Oh Be Careful Little Eyes

My son and I have been spending moments every day painting. Sounds like a fun Mommy-Son time, huh? Actually, it has been. But wait until you hear just WHAT we have been painting. His comic book. Well, it isn't actually a comic book but a digest of the Marvel X-Men. My son loves superheroes and pours over anything associated with them. When Hubby and I saw this digest, we didn't hesitate to buy it. We figured it wouldn't be full of violence since there were no stories, just stats, etc. about each character. What it was full of was a shocker! Here's an article I posted about the experience.

OH BE CAREFUL LITTLE EYES

I am shocked, horrified, but surprised? No, not one bit. Of what do I speak? Pornography – in my son’s comic book character encyclopedia! Without really do my homework, I gave in to his pleas and bought the book for him at our school’s book fair. He poured over that book even before it was even paid for. I felt pretty confident in the purchase at the time. Since this was not an actual comic book, just information on all the characters, I didn’t worry about violence and never dreamed the following would happen.

While looking at the book with his father, my son pointed out a particular page that he was drawn to. On that page there was a line-up of superheroes, and every one of the women were drawn in sexy lingerie! My husband was horrified that our 4 year old son had just been exposed to something we had tried so hard to protect him from.

With our son being only four years old, we couldn’t fully explain to him what was so disturbing to us, nor could we explain to him just WHY he was so drawn to those pictures. We did, however, discuss modesty and privacy and point out that those women were not being modest. We also told him that they were dishonoring him by not respecting God’s protection of privacy. He connected with that.

Proverbs 4:23 tells us to, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Matthew 5:27, 28 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his HEART.” (emphasize mine) This is very sobering! From Jesus’ very lips we are told that what we allow before our eyes, or our sons eyes, can lead to sin!

In a corrupt, sensual society it is impossible not to see sensual images. However, it is possible to deal with them in a Godly manner. 2 Corinthians 10:5b advises us that “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” It is our hope that our son will develop this discipline, but I’m afraid the concept is a bit beyond him at the age of four. That means it is our responsibility to guard his heart. If we do not, we are not leading him into a wellspring of life, but rather into a cesspool of death. Anyone addicted or caught in the world of pornography would be quick to agree that that is an accurate description.

So, what did we do? Momma got creative with the craft paints and is happy to say that all the female characters have been re-outfitted by her masterful design and exhibit perfect modesty. We also have a new rule that NO material comes into our home without a complete inspection by both parents. This may become a rule that is bucked and resented, but we are confident it is worth sticking to and even fighting over.

I also plan to contact Scholastic and ask them to remove the book from their book fair. We were able to deal with the damage quickly and pray that Jesus will forgive us for our irresponsibility and protect our son from negative effects. I'm not so confident that a lot of other parents are doing the same. I shudder to think of all the young boys even now starting down a destructive path as a result of this book!

Our children need us to guard their hearts and our society needs us to stand up for what we know is right! I can't change the whole world, but I do have a world of influence over one young man in the making. Someday, Lord willing, he will have a world of influence over his own young man in the making. May I have the strength and wisdom to affect our future by doing right by these two lives.

All scriptures quoted from the New International Version.