The large billboard on the hotel we stayed at when we visited Vegas with our kids was of the backside of a woman in a thong. This was pretty tame compared to some billboards they saw (even in the airport). Believe it or not we saw one of these dancers in costume walking through the lobby of the hotel. Yep, she was in a thong.

What in the world was I supposed to say to my kids when this women walked by? Well, first I said, “Don’t turn around and watch her walk away!” Then I decided to turn this into a teachable moment. I talked about how God made that woman and how she is His daughter and how she is made in His image and He loves her. Then I talked about how some people don’t realize that God loves them. We talked about choices; good verses bad choices and how dressing so people can see your butt probably isn’t a good choice!

The kids were surprisingly understanding. The whole week that we were there they saw people making lots of bad choices, and we talked about it each time.

I think one of the major keys to all this is communication. Vince and I can’t just walk by a woman in a thong and not talk about it. We can’t drive by a half-naked woman on a billboard and not say anything about it. When we talk about it we always talk with love instead of judgment and we pray for them.

As I said before, my style of parenting may be different than yours. I don’t believe in shutting my kids off from the world. I don’t believe that keeping them in a Christian closet is the answer. I think that with proper boundaries, communication and prayer we can teach our kids how to live an effective Christian life where they live in the world, but are not of the world, and are able to have a big impact on the world.

More on this later…

Featured on newchurches.com

Popularity: 27% [?]