My kids and I were eating dinner together at church last night and BB mentioned that a kid on the bus told them (Princess, BB and PH) that they were "not cool enough" to ride in the back of the bus. Well, this Mom was about to put on her Growly Mamma Bear suit and defend the honor of my kids...but instead, I stayed calm and said, "Well, in my opinion, kids who have to define who is 'cool' and 'not cool' are probably not feeling very 'cool' themselves." And then the thought struck me about how I could make a really good point.
My kids are big BIG fans of Spongebob Squarepants. It's silly and corny but there are some really good lessons that can be drawn from that cartoon. I told my kids that even though this child was being mean to them, Jesus tells us that we are to love our neighbors and we are to love our enemies. And even Spongebob, who gets picked on all the time by Squidword, continues to love and be kind to all the other creatures in Bikini Bottom and that this is really a good example of what Jesus is talking about.
The lightbulb went on. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ok.
I don't think I will be able to watch that cartoon in quite the same way again. I will be looking for examples to illustrate the truths I am trying to teach my kids. It's getting them in their culture, walking into their world and speaking in their language. I could get really adult-ish with them and watch them as their eyes glaze over and they fall asleep while sitting there.
It made me think back to another Wednesday evening at church when an older gentleman at church began to complain that the music they were playing in the sanctuary to start off the club event was too loud and then I heard him say, "That's devil music." It was the Newsboys singing a rock rendition of a hymn. Some of the others who were standing around were very offended at his offensiveness and I know that the topic was then discussed at the church council. However, the music was turned down a touch but not changed because what some of the parents in my church have noticed is that the kids we most need to reach and are most at risk of losing to the negative things in our culture were running into the sanctuary, singing at the top of their lungs "Our God Reigns" and they were learning the 10 commandments and by the end of the year, every 3rd through 5th grader could recite all 10 verbatim. That was exciting to me. But if we don't make what goes on inside the church more appealing than what is outside the church, there is a generation that will be lost.
I have had some tough discussions with my 9 year old, BB, who really really REALLY wants a playstation or some other sort of game system and I have adamantly said NO. I began to explain to him my reasoning for it. He pleaded and begged with me. I told him that I have read too many articles about kids getting adicted to video games and then they don't do their homework, they don't go outside to play any more...all they do is play video games and for a child like him, who has ADHD, I have already seen that there is such a draw to that stuff. I limit his time on the computer to 30 minutes a week. And he has a hard time with even that. He invades the other kids while they are on the computer and tries to monopolize their time and take over. What was kind of cute was how he said, "But MOM...won't you please change your mind? I will do all my homework. I will still play outside. I won't be on it all the time. PPPPlllllleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssseeeeeeeeeee..."
To which I replied, "BB, you don't do your homework now without me breathing down your neck and making sure you do every single thing you are supposed to do. You take over the remote control. You take over the computer. You sneak on the computer when I go to the bathroom. These are all signs that this is not healthy for you. So, I will absolutely NOT ever change my mind."
He was very mad. But he has not asked me about it since. And he has since then been grounded off the computer for sneaking on it when I leave the room and forget to lock my screen.
My take away point is that this is a tough culture to raise kids in. There are so many things that pull at them. I have a hard time keeping up with everything. But I am glad that when I go to church on Wednesday nights, my son is doing a little Riverdance during the story but he is also completely engaged in what he is learning. And all my kids are singing christian songs while running around the house. And now they know that Spongebob is loving his friends like Jesus says to...and he is even loving his enemies.
