Raising A G-Rated Family In An R-Rated World Series

OPEN: A man was once hired to go and take a census in the hills of east Tennessee. He came to one ram-shackle home, knocked on the door and was greeted by a young girl. Brandishing his clipboard, the interviewer asked the girl, "Is your mom home?"

She said, "Nah, she ran off with a moon shiner."

The man continued, "Is your father home?"

"Nah," she replied, "He Pokes his head in once a month to take a bath."

The frustrated guy said, "Do you have an older sister?”

“Yep”, she replied.

“Well, is she home?”

"Nope, she’s in jail for shooting the sheriff."

“Well, do you have a older brother?”

“Yep”

The guy said, "Well then, is your older brother home?"

She said, "Nah, he’s at Harvard."

The astonished census taker gasped and said, "Harvard? What’s he STUDYING?"

The girl said, "Nothing. They’re studyin’ him!"

APPLY: Somehow it makes sense that a university would end up studying one of them… because they OBVIOUSLY weren’t normal people.

But we want to be normal people with normal families. Over the years, the task of Christians trying to raise a “Normal” family has become harder and harder. And the reason is this: we are trying to raise G rated families in an increasingly “R-rated” world.

Some friends of mine compiled a list of TV sit-coms about families that have been popular over the past 50 years or so.

50’s

Father Knows Best

I Love Lucy

Leave It To Beaver

60’s

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Family Affair - single father, with a butler, raising two kids

Brady Bunch – “blended family”

70’s

Happy Days which focused more on the kids than on “family”

All in the Family – highly dysfunctional family headed by Archie Bunker

80’s

The Cosby Show

Full House – 3 men raising a family together

Kate and Allie – 2 divorced women raising their kids together

90’s

Married with Children

Simpson’s (Prime time Cartoon family)

Roseanne

2000 til now

“Family Guy” (Prime time Cartoon family)

Two And A Half Men

Now, if you noticed - clear up through the 1980’s there was always at least a remnant of shows that shared family values we could model our homes after. But by the time we got to the 90’s it seems to have become more difficult to watch TV with our families and find something we could be comfortable enough with to call a “good role model.”

In fact, “Family Guy” has taken to advertising itself as a “G-Rated” show. The “G” they say, stands for “Grown Up”. In reality, of course, the show is less about being “Grown up” than it is about being infantile and offensive. But that show’s creators exemplify the mindset of many of TV’s most popular writers.

Ellen Goodman (a liberal feminist) wrote in The Boston Globe

“Americans once expected parents to raise their children in accordance with the dominant cultural messages. Today they are expected to raise their children in opposition to them.

Once, the chorus of cultural values was full of ministers, teachers, neighbors, leaders. They demanded more conformity, but offered more support.

Now the messengers are violent cartoon characters, rappers and celebrities selling sneakers. Parents are considered ‘responsible’ only if they are successful in their resistance.

That’s what makes child raising harder. It’s not just that American families have less time with their kids; it’s that we have to spend more of this time doing battle with our own culture.”

I. For the next few Sundays we’re going to be asking ourselves – How can we counter the influence of the world on our families?

Because the world DOES influence our families… whether we like it or not.

Having studied our text from I Peter, I believe I’ve discovered some intriguing principles than can help us be successful in create a “G” rated home in an “R-rated” atmosphere.

The 1st thing I noticed in I Peter was that the spirituality in our homes has got to be based on our relationship with Jesus.

ILLUS: I recently heard of a man who was doing his morning devotions – reading his bible and praying - when suddenly a thought came into his head: “When your wife look at you does see you as Jesus?”

He thought that was a bizarre idea. “Why on earth would she see me as Jesus?”

But then it occurred to him: His wife should see Jesus when she looked at him. Scripture says that our objective as Christians is to become like Jesus. When people look at us…they should see a family resemblance.

One person asked himself these questions:

1. Is my mate closer to God or more distant from Him BECAUSE OF ME?

2. Can my family see that doing God’s will is the most important priority IN MY LIFE?