Running a Rather Unpopular Race

The other day, while distractedly typing in the web address for my favorite search engine, I accidentally hit a few wrong letters and - BAM - my screen was full of very large, very uncovered breasts.  Horrified, I closed down the computer.


Later than evening, my husband and I were listening to talk show host Jason Lewis discuss the sexual indiscretions of a now-popular political figure and a newly-popular porn star.  The radio conversation was addressing the idea that 40 years ago, when my husband and I were just starting our growing up years, both of these figures would have run for cover and hid in a hole for the next decade, disgraced and embarrassed. Now the discussions are their affairs often take a humorous tone or are simply shrugged off as the norm for the day.  They are sensationalized and popularized.

After the Jason Lewis Show was over, Jerry and I continued our discussion on how accessible and normal depravation is today.  As a teen ager, he rarely stumbled upon porn, and if he did it was a secretive, covert event that left him trembling with the fear of being found out.  And, yet today, my 6 year old son could easily have been exposed to his first taste of pornography while at home, in broad daylight, sitting on my lap! 

I left our conversation that night feeling discouraged and overwhelmed with the job of parenting a boy. I fervently pray that hegrows up to be a godly young man who treats women with respect and views them through the lense of a gentleman, but society seems out to thwart my goals at every turn.

My discouragement was furthered the next day during a Bible Study at my church.  We ladies are reading through a book called Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary A. Kassian. I came into the discussion feeling a bit smug.  The chapter being discussed was on where modern women receive counsel from.  The hours the typical female spends watching TV, reading glossy tantalizing magazines, and purusing the internet are staggering.  My smuggness was attributed to the fact that I honestly could not think of 5 movies or TV shows I had watched during the previous month (in fact, in the previous year!) and my list of magazines read over the past month included The Economist, Family Fun, and Parenting.  Throw a little Star Tribune in there and I felt like I had a pretty impressive, somewhat-scholarly list going.  But as the discussion continued, we were asked whether or not any of the above directly or indirectly characterized sex outside of marriage as normal or desirable, characterized homosexuality as normal or desirable, cast men in a negative light, teach that a woman's worth is tied to her paycheque or physical beauty, encourage immodesty....  Ummmm, that would be yes, yes, yes, and yes.  The promotion and normalization of sin everywhere!

And even more discouraging, my conservative views on what we allow on the media screens in our home are considered overboard even by my church friends.  I am not amired for the hard-nosed stand I take and that is fine.  We are all held accountable for our own convictions, and yet it is daunting to realize that so much depravity is the norm. So much depravity is acceptable to us as Christians because it is presented in a kid-friendly form or it's not overert or because the overall moral of the story is worth the normalization of sin.

As these combinations of events roll through my mind and I sit here putting my thoughts "on paper" in a rather rambling, disjointed sort of a post, I am fighting the discouragement that comes with attempting to raise godly children in a society that finds morality and Christian views as outdated and unattainable, even among church-attending Christians.  And, yet, my resolve is strengthened.  I must refuse to allow the little things to creep in.  I must stay away from the slippery slope of okaying the activites that are sanctioned by Christian friends, even those whose walk with Christ I admire and hope to emulate.  I have to be okay with the raised eyebrows and off-handed comments tossed my way by well-meaning friends and relatives who are convinced my children are missing out on all the wonderful things pop-culture has to offer us.  I have to be okay with raising out-of-the norm children.  Most importantly, I have to keep my eyes on Jesus and the end goal!

My chidlren's current favorite song is a song I grew up singing as a child in the Philippines.  It is not an English song, but they always want me to sing it first in Cebuano then interpret it into English.  My ackward English version goes something like this:

Run the race of life,
run it strong and proud.
Leave your sin behind;
Look ahead to the prize!
Many people are watching to see if you will finish.
Don't let them see you grow cold!
Run the race of life,
run it strong and proud,
'til you reach the throne of God!