Next gen vigilance: How can we protect children from harmful media exposure? (book excerpt)

Media has played a great role in releasing the spirit of fear into homes ever since the late 1800s when the first horror movie was released, and special effects have evolved to be more realistic than ever. Movies and TV shows project what the mind can imagine or perhaps what has been experienced. Many are based on true occurrences — with some added Hollywood effects, of course. Today it seems the gorier, the more horrific, or the more tragic the better to bring in the most revenue at the box office. These types of films increase the fear factor.

It’s up to us as parents to guard the spirits and souls of our kids by guarding what we allow them to see and hear. Disturbing scenes from a movie, TV show, or video game can show up in their dreams, even if they have a fascination for them.

An old children’s Sunday school song says little eyes and ears must be careful about what they see and hear. This is also true for adults but ever the more for the kids God has put in our charge to guide and nurture. We have to be mindful of the TV programs, movies, and music that we, too, watch and listen to. We are not of the world, but we are in the world, so we are constantly at war with what’s around us. Daily, we can listen to and follow three voices: “God’s voice, the enemy’s voice, and our voice.”  When we don’t stay attuned to God’s voice, we can and will be led astray by the lusts of our own flesh and the voice of the enemy.

Guard what your kids see and hear

We must instill in our children how to stay in the presence of God and hear His voice, and we do this by teaching them Scriptures and how to pray, all the while making sure what they see and hear glorifies Him. You can’t keep them from the evils in this world, but you can equip them with how to discern, cover, and to protect themselves and their families and friends.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV). In Scripture, the word heart refers to “a person’s inner moral and spiritual life ... the core, the inner essence of who we are.”

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45 NIV).

“The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT).

We must teach our kids the importance of guarding not only their hearts but what they allow in them. For example, Scripture indicates Lucifer was involved with music in Heaven before his fall (Ezekiel 28:13 NKJV), and anything and everything he can do to pervert its sound and purity, he will. What we allow to come into our ear gates affects our spirit. And Matthew 6:22 says, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light” (NKJV). The eyes are the window to the soul as described in this verse, and what enters through those gateways will impact the emotions of your child, good or bad.

Author Jessica Van Roekel tackles what to allow your kids to watch and listen to in an article that asks three questions:

1. Does it help or hinder their faith?
2. What behaviors result afterward?
3. What are the prevailing internal thoughts after the entertainment?³

In addressing question one, parents, we’re responsible for blocking anything that has the potential to disrupt our child’s spiritual growth or cause them to derail from their faith.

The second question deals with the impact of what they’ve seen or heard. Does the result cause negative behavior? Are they showing signs of aggressiveness? If that’s the case, they should not have watched that movie or TV show or played that video game.

The response to the last question answers thoughts your child may have after watching what they’re allowed to watch. If your son or daughter is depressed or has suicidal thoughts, they should not be allowed to continue watching that type of entertainment.

Using our authority in Christ

It’s important that you and your child know who you are in Christ and your spiritual authority. Luke 10:19 states that the believer has power and authority over the enemy. God has given believers authority no matter their age; they only need to be trained on how to use it.

What is the definition of authority? Authority is “the power to give orders or make decisions: the power or right to direct or control someone or something.”But every believer needs training to know how to use the spiritual authority God gives.

What does the training look like? Your child must know that God is their Heavenly Father and that they have been delegated as an ambassador from Heaven to use His Word to make decisions and give orders that are in alignment with what He said in the Bible. You train them first by teaching them God’s Word, then teach them how to apply His Word in their lives. And if anything opposes His Word, then you teach them to combat that opposition by speaking declarations and decrees.

From Raising Prophetic Kidsby Debra Giles, provided by Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Copyright 2024. Used with permission.