culture care = point out lies

occasionally, i spend a few minutes on pinterest to kinda let myself be braindead for a bit, while leaving the possibility open of finding some good 'someday' ideas to do around the house or with the kids. the trouble is, if one goes outside of the pinners followed, one will have to wade through a lot of trash. some of the pins i wouldn't dare pin here to highlight their trashiness.

many times, i find it distressing to see where our culture is headed when i wade the waters of pinterest. i think the images today's culture likes, are very telling.

one thing i think we can do for our kids and ourselves, or whoever we're with, is to identify the lies that we're being fed by media and culture in general. and when possible, tell the truth insead. here are a few i noticed today...

Source: prettyprovidence.com via Alex on Pinterest

at first glance, this just sounds trickster. it sounds like a hack to get free stuff. while the blogger claims it is totally legit, i still wonder. she admits it isn't EXACTLY true. and i notice that she did NOT change the button, probably because it draws readers to her site. the point is, that people ARE willing to do shady dealings to get free stuff. yesterday, i was at the airline ticketing office. i REALLY wanted to pay for my parents' tickets (they're coming for Christmas!!) with my credit card because i would then avoid the $10 it costs to withdraw cash from the machine. but get this, the airline (international airline, might i add?) doesn't allow you to pay online with a credit card (even visa!), neither does the ticketing office doesn't accept credit cards for a reservation made online. neither do the banks. aaaghh! cash only? where are we, the jungle or something?! anyway, the guy told me, "hey, here's how you can work it so that they'll accept your credit card purchase... call the customer help line and tell them you went to the bank to pay and their system was down. insist that you need to pay for this today (oh well, that the flights are a month away). then they'll authorize me to do the credit card transaction. people do it all the time."

i wavered a little, not because i would do it, i admit i wished i could, but because i didn't know whether or not to tell him why i wouldn't. it briefly crossed my mind, 'i'll just pay cash and not say anything about it. he'll never know.' but then i decided, no. it's right to tell him that i won't and why. so as he tried to convince me, i said, 'i know that everyone else might do it, but i can't. i can't because i can't be dishonest. it's wrong.' i think he was surprised. and a little embarrassed. maybe. :) we've talked before. i'll see him again, and we'll talk again. i know he'll know that we're christians, after all, my husband is a missionary celebrity in town. ;) but, my point is, that we MUST be scrupulously honest. and be outspoken about it. if every christian and honest person would, it'd be one small way we could hold back the tide of serious culture degeneration.

Source: pinwords.com via Amelia on Pinterest

the pinner commented, "the only tele-evangelist that doesn't scare me."

sad on two counts. there aren't many tele-evangelists that scare anyone...in the right way, that is. AND he doesn't scare her because though he's on the television, he's clearly not evangelizing. what he says makes people who don't love Christ feel good about where they're at. the gospel IS actually scary for those who refuse to accept it. life without Christ IS scary.

...and then there was this one. and it brightened my day immensely. but not in the way the pinner intended it:

Source: piccsy.com via Jillian on Pinterest

i have this. and so can you.
ask me how.

:)

...neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation...
surpassing knowledge...