After her infamous MTV music video awards performance recently, 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 socalled
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).
Joseph Mattera is overseeing bishop of Resurrection Church, Christ Covenant Coalition, in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can read more on josephmattera.org or connect with him on Facebook or Twitter.
