Houston? We have a problem.

The cultural handwringing continues.

Our president doesn’t tell the truth. Our justice department isn’t telling the truth. Our church leadership isn’t telling the truth. Our news media isn’t telling the truth.

What’s a parent to do?

Let’s ask ourselves these questions:

• Do I tell the truth ALL the time?
• Or, do I shade the truth to my best advantage?

Our children are inundated with lies and this will continue throughout their entire lives. Social media and our advanced technologies have only magnified this fact. It is impossible to tell truth from fiction in the virtual world.

That is one essential danger of allowing your children to inhabit the virtual world. They need to stay grounded in reality where it is necessary to face, and learn to deal with, the imperfections of the world.

God knows the world is broken and He knows we’re broken. However, does He say, “Go ahead and act like the world?”  No.

Does He prefer we live in our make-believe creations?

No. I don’t think so.

He calls us to stay engaged in the real world where people lie, cheat, steal, and kill each other. A place no one really prefers to be, but it is the place we humans, without God, have created.

Now, we humans, thinking ourselves so intelligent, have discovered a way to escape this awful place we have created. It’s called the internet.

Houston? We have a problem.

Before you despair and leave me to check Facebook, here’s some hope:

• Pray over your own conduct with regard to honesty
• Begin to improve in this area (little by little)
• Refrain from pointing fingers at the lies of others, without first acknowledging your own failures in this area
• Hold your children to a high standard of honesty (you know they’ll falter, we all do, but God still keeps the standard high)
• Be the moral gatekeeper in your house

Yes, our culture is rotten. Everyone is dishonest and self-seeking. It’s called sin. It is what Man truly is, rotten and self-seeking.

Help your children learn the truth about God and His standards of behavior. Teach them about sin and how we are all guilty of it. Help them discover grace and let them see you offer it to others. Dealing with the reality of our world, with godly character, will help them deal with all the disappointments that will come their way.

Do you have a successful parent tip to share or a story we may enjoy? Please comment below. Others need encouragement.

Love y’all,

Ginny

P.S. Write this verse on an index card and post it on your refrigerator. You and your children can memorize it together.

“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.” Psalm 34:13