Crosstalk: November 1, 2016

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Carl Kerby is the president and founder of Reasons for Hope. He is the author of 'Remote Control: The Power of Hollywood on Today's Culture', 'Absotively, Posilutely: The Best Evidence for Creation' and 'Reasons for Hope in the Mosaic of Your Life.' He's also the co-creator, head writer and host of the video series, 'Weapons of Mass Instruction'.

Jim asked Carl why this topic is relevant. Carl's response? 'Turn on TV if you dare.' He went on to present a stunning contrast. Look at what's going on in our world today. Then note that there's over 400,000 churches across America and Christianity is almost invisible.

Carl believes that God communicates that we are to be engaged with the culture but not to become a part of it. This is important because we have a generation that's under attack. They spend 900 hours per year in a school system that teaches them to think like the world while studying subjects that undermine the Word of God. That same child is reinforced with 1,064 hours in front of a TV set and many of them are spending 936 hours playing video games. They are getting worldview messages taught to them through these outlets.

He noted how parents would never allow their kids to go into their bedroom behind a closed door with a stranger but many parents do just that when they let their kids go into their room with a smart device, a computer, an iPad or a phone. Upon hearing this parents may say that if they don't allow it, their kids will think that mom and dad don't trust them. Carl reminded listeners that parents are parents, not buddies and it's the job of the parents to protect their kids. We can't expect kids to have the kind of wisdom that parents should have.

Carl believes that if you're going to let your kids have technology, make sure you use software that's going to let you know where they're going or if you can't maintain it, get rid of it completely.

Kids may come back and say they don't like you. Carl told his kids that he loves them and that it's his job as a father to protect them. Satan doesn't play fair. When we take a look at the statistics and what's going on in the world, the research shows that social media and video games are having the exact same impact and are just as addictive as alcohol and cocaine.

Is the Internet really that strong of a voice today? Using secular sources for his statistics, Carl found that young people are spending upwards of 11 hours with media per day. He explained why that's possible. This new generation is adept at multitasking. They might be listening to music, viewing the Internet and possibly carrying on a text with someone all at the same time. Carl then referenced 1 Corinthians 15:33 regarding bad company that corrupts good morals. In other words, if you're spending 11 hours a day somewhere, that's the company that you're keeping. This means that if you're going to let your kids spend that much time in somebody's company, don't you want to know who that is?

Contrast the above with the research from the Southern Baptists that the average time a child spends in meaningful conversation each week with parents is less than 10 minutes and if you remove the mother you can measure the statistic in seconds. Is it any wonder that we're losing 50%-88% of the younger generation?

Carl believes as Christians we're supposed to be doing the training of our children but we're not, the world is doing it. So as it pertains to your household, whose voice are you listening to?