The Pattern of the World

I spent some time the other night on MySpace. If you are not familiar with My Space, here is some basic information about this website. MySpace has become increasingly popular and a very real part of growing up these days. As with most popular things in our culture...Christians will soon be on board en masse.

Maybe I'm being harsh. Or making too broad of an assumption. Is it safe to say that a significant number of Christians are involved in nearly everything that is pop culture?

Music? We listen to it. Download it. Buy tickets for concerts.

Clothing? We buy it. Worry over it. Work towards getting it.

Television shows? We watch them. Set our schedules around them. Talk about them the next day.

Attitudes? We pick up on them. Imitate them. Agree with them.

Expected roles? We accept them. Live within them. Teach them to our children.

I don't have a global perspective on these things, folks. All I know is the little part of the world I live in. But in our youth group there are teens with My Space accounts. What's wrong with that?

Maybe nothing. It bothers me though because there are all sorts of people you can "meet" on My Space. People I wouldn't want my daughters to meet. Thoughts to read that I don't want them thinking or accepting as truth. Influences that I don't want shaping them.

So what is our response as Christians to the things that are popular in our world? Do you know?

That's right!!! Just make a Christian alternative!!! Teens NEED to have My Space accounts, but we are concerned about who they might meet online. So, we will just copy the same idea, but clean it up a little. Make it a bit more acceptable to Jesus and all.

Enter Ditty Talk! Here is a Christian alternative to MySpace. Nevermind that anyone can get personal information about the teens on this site. Nevermind that any pervert can just lie and post a picture of a clean cut teenager and claim it's them...and chat with our kids. Nevermind that I saw a lot of pictures of teens looking far too (um, provacative) I think they would say "beautiful." Our Christian children MUST have an alternative so they can participate in pop culture in an acceptable manner. They deserve that, right?

This is called defensive parenting. I'm just not convinced that our children, or us for that matter, need participate in the world the way non-Christians do.

Romans 12:2 says: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Yep, I'm still thinking about what I wrote the other day. Still thinking...any thoughts out there on following the pattern of the world?