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Magic, Witches And
Fairies
What about magic, witches and fairies in children’s books and
movies?
.
by Shari Abbott,
Reasons for Hope* Jesus
Q. I am the mother of 2 young children and I find that
everywhere I turn, they are being inundated with magic, witches, fairies, etc.,
even in otherwise innocent children’s stories. I know the Bible is very clear
that we should have nothing to do with these things, as far as participating in
them, but what about all the children’s books, movies, etc that contain these
things? It seems almost unavoidable, even Christian writers such as CS Lewis
write about such things. Should they be avoided or is there a less “legalistic”
stance on allowing my children exposure to these things? Can it be used as a
teaching opportunity? I hope my questions makes some sense.
Magic, witches and fairies, oh my!
I love the concern of this mother and the
fact that she doesn’t want to completely shelter her children from the world
around them.
It’s important that children experience
the world while still under the authority, instruction and guidance of their
parents.
This mother takes very seriously her role
in training her children in the ways of the Lord.
Her expressed concern about protecting
them from the dangerous messages of the world is of utmost importance, and yet
she also realizes that they need to learn about the world in which they live
and enjoy some of the fun and fantasy of being a child.
It must be a balancing act and it must be appropriately “tailored” to each individual child.
I believe there are many secular books,
TV shows, movies, and other media that children can enjoy and from which they
can learn valuable lessons.
We should be able to participate in the
celebration of Christmas and enjoy the festivities even though society has
tried to change it into a secular holiday.
Eliminating Christmas celebrations,
because the holiday and its festivities were not celebrated by the early
church, can be detrimental for children.
We live in a world, in which most people
celebrate Christmas (the true meaning or the secular holiday).
To ban children from participating in
some of the secular celebrations can alienate children from their peers and
create a misconception about the Christian faith.
Please don’t hear me wrong. I do think that
there are some Christmas holiday activities that parents should not allow (and
some in which adult Christians should not participate).
It’s important that parents discern if an
activity in any way dishonors God or the true meaning of Christmas.
If not, holiday activities that celebrate
the joy and love of family and friends, and involve no sinful activities,
should be appropriate and can even be beneficial.
To criticize such celebrations can appear
to non-believers that we are condemning them and might even cause them to think
we consider ourselves better than them.
That will be detrimental to our testimony
and to their understanding and hearing about the true meaning of Christmas.
The mother who raised this question
expresses a legitimate concern about the content and quality of a lot of media
that is created for children.
Some media will teach children the exact
opposite of what God says in His Word and is there for dangerous for nurturing
children in their faith.
There is no simple answer to this
mother’s question.
In the times in which, parents must make
every effort to review and evaluate all messages their children hear and see.
That creates a great time burden on parents.
However, when it comes to media, we can
be thankful that there are many reputable, reliable resources to help ease that
burden.
Focus on the Family is a great resource
for reviews of all types of media using a Christian, Bible-based perspective.
Focus on the Family was founded in 1977
and since that time has proven to be trustworthy and Bible-based in what their
reviews and teachings.
However, even with their time-proven
faithful record, they are human and can err so always test what you find
against what Scripture says.
The Bible is the final authority in all
things.
Remember that the Bible does speak
against magic, sorcery and related things and sternly warns about engaging in
such things (Exodus 7:11, 8:7, Leviticus 19:31,
Isaiah 57:3-4, Jeremiah 27:9, Malachi 3:5, Acts 8:9, et.al.).
Parents must be discerning about
everything their children see and read, but the extreme caution of banning
children from all secular media can be dangerous too. It can isolate them from
their peers.
Children seek to relate to their friends
(to “fit-in”) and they need to be guided in how to do so. Banning all secular
media will not prepare them to enter the world.
They will be confronted with non-biblical
messages and it might be best to allow them to see some while a parent is able
to explain and teach the dangers and lies of such a message.
Banning secular media that contains
fantasy can also rob children of one of the pleasures of being a child.
Children should be allowed to be children. Children delight in mystery and
fantasy.
It is the duty of parents to protect and
guide their inquisitive and imaginative minds and decide what is age
appropriate and beneficial for their learning — and most importantly what will
promote Christ-focused, Christ-honoring, Holy Spirit-guided living.
There are no easy answers to this
question, because all media varies greatly.
Parents, take the time to review the
material to which you expose your children.
Endeavor also, to the best of your
ability, to review material to which they are exposed to outside your home.
Your best defense against the lies the world
teaches is prayer.
Pray that God will open your eyes and
your understanding and give you the right words to teach your children about
both the ways of the Lord and the dangers of the world.
Pray that God will protect your children
from the lies of the world and that He will open their ears to hear His truth
and soften their hearts to receive His love and guidance.
Paul spoke of the maturation process that
is supposed to occur:
“When I
was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:
but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” - (1 Corinthians
13:11)
The world is doing its best to make
children grow up too fast.
Parents must be determined and diligent
in helping children learn and mature in age appropriate and biblical ways.
Remember, if we don’t teach children
God’s truth, the world will teach them lies.
The world is also advancing another grave
danger by promoting child-like behavior in young adults.
Remember,
Paul said, “when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
Becoming an adult is chronologically
defined, but the emotional definition is becoming very blurred.
Many young adults think and act in ways
well below their chronological age. They don’t appear to want to “put away
childish things.”
There seems to be a “Toys-R-Us” mentality
(Remember the advertising jingle, “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys-R-Us
kid…”)
Sadly, this is happening with some young
adults.
Parents, do your best now to lay the
groundwork for your children to grow and mature into adulthood as God-loving,
God-fearing, God-honoring Christians.
Pray always, remembering that God loves
your child. Trust completely that God will work in them according to His
purpose and plan.
And… enjoy your time with them. They grow
up so fast and are gone so quickly.
As Dr.
Seuss so wisely said, “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment,
until it becomes a memory.”
“This is
the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” - (Psalm 118:24)
Reasons
for Hope* Jesus is
a discipling and apologetics ministry with a mission to equip YOU–believers in
the Lord Jesus Christ–to know Him better and to love Him more.
The
apostle Peter wrote of our great commission to share our faith with others and
to be prepared to defend God’s Word:
…sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
God
has said to His people, “come let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18).
Reasons
for Hope* Jesus believes and teaches that all reasoning begins with the
literal interpretation of Holy Scripture and by being in communion with the one
and only Triune God.
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