probably noticed an obvious rise in the regular occurrences of witches, sorcery, and the magic world in kids movies, TV shows, and books.
You can usually turn on the kid’s Disney Channel and find something on that involves the use of supernatural powers and abilities. It’s common occurrence, but is it merely coincidence?
Galatians 5:19-20 Now the works of the flesh are… adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft…
Revelation 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
God’s Word implies that there will be a rise in sorcery and occultism the closer we approach to the last days.
Is a rise in occultism and things of the dark side just simply nothing more than mere entertainment? Is it just the fact that Hollywood knows that we find enjoyment in the supernatural, so they use it to lure us in? Or is it more than that?
A better question to ask would be this – can the media be trusted? You might have a hard time like I do remembering the last time they’ve given us good reason to believe that they have ours or our children’s best interest in mind.
I’ve noticed quiet a few reasons not to trust them in recent ‘kids’ films that are even sometimes rated ‘G’. It’s been numerous times in new kids’ movies that cuss words are implied without using the actual words themselves, but by making up names and words that are combined to make a clear statement, without technically saying the statement that they want to get across. I for one, have not appreciated their not so subtle attempts, and would guess that I’ve not been the only one to take notice.
The point is simply this – the media cannot be trusted to watch out for our little ones. And even more importantly – the devil cannot be trusted.
“The increase of vulgarity and themes of death, witchcraft, and occultism in the media ought not come as a surprise to us as Christians, but our acceptance of it should.”
Do we somehow think that it’s beyond the devil to at minimum use these forms of “entertainment” to indoctrinate the next generation? Please understand, I’m not suggesting that our children will follow Satan because they watch the Disney Channel. However, it is Satan’s desire to dumb down the plain teaching of Scripture on this issue in the minds of a new “tolerant” generation of young people. And in a day and age where “Disney” is the name of most parents’ babysitter, it should cause us to take these issues into serious consideration.
If you watch any current television shows or movies, you’d be led to believe that there is such a thing as good witchcraft and bad witchcraft. That there is a difference between good and evil in the world of wizardry and sorcery. But Biblically, that’s simply not true. As best as I can tell according to the Bible, God hasn’t changed His mind about where He stands on the issue.
Consider these Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter pass throught the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Leviticus 20:6,7 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.
Galatians 5:19-20 Now the works of the flesh are… adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft…
You won’t find any ‘good’ witches or wizards mentioned in the Bible, in either the Old Testament or the New. Yet Hollywood has very successfully fed this generation and those before it the lie that there is such a distinction, from as early as the days of “The Wizard of Oz.” (Just to be clear, I’m not an enemy of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ Our family lives in Liberal, KS, home to Dorothy’s House. 🙂 However, I don’t think parents should take anything their children watch for granted, old or new.)
Sorcerers, witches, wizards, and those with familiar spirits (psychics) are never painted in a positive light, but rather, God’s people are repeatedly commanded to refrain from involvement in any form of their craft. The Bible gives clear warnings against the dangers and consequences of involvement in witchcraft and occultism, and it never paints the picture that it’s simply mere fun and innocent child’s play.
As Christian parents, we do ourselves a great disservice by being silent about this issue with our kids. Yet many parents are not only silent, but seemingly supportive of their children participating in such entertainment.
Granted, the level of witchcraft and sorcery in recent years has quadrupled that of any previous generation. We’re not talking about an occasional seemingly innocent display here and there, like some might consider “The Wizard of Oz” to be, but we’re now seeing it in nearly every other movie that is produced on a whole new level. And it’s not in an innocent playful sort, but rather a real life approach to solving the world’s problems. Accidental, coincidental, or intentional?
So what’s a parent to do? Here’s some ideas:
1. Decide in advance what your rules will be for your family when it comes to this issue.
Shouldn’t this issue be one that Christian parents take into account when considering what shows, movies, and books they allow their children to digest?
What is allowed and what isn’t? When do your kids need to ask permission before watching or participating in certain things?
“Not every family has to draw the line in the same place, but every family needs to draw the line and know where the line is drawn and why.”
2. Watch or read questionable movies or books in advance before exposing your kids to them.
Don’t assume that because “they’re just kids” that it won’t negatively affect them. Because “they’re just kids” is the very reason we ought to be especially cautious.
If you don’t have the time to be the filter, can you really afford to take a chance at your child’s expense?
3. Just say No.
A good rule to follow is “Better safe than sorry.” Little minds are impressionable, and repeated impressions of something the Bible clearly forbids is terribly concerning.
We recently experienced this with our daughter who wanted to see a popular movie. But the movie (or at least the preview) had a very obvious emphasis on witchcraft and the dark side. To our daughter’s disappointment, we told her no, and explained why.
“I would rather tell my kids no and their heart and mind be protected from something potentially harmful, than tell them yes and their heart and mind be exposed to something that I can never undo.”
If we don’t have any boundaries or standards for our family concerning this issue, Hollywood will definitely be glad to open the door and set them for us. Sadly, our silence in many homes has already allowed them to do just that. What becomes culturally acceptable often gradually becomes “Christianally” acceptable by default. (Yes, I just made up that word)
Ephesians 5:11 says that we are to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”
Simply put, there ought to be some movies and shows that we as Christians will not watch and some books that we will not read. My intent is not to tell you which ones those are, but that we each need to decide in advance for our family and know why we’ve decided based on Biblical principle.
If we’re going to make decisions that we know will go against the cultural grain, we need to have Biblical reasoning for those decisions, so our children understand why we don’t always participate in what’s popular and even considered to be socially acceptable. And by doing so, we equip them to one day be able to do the same for our grandchildren.
At the end of the day, the ultimate question that every parent needs to answer is this – Has God changed His mind about witchcraft? And if the answer is no, it begs us ask the question, “Then why should we?”
Where do you draw the line for your family? Do you have a line drawn?
My desire is not to decide for you what your family should or shouldn’t do concerning this issue, but to encourage you to decide that for yourself. I want to challenge you to be more on guard than off guard, to be more active than passive, and to play it safe more than you play it convenient.
Please feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment. Do you agree… disagree? Do you have a question? I’d love to hear your feedback.
- NOTE: A good tool I would recommend that you use to make good movie decisions for your family is PluggedIn.com or the Plugged In Movie App, both produced by Focus on the Family. It will give you a detailed explanation of all the various elements of new and relatively new movies, both positive and negative, so that you can make an informed decision in advance for your family.
