Most people are good at spotting overtly wrong things. Most people can identify outrageous behavior.
Most of the kids I know thought that Miley's stunt was outrageous. This makes me sad.
I don't want my kids to be like most kids.
I want them to see beyond the outrageous. I want them to spot the "grey" areas in the world and to call them out as sin.
I want them to be like Job, "totally devoted to God and hating evil." (Job 1:8)
I don't want to only hate the outrageously obvious. I want them to see Satan for what he is for. A master deceiver.
Satan loves outrageous sin. The problem is that he does most of his work in grey territory.
Have I talked to them about what it means to HATE evil?
Have I shown them by the way I live my life?
Have I talked often enough about the way that Satan disguises himself?
Am I too busy showing them what it means to hate the obvious?
I want my kids to see beyond the outrageous, overtly obvious sin that even the world can clearly spot. I want them to be so in tune with the very nature and character of God that they can spot evil a mile away...even when others see only harmless grey.
How about you? What do you do to ensure that your kids can easily spot more than outrageous? How about the parents in your family ministry? How do you talk about teaching kids to spot sin?