The subtle takeover

Imagine you are standing in a room and you see two doors. On one door you see the following sign:

"Go through this door if you want to develop into a mature person. Through this door you will find peace and joy. This door will help you become more intelligent. This door will often lead to success and will make you a better person."

On the other door you read the following:

"Enter this door at your own risk. There is not much of lasting value. Entering this door will often lead to emptiness and loneliness. There is a good chance the path beyond this door will run into a dead end."

Which door would you choose?

Unfortunately, much of our culture chooses the second door. The wording on the signs isn't quite that way, but that doesn't change what is on the other side.

One area where this couldn't be more obvious to me is the way that many teenagers treat teachers versus celebrities. I will acknowledge that not all teachers are good and not all celebrities are bad, but consider the evidence.

Many teenagers virtually worship celebrities. They spend hundreds of dollars (or their parents' dollars) to buy music, go to concerts, and more. They will listen to and watch hours of "teaching" and seldom question what they hear or see.

On the other hand, many of these same teenagers will talk through classes, show teachers disrespect, and listen to little of what is being said.

I also know that often the celebrities are more "entertaining" and appeal to youth in a way teachers often can't. But my question is, what are we teaching our youth?

We often display a similar affinity for popular culture. I am not saying that all culture is bad or that we need to live in a cave. But what are we modeling for our youth?

If we give $20 at church every Sunday, but we are willing to spend $200 to attend a concert with an artist whose lyrics and values contradict the Kingdom of God, what is that saying?

If we spend $100 a month on television but we won't help a family in need, what priorities does this communicate?

I am not saying that any of us have it right, but I also think we need to be more deliberate in the "small" decisions we make. Those are the places where spiritual wars are lost.

I would hope that most of us wouldn't throw a drinking party for a teenager, but would we allow or even promote entertainment that glorifies that behavior?

I don't think many parents would allow their teenagers to have sex on the couch in front of them, but how many parents will allow their teenagers to watch TV shows and listen to music that encourages teenager sexual encounters?

Most parents would probably be frustrated and angry if they saw their teenager treating a teacher disrespectfully, but how many parents don't realize that the entertainment their teenagers watch promotes this kind of attitude and behavior towards authority figures?

I am not saying we should all turn Amish or become social hermits, but at the same time we need to be diligent and alert. What we allow to enter teenagers' minds (and ours for that matter) will shape who they (and we) become. While it is often easy to avoid the really "bad" stuff, we can often overlook or completely miss the subtle ways in which the world can steal our hearts from the One who loves us.

shine!
Jason