Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light” -Matthew 6:22 ESV

  With any child, we must be diligent as mothers to be very careful what we allow our child to read, watch on TV or listen to.  With a child with special needs, perhaps this is even more crucial.  Many of them are extra sensitive, and some are unable to distinguish between what is acceptable and what is not.  Where one child would watch a seemingly innocent cartoon with a mild fighting scene (what I call “vanilla violence”), and it wouldn’t make them violent, yet another child could watch that same thing, and not knowing better, could act it out.  One child can watch a movie where someone has called another person “stupid” or some other thing, and that child knows not to say that to anyone.  Another child watches the movie and then starts repeating that word over and over again.

  When it comes to our children, we must really take our cues from God.

  One day, a couple of years ago, I was watching my son play in the back yard, and seemingly out of the blue, God said to me, “Do not allow Josiah to watch things like Spiderman, Superman and Batman.”  God explained that Jesus is the true depiction of a superhero, setting an example as He walked the earth as a humble servant—not someone engaging in physical battles, but spiritual ones.  He will return as a warrior, but we were called to be peacemakers.  That’s a true superhero.  I’m certain there are other reasons that God commanded that, like perhaps my son would act out what he saw.  All I know is that it doesn’t matter why.  I just need to obey God because He knows why—and that’s all that matters.

  You may suffer criticism for some things you don’t allow your child exposure to, but as long as you don’t judge others for what they do allow, you can stand confidently in knowing you’re walking in obedience.

  Now, do I think other mothers who allow their children to watch Spiderman, Superman, Batman and the likes are wrong to do that? No!  I do not.  God doesn’t ask the same, I believe, of each mother, because our children are all so different.

  I can tell you what applies to all children:  Garbage in, garbage out.  We need to be careful what we allow them to see & hear, just as we ourselves need to do the same.

  If you feel conviction letting your child read certain books you know other Christian moms are letting their kids read, you stand in your conviction, not questioning God of why their kids are allowed to and yours shouldn’t.  God is able to make them stand as He is, you.  If in doubt over anything, pray about it, or simply don’t allow it.  God always has a reason for these things.  Always.