Two powerful gates into the soul of man are the eyes and the ears. What we watch with our eyes and hear with our ears directly shape the state of our soul. Consider the righteous man Lot. Out of worldly pleasure, he relocated his family to live in Sodom. The Bible records that his righteous soul was tortured, greatly worn out, and distressed by the filthy conversation and wanton ways of the ungodly, through the lawlessness he saw and heard daily from the citizens of that land (2 Peter 2:7–8).
If an adult like Lot could be tortured by what he continually saw and heard, how much more will the little ones—whose minds are like a blank or clean slate (tabula rasa*)—be affected when exposed to the same environment? Children are ready to be shaped and indoctrinated by whatever they consistently see and hear.
Parents, beware of the Sodomic environments you expose your children to—whether through ungodly content on social media platforms like television programs, music, or even their physical environment.
It is disheartening—and even hypocritical—when parents watch, sing along to, and dance to these ungodly contents themselves, yet forbid their children from doing the same. Dear Christian parents, you may succeed in blocking your children from outwardly practicing these things, but remember: the seed is already being sown in their hearts, waiting for the right time to find expression.
If Lot’s soul—who should have been the spiritual covering and strength of his home—was daily distressed and worn out, how much more weakened was his wife, and worst of all, his daughters? Lot managed to religiously keep his daughters as virgins in Sodom, but the seed of Sodom had already been sown and nurtured in their hearts. When the opportunity came, they expressed it shamefully by making their father drunk and lying with him.
Parents, it is not enough to use religion as a cage. Religion that lacks the power to transform the heart and plant God’s Word in your children only blinds you to their true spiritual condition and raises hypocritical hearts in them. A routine of church attendance and family religion without the living Word of God will only postpone the evil days. And when those days come, it may be too late—because it is hard to bend a life that has grown outside God’s original purpose.
Let us therefore expose our children to God’s Word from the womb. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs over them, making melody in your hearts to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19). Let them grow up in a godly environment—both physically and in their media spaces. More importantly, let us live by example through the songs we sing, the dances we emulate, and the character we display.
If you have made mistakes in this area, humble yourself before God. Confess and repent of your ways. Ask Him to change the heart of your son or daughter. He is faithful and will transform their hearts—but remember, the scars of wasted years may still remain.
*Tabula rasa is a Latin term for “blank slate” or “clean slate” that describes the philosophical concept that individuals are born without innate knowledge, ideas, or predispositions, and that all knowledge and understanding come from experience, perception, and learning.
For further reading:
1. Why Children do not Surrender to the God of their Parents – Musing on the Bible
2. Children as God’s heritage: Fruit in the Womb. – Musing on the Bible
