Discernment

I've been having some great discussions with my kids lately about the media. I've been in heavy prayer over the last months/years about how to help them make wise choices when it comes to reading, watching tv, listening to music, etc. It's easy for all of us to think, "What the big deal? It's just a book." But not so easy to stop and think, "Does it honor and glorify God?" "Does it present a temptation to sin?" "Does the message arrive from a pure motive?" We don't stop and think about what we're filling our minds with often enough. I'm as guilty of this as anyone.

I came across this great quote today as I was searching the internet for wisdom. This was written while John Wesley was away at college. He wrote to his mother, Susanna, asking for a list of sins he should avoid. Her response is a model of biblical wisdom applied:

"Whatever weakens your reason, whatever impairs the tenderness of your conscience, whatever obscures your sense of God, whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, whatever takes away from your relish for spiritual things, that to you is sin, no matter how innocent it is in itself."

Such a great quote!! I was explaining today that even if a certain book has no swear words in it doesn't mean it's appropriate. If the book obscures our sense of God...it's not entertainment. No matter how innocent it may *seem* if it weakens our reason then it is not appropriate. Not an easy lesson for young people. Especially since our culture encourages just the opposite, "If it feels good then it must be entertainment."

We are waging war with the media. The world is sending a message through tv, books, all forms of entertainment, "It's all about me." I am fighting for the minds of my kids. I want them to learn how to filter the world through God's principles. I want them to stop and think. I want them to learn discernement. It's a battle worth fighting.