Two ladies, Eva Marie Everson and Jessica Everson, have written a book entitled Sex, Lies, and Media: What Your Kids Know and Aren’t Telling You. In the introduction of the book, the Senior Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Internet Safety, Jack L. Samad, writes:

The sex-saturated environment we live in and the brokenness it produces due to the one- dimensional message of sex will continue to impact not only our children’s generation but also countless generations to come. We cannot escape it. Music defines it. Television demands it. “Family viewing hour” is no longer a safe choice. Walking through a shopping mall with kids in tow represents a different set of challenges for parents. Young children have the opportunity to see larger-than-life-size posters of naked models, displayed for the purpose of advertising clothing and cologne, and parents are forced to explain why the model in the display window isn’t dressed the way young ladies with modesty dress. (p.10)

The question is not whether or not the culture we live in is this way, but rather how will we raise our children in this environment. Allow me to recommend:

1) Be PROACTIVE – Talk with your children about these topics before they are thrust out there on their own to discover them. The children of Israel were commanded to take the words of God and “Teach them diligently” to their children constantly (Deut. 6:7). The idea behind teaching diligently is the idea of sharpening, and that was to be done with the Word of God and the goal in mind being respect for God. Besides teaching verbally, teach by actions. Be careful what you watch, what you listen to, and what you read. Your children are watching you.

2) Be PERCEPTIVE – Jesus was the master of using “teachable moments”. I recall Peter, upon hearing Jesus telling and showing the twelve of his upcoming crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, making a statement which is designed to show his love for his Master, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (Matt. 16: 22) Jesus turns to him and seeing the others, rebukes Peter for such a statement (Mark 8: 33). He then began to teach the cost of following after Him. There will be teachable moments presented to us as our children grow. Will we take advantage of those moments to teach our children to be pleasing to God? We can’t shelter them from everything; therefore, we must decide to respond in an effective way when the moment presents itself.

3) Be PRAYERFUL – Jesus, when His time on this earth was coming to an end prayed for his disciples. “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” (John 17: 15) We need to be realistic and admit that there will be times when our children will be away from us. It will be up to them to make the right decisions and respond in a righteous way. Pray that the evil one will not overtake them. It is very scary to think about what is out there, but remember it is very comforting to think of just how powerful God is. He will provide a way out. (1 Cor. 10: 13)