(This was a Facebook status that I uploaded last Friday and felt it would be a good post to come back with from my llloooonnnnnggggggg hiatus. If you've read this already, I apologize. Please, share it with someone who may not see the importance of involving themselves in what their children/family/youth group spends their time with)
So if anyone can't guess from my posts this week, tonight we're taking our teens from Calvary Baptist Churchh to go see Star Wars. We do this a lot with the teens (we also took them to see Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man). I know that some people may have a problem with this, and wonder, "Why on earth would you encourage stuff like that?! Those teens need more Jesus and less X-Box!"
I completely agree that my teens need Jesus, but I don't at ALL see a problem with us going and doing things like seeing movies and playing video games with them. I'll explain why.
1) THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WRONG WITH LIKING MOVIES AND PLAYING VIDEO GAMES!!!!!! (Yes, I'm shouting lol)
It's all about quantity. As long as me playing video games and watching movies doesn't conflict with me living for Christ, then there isn't a thing wrong with it. As long as it isn't pulling my heart away from Christ, then game on! The same can be said for anyone who likes hunting, fishing, playing sports, or anyone with a job really; as long as these things aren't keeping us from what God wants for your life and they aren't contradicting scripture, then have at it! Now content is a completely separate issue, and one that should be considered carefully. But look at the list of movies above: not a one of them are known for having vulgarity or profanity. None.
So if anyone can't guess from my posts this week, tonight we're taking our teens from Calvary Baptist Churchh to go see Star Wars. We do this a lot with the teens (we also took them to see Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man). I know that some people may have a problem with this, and wonder, "Why on earth would you encourage stuff like that?! Those teens need more Jesus and less X-Box!"
I completely agree that my teens need Jesus, but I don't at ALL see a problem with us going and doing things like seeing movies and playing video games with them. I'll explain why.
1) THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WRONG WITH LIKING MOVIES AND PLAYING VIDEO GAMES!!!!!! (Yes, I'm shouting lol)
It's all about quantity. As long as me playing video games and watching movies doesn't conflict with me living for Christ, then there isn't a thing wrong with it. As long as it isn't pulling my heart away from Christ, then game on! The same can be said for anyone who likes hunting, fishing, playing sports, or anyone with a job really; as long as these things aren't keeping us from what God wants for your life and they aren't contradicting scripture, then have at it! Now content is a completely separate issue, and one that should be considered carefully. But look at the list of movies above: not a one of them are known for having vulgarity or profanity. None.
2) I believe that you can find important life lessons from movies and video games, and even find godly allegories. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Mario is going to lead you to Christ, or that Darth Vader is going to force choke you into repentance, but the lessons are there hidden with in the stories we watch and play through, you just have to find them. It's hers to do on your own, but if you have a godly group or individual with you (like a youth group, or youth pastor for example), then those lessons can be brought out, and then it becomes more than just a trip to the movies: it becomes an opportunity to impact young lives, with something that they are familiar with! It's almost like when Jesus would use parables during His earthly ministry. He would use stories that the people of the time could relate with to show them who He was and what God expected of them.
3) Growing up, I had (and still have for the record) God-fearing, Christ-Centered parents that would occasionally play video-games and watch movies with me. It wasn't too often, but when we did, it was some the absolute best times of my childhood. My parents knew that I would play games and watch movies anyways, so why not play with them (both my brother and myself)? It's creates a safe environment with parents and/or youth groups involve themselves with the interests of children, and actually participate with them. Those lessons that I mentioned in my last point will NEVER be brought out if the child is engrossed in worldly influences. You can't expect a lost person, or a young person/Christian surrounded by worldly people, to see Jesus in their day to day life without someone pointing Him out. Doesn't scripture say, "how will they hear without a preacher?" Not everyone who games has a family that is loving or accepting. Not every movie buff has a positive influence watching with them.
There have been so many people who have blamed video games and movies for the actions that an extremely small percentage of fans carry out, but it's not the video games or movies that cause people to do such terrible things; it's the people themselves. Maybe they were inspired to do those things by the games and movies. But you know what? If more families would be more involved with what their children surrounded themselves with, then I guarantee you that things like that would happen a lot less often. If more parents would play games with their kids and actually pay attention to what their doing, then fewer kids would grow up angry and bitter. I'm not saying that it would fix the problem entirely, and I'm not saying that there isn't a lot of violence in movies and video games. There is, and it won't, but that's where parenting and a safe environment should be in place. That's what I'm trying to do. I'm not a parent, and I'm not perfect, but I'm trying.
So no, we don't just go see these movie and play video games because I want to. Yes, I enjoy those things immensely, but that's still not the reason. I'm trying to build lasting relationships with my teenagers that will go beyond when they graduate from high school. I want to give them a safe group of people to be themselves with. I want them to feel comfortable being who they are and liking what they like. I also want to be there with them when they watch those movies or play those games so I can show them Jesus. And yes, we do still preach Jesus to them on a regular basis. But they aren't going to remember all of our Wednesday night and Sunday School lessons, but they will remember some of the times we went to the movies, or some of our lock-ins where we had our Super Smash Bros tournaments.
I hope that this makes sense to some of you. I'm not justifying myself, because quite frankly there's nothing to justify. I wish that my parents would've spent more time playing games and watching movies with me (I'm not upset or anything lol they had to work hard to provide for us, and I love and respect them whole-heartedly for doing so), because again, those memories are some of my absolute fondest. I want to have the same impact on my teens, and I want them to develop the habit of seeing Jesus in everything they do, and if they can't, then it may be time to change what they're doing. I want them to of course be careful what they're putting into their minds, but not be afraid to enjoy being themselves. I want them to remember that Jesus loves Geeks, and that they need to reach others for Christ. If they can do that through movies and video games, ALONG WITH scripture, then they need to do it!
God bless you all, and may the force be with you!
God bless you all, and may the force be with you!
