If we find your child engaging in a cultural trend that is against Christian morals and values, what is your response?
“One of the things we tell parents is with anything you find; with any new cultural trend we find, we not only want to understand it, but we want to look at how God may call us to respond to it.”
Dr. Walt Mueller shares how, when we understand a trend, we can affirm what the culture is teaching our kids on things that are right, and decipher when the culture when it is misguiding them.
“Don’t wait for God to speak – God has spoken already. What do the Scriptures say about this issue? What can we take from the Scriptures that speak to this issue?”
He shares a few helpful examples on how to point our children towards the word of God,
“With social media and the problem of narcissism, idolatry and being addicted to our screens, the Scriptures speak to all those things. In many ways, they become a God so we speak to that prophetically.
“With sexuality, we want to talk about what the Scriptures say about God’s order and design for sex.”
Dr. Mueller encourages parents to be aware of trends so that they can take steps to prevent their children from being negatively influenced.
“We know that these pressures are out there, that these messages are out there and that these trends exist; if there is a trend that I want to keep my kids from going down that road, I want to start to enlist preventive strategies.”
If a child has already participated in a cultural trend that disobeys God’s word, Dr. Mueller says it is the parent’s responsibility to address it.
“All too often in the church we ignore the trends. By ignoring the trends, we ignore our responsibility to speak the prophetic and an active preventive, then we’re forced into the redemptive mode.”
We need to step in the gap for our children, remind them that they are forgiven and loved, and teach them the way in which they should go.
“It’s never too late for God’s grace; we can’t out-sin God’s grace and our kids need to understand that.”
Dr. Walt Mueller is the founder and President of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, a non-profit organization serving schools, churches, and community organizations across the U.S, Canada, and worldwide in their efforts to strengthen families.
Youth Culture 101
