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The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: John 10:10 (KJV)
I fear our children are being targeted for annihilation. Are we failing as a culture to influence our world for Christ? Are we loosing ground in the good fight? I am afraid that societal pressures are over-running Godly wisdom and discernment. I am not just talking about the non-Christian home.
I was invited to an old friend's child's birthday party a while back and one of the gifts they received was a video game called ‘Grand Theft Auto Vice City.’ Well it does not require a degree to figure out what this game is all about. The title alone tells you the basics of the game. Steal cars in a city full of all kinds of sin and vices. Had this been just another high school kid and not a friend I know from church perhaps I would not have taken this to heart as readily. Let's take a closer look at this objectionable game shall we?
In ‘Grand THEFT Auto’, if you didn't already guess, the point of the game is to steal cars, but we haven't even brushed the surface on the content that GTA Vice City contains. First, you are required to kill just about everything and everyone in the game. It is not essential to run down all those innocent people walking the sidewalks, but hey, they are just walking around so why not? In fact, you'll be rewarded by way of money and weapons for doing so. There are also certain guns lying around, that when picked up send you into a "killing spree". In its most basic explanation- you have a set amount of time to shoot, blow up, and cause havoc upon everything in your path. Let's just say there is a lot of blood-shed here. Also the character you play is your average thug, required to lie, cheat, and do anything necessary to get cash, pay off debts, and earn respect on the streets, not to mention, breaking the law. Right off the bat you can tell this is not the best game in the world, and I can go on.
GTA Vice City is loaded with graphic violence and blood; you can even keep kicking dead bodies to your hearts content as blood splatters on the ground. There is plenty of foul language, including some four letter words. In the area of nudity and sexual content, there are prostitutes lining the sidewalks and at street corners just waiting for your business- you can acquire their services upon request. So, to put it in a nut-shell, GTA Vice City doesn't promote any good social behaviors. Why then would anyone want to waste time or money on such a thing as this? Why is there a market for such filth and degradation? Has our society fallen so far that we can not see the wickedness of our ways?
Our children are being bombarded with sexual images and violent content in movies, music, and video games. It is hard to escape it at times. As parents you are constantly being challenged to raise your children as wholesomely as one can in a world swimming in a cesspool of filth. I asked the parents as gently as I could why they would buy such a game for their child? The answer, it's just a game. The connotation- it is no big deal it is not real life. Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, why then would we be so willing to offer up our children without even a pause or consideration to the implications of our bad choices? Just because something is for sale does not mean we have to purchase it? Just because we can doesn't mean we should. Wouldn't we be better served if a lot of the things we allow, we would simply say no to?
Like the main character in this abominable game, Satan goes through the world killing anyone and everyone he can-all to the lose of our precious innocents. Long before the first abortion was performed, long before the first murder took place, long before the first innocent life was held captive by sin, Satan was already planning his next victim. The garden of innocence was infiltrated by the master of all lies and deception. The first family found out first hand the evil effects of not drawing neigh to God and resisting the devil.
Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? Proverbs 6:27&28
There are plenty of places where our children can be influenced toward evil and desensitized towards sin. We do not need to bring it into our homes. The Christian home should be a refuge for the weary, a well spring of living water in a dry thirsty land, an oasis of Godliness in a dead and godless world and a place of quiet rest and spiritual renewal. Church should start at home. Our children need to learn the ways of God from parents first and foremost. The first responsibility of child rearing is bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Failure at the home level is an open invitation to the Grand Thief of Souls to come in and steal, kill, and destroy our youth and thus our futures. There are many Soul Snatchers out there ready to feed off our children's souls. Let us not invite them into our homes with open arms.
Let's face it folks. Some things are just better left on the store shelves to gather dust.
Only a fool would find pleasure in evil conduct..." -Proverbs 10:23 NIV
But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)
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