Live.Awake

Leading by Example

// June 1st, 2007 // Family Life, Video

I came across this video a while back and initially hesitated to show it here, recognizing that perhaps the point would be lost on some because they would be too busy sending me hate mail because they saw a child holding a lit cigarette. It was apparently banned in the US for being a little too gritty and so it never aired on TV.

It should have.

::WARNING! OFF-TOPIC RANT AHEAD…
One of the reasons I love film media, is that it has a rich potential for forcing us to look at ourselves without the rose-colored glasses. Most American Christians prefer to bury their heads in the sand, so films like Mean Creek and The House of Sand and Fog get panned by Christian critics because the characters aren’t heroes and the storyline is dark. Even mentioning those two film titles makes me have to resist the annoying urge to add a disclaimer like: “I do not endorse those movies. Please don’t be offended with me if you rent them and there’s one too many f-bombs or there’s no sanitized ‘believe in yourself’ wrap-up at the end. I also don’t remember how many curse words or naked body parts there were, so do your own research and decide based on your own conscience. You may be happier watching Kirk Cameron in the ‘Left Behind Series’. If that’s too gritty for you, I hear VeggieTales is riveting.” I know there’s a fine line between studying dark humanity and exploiting it. But aren’t we big kids now? Can’t we tell the difference between Hannibal and Schindler’s List? It’s not that I don’t have a problem with nudity, gratuitous violence, f-bombs, etc in movies. Of course I do! But I also understand that everyone’s conscience varies in regards to what degrees and amounts of these things they can accept before it becomes sin to watch (I’ll be writing more about this later). Romans 14:1-10 says it all on these matters.
::END RANT.

This is probably not something you want to show on the Disney Channel, but I think it’s pretty powerful. As a parent, I’m keenly aware that my kids are always watching me and imitating what they see. They don’t miss much either!

And beyond just a parenting perspective, all of us are leaders to someone. What is our life teaching them?

Are you and I worth imitating?

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