I'm Probably The Worst Parent In The World

I write a blog, I also read a few. One of the few that I read is called "The Art Of Manliness" its a pretty sweet blog. Its all about man stuff. Shaving, bare knuckled fighting, being a good husband. Its not really a Christian blog, but it definitely shares Christian principles. I think I'm mature enough to weed through the stuff that is no good, so I like it.

Yesterday had a really good post, that changed our life yesterday. I wanted to share with you part of what it said.

Here's an excerpt-

"I’ve taken some flack for being too hard on video gamers. In truth, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with playing an occasional video game. The reason I frequently mention video games in connection with the problem of arrested manhood, is not the games themselves, but what they symbolize.

Whereas men once fought as soldiers, they now pretend to be ones. Where men used to play baseball and football, they now control avatars who play for them. Where men used to play an instrument, they now press buttons on a plastic toy. Where we once created, we now consume.

Why play a plastic guitar for hours instead of learning how to play the real thing? The answer of course it that doing the real thing is harder. Struggling with something tangible, something without a reset button takes dedication and commitment. So why bother?

The labor one performs transforms something in the environment, which in turn transforms you. The act of creation shapes you as a man, refines your sensibilities, improves your strengths, hones your concentration, and builds your character. Passive consumption leaves you untouched and unchanged. Consumptions breeds indifference; creation begets empowerment."

You can read the whole article here if you would like-

Here's what happened, I read that article before Crystal and I went to the gym. I thought about it alot when I was on the treadmill. When we got done, I shared it with her and we decided to get rid of cable television in our house yesterday. We realized that our kids are watching too much TV and we figured if we got rid of it they would watch less. In turn, they would consume less, and hopefully be more creative and impactful in their world.

We got home from the gym, and I unplugged the cable boxes and we went down to Comcast and turned them in. It saved us 90 dollars a month.

The funny part of the story is that our kids weren't too happy when they got home, the important part is that when faced with a truth about our family, we took some immediate action. It may make me a bad parent in my kids eyes because they aren't going to be able to rot their brain as easy. But I know that having more time as a family, and less negative influence from TV will honor God and bless us in the process.

There's a lot of nuggets in this blog today, but here's one- There will come times in your life when you must face a harsh reality of something you should change. You are either going to do it, or ignore it. Don't ignore it. Do it before you change your mind.

God will use whatever means necessary to get you to make improvements in your life. He'll use his Word, his people, and some blogs sometimes. Don't fight it. Allow him to change you.

Oh, and get rid of cable.

Be blessed
matt