Confessions of a kids camp counselor: What we see and hear
The conversation took me back to my college years, when my roommate was a gung-ho video game guru.
Except the talk about Halo, Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty didn’t happen at a dorm room but in a kids camp cabin. Between a pair of 10-year-olds. I almost did a double-take.
What happened to games like Tetris and Centipede? How is it that kids are playing games that revolve around stealing cars, prostitution, gritty war scenes and unapologetic single-person shooting experiences?
The evolution from Pac-Man to Tupac hasn’t happened over night. As I mentioned in my confessions post about “Degrees of deviation,” Satan works his best in inches vs. miles.
In the 1950s and 60s, there was much controversy over a newcomer to the music world – Elvis Presley. Young people flocked to his gigs, wanted to be him, envied his style. Parents of these young people were concerned about some of Presley’s suggestive dance moves, up-tempo songs and overall persona. They felt Presley represented too much of a deviation from the norm – and that it would lead to even more provocative style of music as performers tried to one-up each other.
Fifty-plus years later, we have Miley Cyrus music videos where the performer swings naked on a wrecking ball and rappers producing songs that promote drug use, violence and an overall disrespect towards authority and society in general. I wonder what Elvis would say about today’s music scene?
Like the issues I recently had with leveling a swimming pool – the deviation starts small, but before long, we have moved ways off the mark of acceptableness. So is it any surprise video games have fallen into the same dangerous downward spiral?
The Bible is full of warnings about worldly ambitions, cautioning us to “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” Ephesians 5:11-12 (NIV)
In fact, it is worth a few minutes to read all of Ephesians, chapter 5, especially the first 20 verses.
Also: Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:25 (NIV).
And lastly: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16 (NIV).
What current-day music, movies, television shows and video games would make it safely through a filter of the three sets of verses above?
Unfortunately, there is no guide to practical living – no black-and-white lists of what we should be watching, listening to and playing. Real life is much more gray than that.
Fortunately, we do have the Bible and the godly principles shared within to provide our measuring stick on how far a certain song, movie, book or other piece of media deviates from His teachings.
What sort of content should we be digesting outside of the inspired word of the Bible? According to the message contained in Ephesians chapter 5, we as Christians should be gravitating toward content that honors and exalts God before all else.
It is hard to find that theme in games such as Halo, Diablo and Grand Theft Auto. You won’t see much glorifying of God in “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Desperate Housewives” or “The Walking Dead.” And there is so much inappropriate music in all phases – from rap to country and everything in between.
If we really want to find a song that is worth sharing with our kids and helps us from deviating too far away from God and toward the pitfalls of the world, perhaps we should start with one of the best-known tunes from children’s church:
Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
Oh be careful little eyes what you see.
Oh be careful little mouth what you say,
Oh be careful little mouth what you say,
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
Oh be careful little mouth what you say.
Oh be careful little hands what you do,
Oh be careful little hands what you do,
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
Oh be careful little hands what you do.
Oh be careful little mind what you think,
Oh be careful little mind what you think,
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
Oh be careful little mind what you think.
Check out each part of the “Confessions of a kids camp counselor” series by clicking below. More posts will be on the way soon: