A Good Interruption
A Good Interruption
Finally, Summer Break! That means more time to catch up on social media and online entertainment. But recently, as I was enjoying a slow morning of scrolling, I got frustrated. Why? Because my younger brothers came up and asked to see what I was doing. I quickly shut off my device before they could look over my shoulder. I felt a little guilty that they found me scrolling online, but even more, I had been looking at things that I knew they shouldn’t see. It wasn’t anything R-rated, but I knew that even some immodest outfits, bad language, and a few pop-up ads were more than they should stumble upon.
Not the best thing for kids, but fine for me, right? This situation caused me to ask two questions:
Why do I think it’s ok for me to view things that younger kids shouldn’t?
The answer seemed pretty obvious at first: because I am older and more mature than they are, I can handle more. In some cases, this is true. Teenagers and adults are better able to handle seeing images that would disturb children. As we grow up, we learn more about the world around us, so we are not as shocked when we see the effects of sin. We also understand more, so we filter entertainment through a biblical worldview that’s been shaped over the years.
But is this always the case? For everything we view when the kids are out of the room, can we reasonably say “I am more mature than they, so I can handle it”? This leads to a second question:
Is everything I see in the absence of young kids actually appropriate for me?
Maturity is, in some cases, a legitimate reason for us to experience things that would be hard for kids to handle. For example, many people enjoyed watching Unplanned, a redemptive movie about a young woman who is saved by Christ after witnessing the horrors of the abortion industry in the clinic where she worked. Still, the images in this movie would be too disturbing for many children to handle.
What about in other cases? Many movies or posts we hide from children are full of immodesty, foul language, and suggestive themes. It’s right to shield children from these things. But is there any reason for us to dwell on them? It simply isn’t true to think because we are mature––unlike children––we can handle such things without being defiled or falling into sin. We will never reach the point in this life that we can perfectly resist temptation, so we should not act like we can by dwelling on things that are harmful to us.
If, like me, you experience frustration by having to pause a movie or turn off your phone when a child walks in the room, don’t just press play or continue scrolling after he or she leaves. Instead, stop and ask, “Why is what I’m looking at harmful for my child, or sibling, to see?” Chances are that what they aren’t allowed to see is something you shouldn’t see either.
Instead of just sifting through the defilements of a sinful world, we should seek to be innocent, like the children we seek to protect. This is one way we can apply Matthew 10:16: “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (emphasis mine).
We should strive to follow the example David set in Psalm 101:
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless. (Psalm 101:3)
Each of us must discern, with the help of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, what is uplifting (Philippians 4:8), what is defiling to our spiritual walk, even what we let children see. Let Christ’s call to be innocent as doves guide you. When it comes to tempting and defiling entertainment, don’t just guard the children in your life without regards to your own spiritual safety (Proverbs 4:23). Spare yourself from the snares of entertainment, and by God’s grace, your children will benefit from your example. Instead of determining, “I’ll watch everything that mommy and daddy (or sister, brother, babysitter) get to watch when I grow up!” They may follow your example by viewing only what is worthy of everyone’s time.
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