Amazing - But True!!

I wonder if the experts were shocked at the findings of a recent study. The study was newsworthy enough to make the second page of our local paper. I’m reasonably sure it merited similar exposure in other papers and news outlets. The headline read: “Study: Sex-Driven Lyrics Affect Teens’ Sexual Behavior.”

The dateline was Chicago and the author of the article was Lindsay Tanner of the Associated Press. Ms. Tanner’s first sentence provides for the reader the gist of the entire article: “Teens whose iPods are full of music with raunchy, sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs, a study found.” Imagine that! I wonder how many dollars and hours were spent to make that startling discovery.

A very large number of people in our “enlightened” society scoff at the very idea that God’s Word has anything of any importance to say to the modern mind. After all, they insist, the Bible is a relic of an era which long ago passed into ancient history. How could anything written thousands of years ago possibly have any relevance to the twenty-first century? Even if these people were forced to grudgingly accept the notion that the Bible is, indeed, a message from God, they would argue that it might have been a message from Him for people in the long ago. It still would not (in their minds) contain anything of any relevance for us.

Well, let’s just see about that. If we would dust off that old book, we might find something like the following:

- “As (a person) thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Pro. 23:7).

- “...whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

- “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, "thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:21-23)

What are the young people in your house listening to, watching, reading, etc.? What are the adults in your house listening to, watching, reading, etc.?

Could the answers to those questions help to explain where we are as a society, as families, and as those who claim to be God’s people? If we think some improvement could be made in what we would like to be and what we are, maybe onbe place to start would be to honestly assess the quality and content of our sources of entertainment.

- Jim Faughn

 

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