When I was in the fifth grade, I went to my first birthday slumber party. I was so excited to be invited, because that meant I was part of the “cool” group of kids in my class. Although my parents did not know the birthday girl’s family very well, they still allowed me to go.
At first the party was fun. We played silly games, danced to pop music, and had lots of great food. But later in the evening when everyone snuggled into their sleeping bags in the living room, the birthday girl’s mother put on a movie that was definitely not for kids. It was a horror film in which people were possessed and controlled by demonic spirits. Needless to say, I was completely traumatized by the terrifying images in the film.
In my naivety, I never thought to call my mom or tell my friend’s mother that I didn’t like the movie. I just covered my eyes, fearfully waiting for it all to end. I don’t remember if I slept at all that night. Those horrifying images were seared in my memory like a hot iron. Sadly, this happens all too often in the homes of many families in our neighborhoods.
Now that I am a parent myself, I understand how crucial it is to protect my children’s eyes from what is evil. The world of secular media is replete with images of sexual immorality, violence and spiritual darkness. Even TV commercials are saturated with morally compromising messages. How do we as believers keep our eyes and hearts pure in a sin-sick world?
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8
What we see with our eyes seeps deep within our souls. As they saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. If that is true, then a motion picture is worth a million. In order to see God at work with our spiritual eyes, we must keep watch over the door of our physical eyes. [bctt tweet=”To see God with our spiritual eyes, we must watch over the door of our physical eyes. ” username=”christinbaker12″]
And we must teach our children to do the same.
Here are three strategies for guarding our family’s eyes and hearts:
1.) Take the “Philippians 4:8 Test” with your media choices.
The Philippians 4:8 Test involves asking ourselves key questions from the passage:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Before hitting “play” on the remote, ask yourself: Is this media choice true? Its it noble and right? Is it pure and lovely? Are the characters in this film admirable, excellent or worthy of praise? Would I recommend this media choice to another family?
2.) Use media services like Pure Flix to find good, wholesome films.
Pure Flix is a great resource for Christians who are looking for positive, uplifting media choices for their entire family. It has tons of movies, TV series, comedy shows, children’s programs and educational films. (If you are a homeschool mom like me, check out the homeschool supplemental program they offer!)
3.) Allow the Holy Spirit to guide your media choices.
If you have a sense in your heart that a certain movie or TV program is not for you, listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Don’t hesitate to hit the “stop” button on your remote if a scene is unsettling to your soul. Allow God to guide the compass of your heart, and He will lead you on the right path of purpose and purity.
Whether you are married, single, a mother or proud grandparent, we are all called to live lives of holiness. Let’s set a godly example to our children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces, and live to a higher standard than the status quo. Lives of beauty, excellence, and glorious splendor to a watching world.
Linking with these lovely bloggers here!
Christin, you have such a gift to communicate great truths! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for being my greatest cheerleader! 🙂
Beautiful! Very inspiring teachings and beautiful journaling ideas. Makes my relationship with God richer and more personal. God bless you !
Thank yo so much Simone!
Lovely !
Well done Christin !
God bless !
xoxo
Thanks, Malorie! You are such a blessing! 🙂
I agree, between rap lyrics and the Walking Dead,even young children are being oppressed. I highly recommend the videos from Nest Entertainment. I am interested in you study on women of the Bible. If you like, visit me at Beautiful Bible Women, please feel free to use or share anything you like. I have named the women, to make it easier to relate, and this month I was deciding the women and the names of God they may have encountered. https://wordpress65651.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/jehovah-m-kaddesh/
Thanks for sharing, Rebecca! I will look into Nest Entertainment–that’s one I’m not familiar with! I will also check out your site too! Thanks for visiting today! 🙂
Excellent reminder, Christin! We are commanded fight to maintain purity for our children and ourselves, yet how easy it is our culture to slip up. I am incredibly thankful when we do fail, though the Lord may always allow us to keep those memories, He is faithful to come to us when we call and remove the guilt, shame and momentary struggle. What a good God He is…
Thanks for visiting, Katie! And yes, praise the Lord for His wonderful faithfulness to us! 🙂
It’s so important to remember that the little eyes and minds and hearts in the room are drinking things in even when we are unaware! We were very careful when our girlie was little… but, like you said, even if you as the parent are intentional –sometimes it’s over at a friends house or at family where they are introduced to shows or movies or songs that you would not allow. I love how you point out to do this as a family. When they are young, make the rules and set the boundaries, by all means! But when they are old enough to start questioning why –teach them! So good!
Right on, Karilee! Thanks for visiting today! 🙂
Such a truth-filled post, Christin! It’s so important for the adults as well as the children to protect our eye and ear gates. Garbage in, garbage out, right?
So true, Kelly! Thanks for stopping by today! 🙂
I love how the Holy Spirit works in all of us about this same topic: guard.
My recent post was about it as well. So important to guard our heart and eyes from evil.
I love the prayer. Will be pinning it
Visiting you from Christian marriage and motherhood -FB
Thanks for visiting, Diana! Yes, such an important topic–praise God that we can unleash the prayer warrior, mamma bear in us all when it comes to guarding our children from harmful influences–blessings to you and your family!
Hey sweet lady! I’m back to linking up again after a break over the summer. Couldn’t resist visiting with you today and enjoying your insight over what we watch and allow our families to watch. So true Christin! I had a horrible experience at someone else’s house when I was younger and it definitely made me want to guard my children from such an experience. You used the perfect word describing what happens- a searing of images in our minds. I loved your suggestions and will happily share on Facebook ? Sure enjoyed seeing you at the confidence and connecting over ministry together ☺️?
We need to be on constant guard over our eyes…and our hearts. I have been teaching my kids to do this, too. Becuase I can’t shelter them from everything. They need to know how to guard themselves, too. Thanks for sharing on Grace and Truth.
So true for us and our kids! Have you heard of pluggedin.com? It’s a great Christian site with movie reviews. It’s very detailed and has helped us keep many movies out of our home. By the way…..I’ve been binge reading your blog and I love it!!!! YOu are such a talented writer and God is using in many ways. You are such an encouragement to me…..thank you!
Thank you SO MUCH Laura! Your words mean so much!! 🙂 And yes, I also love pluggedin.com to check out movies for our family–hope you and your family are doing well, and thanks for stopping by!! 🙂
I Praise Almighty God for you Christin…In Jesus Name!
As my children were coming up…this was not a situation I encountered but nonetheless like you said wickedness is wide spread over the media…newspapers…social websites, etc. And we must have Godly discernment…as well as continue to be our children’s bigger intercessor.
I enjoy your post. Keep up the Great Work…All to the Glory of God
Thank you, Nyree for your words of encouragement! Praise God for the Lord’s protection over our children! Blessings to you! 🙂
This is my first visit to your message posts on Pintrest. And tho my children are grown I have to say that I was blessed and so happy that you are here to teach us. Thank you. I hope I can find my way back, lol. God bless you. ❤️
Thank you so much for visiting, Patti! May the Lord continue to bless your family!