I thought that this article from Jospeh Materra was excellent….
After her infamous MTV music video awards performance last week, I would love to get five minutes of time to speak to Miley Cyrus so I could tell her: “We get it Miley. We know you are doing everything possible to distance yourself from the wholesome Disney image you once had as Hannah Montana! You have made your point. Can you please now start focusing on singing and music instead of acting like a wannabe porn star!” Truly she is attempting to merge graphic sexual acts with pop music in an attempt to take her lyrics to the next level of experience, thus taking it from pop to (almost) porn!
I agree with my wife, who told me that something demonic was imparted from Miley during her performance to the millions of her viewers. In spite of many if not most people having denounced or distanced themselves from her performance, she still lowered the standards allowed on TV and contributed to the further erosion of the so-called pop music culture.
My greatest concern is not for the adult viewers but for the millions of young girls who want to emulate Miley since her days as the Disney star Hannah Montana. I would not be surprised if at least half of the parents who allowed their children to view this performance are ignorant of what Miley did.
As parents we need to constantly be aware of what our children are viewing and gauge the level of discernment they have and use these opportunities to teach our children the difference between right and wrong so their level of discernment is elevated. The Bible teaches us in Proverbs 8:13 “to fear the Lord is to hate evil.” When folks like Miley behave like this it shows they lack the fear of the Lord!
Furthermore, even if a person thought Miley’s performance was inappropriate, standards were still lowered if they thought the other inappropriate performances were now ok in comparison to Miley’s.
The following are some of the ways to gauge your child’s level of spiritual discernment (if they viewed this or other similar inappropriate performances):
1. If your child thought it was funny but was not repulsed by it
Young children may not have understood the implications of her performance and thought it was funny (or weird) and may ask parents questions about it. But Christian teenagers who have discernment should have been repulsed by her performance (and not found it funny!) because “the fear the Lord is to hate evil.”
Our children need to learn to love the things God loves and hate the things God hates.
2. If your child thought there was nothing wrong with the performance
If you question your child and they thought there was nothing wrong with the performance because it was only entertainment, or that we don’t understand the young generation, then we know we have a major problem with our child and they are on the path to falling away from their faith.
3. If your child continues to be a fan of Miley Cyrus
Any child that wants to purchase her latest album, sings the lyrics of her songs, and/or continues to follow her in spite of her path into the abyss shows that performances of that genre appeal to them, thus showing their heart is not right before God!
4. If your child thought Miley’s performance was bad but the other inappropriate performances were ok
There were several inappropriate performances, not just Miley’s. You know your child is heading in a bad direction if they think only Miley’s performance was inappropriate.
5. If your young daughter starts acting, speaking and dressing in a more sexual manner
6. If your child hangs out with other kids who emulate MTV music stars
Even if your child tells you they are doing fine with God, if their closest friends follow performers like Miley then you know there is a huge danger of bad company negatively affecting your child’s values.
7. If your child begins to lose interest in personal prayer, Bible reading and attending church
If your child stops reading the Bible or praying, and starts exhibiting a bad attitude when it comes to family prayer and church attendance then you better dig down deep and find out what their values and priorities really are! Don’t wait until they get older and fully backslide. Get your head out of the sand and have a nice, cordial, face-to-face chat with them or get another young person with mutual respect to talk to them as soon as possible! This initial talk is only the beginning of a long, painful journey that has to be coupled with much prayer and fasting with the objective of winning your child’s heart back to God!
In closing, the only totally acceptable response for a Christian teenager watching Miley’s performance would have been to turn away from watching the performance or to shut the TV off altogether! Job 1:2 describes the fear of the Lord as a person who turns away from evil. I have found that in my own life, the more intimate I am with the Lord, the less I can sit down and watch movies and performances with graphic sexual and other inappropriate content. The less desensitized a person is to the Holy Spirit the more they live carelessly in regards to gratifying the desires of the flesh and mind.
Parents are the main ones responsible for instructing their children in the fear of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Genesis 18:19). We need to use this unfortunate performance by Miley Cyrus as a teaching moment for our children so they grow in discernment, so they will never adopt the cultural mores which call “good evil and evil good” (Isaiah 5:20).
