I have placed a ban on Disney at my house.  I would like to keep our exposure to movies we have previously owned and deemed “safe.”  Disney has made a point of placing pro LGBTQ materials in everything from their toddler programming (see T.O.T.S.) to Marvel movies.  It’s not only that.  Liberal politics, colorful witchcraft, and other rebellious ideas have been spun throughout their cinematics for years, despite the valuable lessons that are portrayed here and there. 

They shared their strategy in Incredibles 2:  “So, If we want to change the world’s perceptions on superheroes, we need you to share your perceptions with the world.  How do we do that?  With cameras (in your super suits).”

They are using films to consistently share their worldly perceptions in a positive light, and in so doing, those who are watching begin to experience a shift in their perceptions.  In addition to the entertainment industry, media, the secular education system, and even some churches who have gotten off the path of truth, are constantly teaching and modeling humanist theology. Right is being portrayed as wrong, and wrong is being portrayed as right, and many children are becoming very confused about who they are and what they should believe.  Ask the 9 year old girl who came to camp claiming to be a transvestite.  Actually, there was more than one.

Discipleship teaches and models. And that is how we teach our children. We lead by example, teaching them from scripture all along. They learn what it looks like to walk with God at the same time as they learn what God thinks. We teach them what it means to follow Christ, coupling the study of God’s Word with obedience to God’s Word.

Good example extends beyond how we interact with one another in our homes and spills over into all the other influences we expose ourselves and our families to on a consistent basis. What are the main messages that our children are taking in? While we teach and model what it looks like to follow Jesus, we also guard our hearts and minds by avoiding bad examples. That’s why I’m banning Disney. Once we put something in our minds, it is stuck there. What was once shocking becomes normal. What is normal starts to seem okay and acceptable and good. We are like the lobster in the pot… the lobster doesn’t try to get out of the warm water, and doesn’t discern the temperature rising until it’s too late. We have to spend more time cultivating what is good so we can sharpen our ability to recognize what is not good. Discernment is a gift, but it is one that takes practice to develop. We have to divorce ourselves from what is not godly and entertain what is good.

Pray about the examples that are in your home. Ask God how to have a makeover. Replace the things that are not good and lovely and true. Throw away the things that aren’t fit for your family–don’t give them away for someone else to bring into their homes. Summer is the perfect time for a reset so we can enter into our fall routines with better habits.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11

Image by monicore and Jill Wellington from Pixabay.