Unless you live under a rock, you have probably heard all about the new Disney movie, “Beauty and the Beast” and the drama it has caused, specifically among Christian households. While some have already determined to boycott Disney and other companies that support the LGBT lifestyle, others are left scratching their head wondering how do we Christians respond to all these changes that are part of today’s culture.

Let me start by saying that only you and your spouse have the right and responsibility to raise your family in the way in which you think best pleases the Lord. We as parents must use the Bible as our standard when it comes to setting appropriate boundaries and you as parents will have to make decisions on what convictions/standards you will hold to as a family based upon the Word of God. While others can certainly help your children navigate through this crazy world, it is your responsibility as parents to raise your children to become men and women who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matt. 5:6). When this life is over and we stand before God, it will be us as parents that will give an account for how we raised our children. This fact alone should make us stop and ponder our decisions as we will be held accountable for the gifts God has entrusted us with.

The news that Disney has officially started to make room for LGBT roles within their movies should come at no surprise. Disney has openly supported the LGBT lifestyle for years and even promotes the lifestyle with a pride week each year at their different theme parks. While Disney has garnered much of the attention lately, there are countless other networks on local television that have made it no secret that their agenda is to promote not only the LGBT lifestyle but other sins as well. For some reason, we as Christians have classified certain sins in our society as being worse than others. May we not forget that there is no little sin or big sin in God’s eyes. In fact, Christ died for all sins and makes it very clear that when we break one of the commandments, we break them all. What we must not do as Christians is continue to focus on certain sins while condoning others. We must understand that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and continue to fall short because we live in a fallen world and have a fallen nature. We must stop pointing fingers at others because they sin differently than us. Please do not misinterpret what I’m saying. God hates sin! No matter if it’s lust, immorality or a judgmental spirit. Our duty as Christians is to strive to be holy just like Jesus is (I Peter 1:6). We as parents must determine what is right for our families and pray and ask the Lord to help us hold fast to the convictions we set for our homes.

If we as Christians are to impact this world today, we must understand today’s culture. Again, please do not misinterpret me here. We are to understand today’s culture…not condone it. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3 that the world is going to grow worse and worse morally. Knowing this passage, why are we so shocked to see the world not acting more like us Christians? Disney and the rest of Hollywood have no issue promoting sin because that’s what the world does without Jesus…they just sin. I love how Sarah Wallace captures this thought in her recent blog “Beauty and the Beast: Why Christian Parents Can Calm Down”:

Does Hollywood have an agenda? You bet. But so do we as Christians! If Hollywood is indeed trying to indoctrinate our children, then we as parents must indoctrinate them first! The Word of God instructs us as parents to teach our children about God “when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deut. 11:19).  We must raise alien children…children who are not surprised by or afraid of this culture, but know how to impact it for the Gospel. We have the beautiful privilege of praying for our kids what Jesus prays for us: “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)

Hollywood and the entertainment world has placed our families in the position of having to explain to our children why we must set limits and boundaries. But by God’s grace we must do it. We must use these moments as opportunities to teach and educate our children about our world. A world in which we as Christians are nothing more than strangers and aliens in a place that isn’t our home (1 Peter 2:11). You see, we are in this world but we are not of this world. The most recent drama with Disney is unfortunate, but there is far more at stake than a short Disney production.

May we strive together as believers to have the boldness and wisdom to talk to our children and teach them what is right and wrong in the eyes of the Lord. Like it or not, this is the culture in which God allowed us to raise our children in. We must understand how to not only live in it but also interact with it. As today’s culture continues to spiral out of control, may we all rest assure that God is still in control. We as parents have an incredible opportunity to use today’s culture to educate our children on why we believe what we believe so that they can begin to understand the Bible and what the Lord has to say about…well, everything!

Praying for you always,

Dustin