Let me play the devil’s advocate for a moment…
If I’m the enemy (Satan), here are some things that I know most parents will never do:
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Intentionally expose their children to bad friends and influences
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Intentionally expose their children to people whose worldview and beliefs diametrically contradict that of their family
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Allow their kids to have sex in their bedroom or watch someone else having sex in their bedroom
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Hand their kids a porn magazine
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Encourage their kids to participate in crude language or cursing
However, if I’m the enemy, my goal is to make that which is evil look good. My goal is to disguise something that is potentially very dangerous as simply being common and harmless. If I’m the enemy, I’m looking for any way possible to expose your child to any and all of the above things and more right under your nose. And I want it to hit as close to home as possible… might I even say, right under your own roof.
If I’m the enemy, I would absolutely love to get my foot not only into the door of your home, not even just into your living room, but ultimately into your child’s own bedroom. I want to invite guests into their bedroom that will have a growing influence upon their thoughts, their behaviors, and even their worldview. I would love for these guests to expose them to the world of drinking, drugs, sex, porn, the glorification of violence and murder, cursing, and a multitude of other obscenities, all behind closed doors. I want to have them, their mind, and their heart most captivated when they are alone in private, and where secrecy can thrive.
If I am the enemy, how would I do this?…
I think most of us parents probably already know the answer… As the enemy, I want your child to have a TV or smartphone in their bedroom, and/or some other form of internet-enabled device that they can use behind closed doors that exposes them to my world of dangerous possibilities. I want them to have unsupervised and uncontrolled access to television, YouTube, social media, and gaming options.
“Our enemy is very intentional, and an intentional enemy mandates intentional parents.”
For these reasons and more, this is why my wife and I have chosen not to allow our children to have a TV in their bedroom, or any internet-enabled device in their rooms when they go to bed, nor are they allowed to use any of those things behind closed doors.
And surprisingly, this is not a popular stance to take in today’s society. In fact, it is quite anti-cultural. What’s becoming more and more of the norm is for kids to have complete access to everything digital, not only at home and at school, but even in the privacy of their own rooms. And somehow, many parents aren’t seeing a problem with this.
While I understand that there are restrictions that can be put in place in your home to prevent your child from many of the threats that these things pose (which every parent should have in place, yet most do not), why put your child in such a position in the first place to potentially be exposed to so many evils of our world completely unsupervised? And if for no other reason, why put your children in a position of such certain temptation?
I hear the argument often from parents that, “Well, I just know that I can trust my kids.” And those parents are very naive, even if unintentionally. I know for a fact that many young people have secret digital lives (hidden online activity, porn addiction, hidden accounts, and relationships) that their parents know nothing about. Please, take my word for it. (And if you won’t take my word for it, go and ask the youth pastor at your own church.) You are your children’s parents for a reason. They need you, and they are counting on you to protect them from the enemy.
Here are some other valid questions to consider…
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Even if restrictions are in place, why would we allow our children to make their own entertainment choices in private, trusting those who create ‘parental controls’ to have our child’s best interest at heart?
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Yes, there are “ratings”, but are we so naive to believe Hollywood knows what is best or even acceptable for our kids?
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If I have a hard time trusting myself and my own sinful nature as an adult with such access to these things, why would I trust my children and theirs?
One of the most important parental responsibilities we have been given is to protect the hearts and minds of our children. And it’s often okay for our children to stay in their “innocence” far longer than the world wants them to. So if we know that these things have the likely potential to compete with us in our efforts to do that, what makes such a thing so valuable in our eyes that we will allow it in our own home, even in our own child’s bedroom?
As parents, we intuitively know what is good and what is bad for our children. We know that there are certain things that are beneficial to raising good, moral, and respectful young people. And there are certain things that fight against those efforts.
As parents, we know (or at least must be reminded) that there is a spiritual battle being waged for the hearts and minds of our children. We are not fighting against things that can only be seen or heard, we are fighting an unseen, yet far from an imaginary enemy. And the enemy is playing for keeps.
Because our children are “sheep in the midst of wolves”, may we as parents be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
So, how seriously are you willing to take your responsibility to protect your kids from the enemy?
