childhood's disappearing role in in society

One of my all-time favorite movie quotes comes from "Raising Helen," a movie that was otherwise so-so in my opinion. Helen, taking on her new found responsibilities as a mother of three children says to the oldest,"Yes, you are, you are a child Audrey and you deserve a childhood and you should fight for it but if you won't, then I will."

It's ironic that the same studio (Touchstone/ Disney) that produced this movie also pumps out teeny bopper, guy-meets-girl, over the top romance flicks. In fact, the entire entertainment industry basically begs the youth of today to ignore the counsel of their elders and "follow their heart." This ideology tells children that it is best to grow up sooner rather than later and that innocence is very uncool.

I read stories about ten year old girls getting pregnant and am very saddened that our culture tends to foster the belief that children need to know everything about life so that they can make the right decisions for themselves. What is the reason for our inability to protect our young? Depraved culture.

I remember my dad once saying that the very worst of societies allow the mistreatment of the vulnerable. Our western culture, USA and Europe, do this more often than not. Think about a country's most vulnerable people groups: women, children, the aged, the mentally disabled, etc. I'm sure you can think of the many, many ways they are not cared for, protected, and honored as they should be.

I feel that children, particularly those entering the teen years, are targeted by the entertainment industry. I watched the third installment of a popular teen vampire series last week with a group of friends. Over the course of the movie, a thirteen year old girl would see handsome shirtless guys, steamy make out scenes (Yes, more than one), and moony, lovey-dovey dialogue.

I may come off as a prude. But I have to ask, "Is this really necessary for the edification of a young christian? Is it edifying to fill their head with images they will playback over and over again? Do they need to feel an emptiness in their life because they don't have a boyfriend?"

I think not.

Philippians 4:8 tells us to "dwell" on anything that "is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if [there is] anything worthy of praise..."

While this passage never mentions children specifically. I think we can easily apply this to any life situation. Bearing this in mind, does modern society value the youth and innocence of childhood? No. Are they desirous to see young people place their focus on that which is pure and holy? You know the answer is no!

Therefore, parents ought to be very careful what they allow their young children (along with themselves) to invest time and energy. Childhood is fleeting. I appreciate the efforts my parents made to protect and defend my youth. Believe it or not, I became a well adjusted young adult even though I wasn't allowed to watch PG-13 movies at 13 or listen to tons of pop music (Believe me, I begged).

Most children go through many difficulties and decisions on their journey to adulthood. There's no need to increase their burdens or speed up their youth. Just as Eve was deceived by Satan to believe that there was some higher knowledge to be attained by sacrificing God's holy standard, children are susceptible to the world's deceptions. The world will tell them that there is wisdom in wealth, adultery, immorality, discontent, disobedience, bad attitudes, and other types of foolishness. All these things run contrary to God's infinite righteousness and His standards.

Therefore, the biggest reason childhood must be protected and, in fact, enjoyed is because our all-knowing Creator designed it. He made it and we must honor Him by treating it responsibly and appropriately. Youth is a blessing and can be used to glorify the Lord.