Propaganda is “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.” We are flooded with propaganda on a daily basis because of the hopeful effects it may have on each of us to change the way we think. Our children are not exempt from this effort and its effects. So who and what do we believe? How do we raise children that are independent thinkers and dig deeper on issues that affect them?
If we don’t embrace “Truth” and then teach that to our children, they can be as innocent as the character in Chicken Little who declared that the sky was falling because an acorn fell from a tree and hit her on the head. We want to raise our children to process Truth more deeply than simply believing what they hear. The phrase “The sky is falling!” has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent. The best source of Truth is the One who “knows” all things. 1 John 3:20 (NKJV): “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” Josh McDowell said, “Belief is only as good as the object in which we put our trust.” Believing false information doesn’t make the information true. When a peer encourages our children to participate in something that is harmful with the promise that everything will be fine, we want our children to process further the reality that it may not be.
A great example of propaganda is the constant flooding of opposing views on global warming, green gas emissions, climate change and our energy sources. The propaganda surrounding this conversation is extreme and shared in the mainstream media. Research says that this information is affecting an entire generation. The problem with the information is its source. One consequence is fear. Instead, a place to point our children to “Truth” is God’s Word.
God’s Word says in Psalms 56:3-4 (NLT): “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. I praise God for what He has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”
Another consequence is an intentional decision of some not to have children. God’s Word says in Genesis 9:7 (NLT): “Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”
In regards to destroying the planet, God says in Genesis 8:22 (NLT): “As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” This is God’s promise to Noah after the great flood. Genesis 8:21 (NKJV): “And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.”
Our homes must choose to intentionally sift modern-day propaganda through the lens of the Holy Scriptures. Let us be aware that when God as Creator, All Powerful and All Knowing, is left out of the equation, we can’t trust the information or its source.
