Understanding the Culture You Confront



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Thanks for your comments yesterday. We certainly have a lot of work to do as parents, don't we? We have the task of going against the culture in which we live, and then teaching our children to do the same. In order to do this, it is to our benefit to do our homework! We have to know what our children are facing. My friend Susan Henson puts it this way:

“Children are being bombarded from every angle. Truth is no longer truth. Their
culture is morally relevant. Even for us moms, sometimes we don’t know what is
right and wrong. That’s why we must be intentionally studying the culture.”

There are two kinds of culture that parents must study: personal and global.

Your child’s personal culture varies according to her social environment. Her family and friends, her school, even where she lives will determine to some extent her picture of the world. At the same time, we are a global culture. Technology has enabled our children to be assaulted with sexual sights and sounds as early as they can handle a mouse or a remote control. “They will not be prepared to handle these temptations if a parent chooses silence,” says Susan. “It is crucial that parents today be even more aware of the gripping influences and effects of their child’s culture.” I don't know about you, but I want to be right there with my child, on the front lines! I want to help them with strategies for taking down the enemy. I want them to know what they're up against. And I want them to know this truth: Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. I want that written on their hearts. What can we do?

Know her personal culture by:
Getting to know her friends. Who does she play with? Is she friends with a child who has two moms or two dads? What kinds of conversations does she have with her friends?

Exploring her school curriculum. Ask questions of your child’s teacher. Find out what he is learning in the way of social studies, community interests, history, and health. Read his textbooks and see for yourself the extent of the humanist spin on the material. As a homeschooling mom, this still applies. Sometimes we homeschoolers are guilty of making purchases via the advice of friends or a quick sampling at a homeschool fair. Know what you are getting! Be thorough.

Acknowledging your family. You know your family better than anyone. If your extended family members are not Christians, are they going to sabotage what you are trying to teach your child about purity and waiting for intimacy until marriage?

Know his global culture by:Praying for discernment. Ask God to reveal to you the hard-hitting media messages you may be tuning out, but your child is zeroing in on.

Becoming a student yourself. Learn current cultural statistics at sites like www.barna.org. Watch the news or read the newspaper. The Baptist Press online news source provides Christian coverage of national and world news.

Supervising his online activity. Check out the sites your child visits often. Keep up with the images he sees and the impressions it makes on him.

Let's commit to doing our homework, y'all. It will certainly make a difference when our families are faced with a test. :)