Fairy Tales. Good or eVIL?

So the In my english class my teacher keeps bringing up this essay that one of her former students wrote called "The Negative Effects of Fairy Tales on Children." She talks like it's the greatest paper ever. So out of curiosity I googled it to see what I could find. Do you know what I found? A LOT of bitter girls.

Girls who want to blame fairy tales for how their life turned out. They say "fairy tales gave me so much hope of finding the perfect man but he DOESN"T EXIST." So... naturally.... since she couldn't get her happy ending (more like she gave up too soon) she wants to make sure no-one else expects it. What a crappy attitude.

Todays culture tries to teach us not to expect anything out of life. They say that fairy tales are useless because they are unrealistic. I've got news for them. Fairy tales have more reality than the world they think they live in. Life is an adventure, a battle, and a romance. The battle for the human heart is constantly being waged all around us. God wants to be our rescuer if we let Him.

As for earthly rescuers... Culture is telling girls to expect less and less from men.. and the men are GOING ALONG WITH IT. Men, just because a woman doesn't expect you to be strong, kind, and Godly, doesn't mean you can get away with being a wimp. Girls, don't settle for anyone less than who God has for you. I've seen too many girls grab onto the first guy who will pay attention and claim they're the ones. Wait for God's perfect person.

Fairy tales also deliver the infamous suggestion... "follow your heart" (DUN DUN DUN!!!!!) Hey Christions... pssst It's ok! you CAN follow your heart!!!

"And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart." Ezekiel 36:26

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:16

The heart being desperately wicked is referring to unbelievers. If Christ truly dwells in our hearts it cannot be wicked. The problem for Christians is discerning between your heart and your flesh.

"So now it is no longer I

who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

For I know that nothing

good dwells in me, that is,

in my flesh."

Romans 7:17-18a

Further reading on this subject can be found in the book "Epic" by John Eldredge.

Fairy Tales teach us not settle for less than what God has for our liv

es.

A Blast from the Past: Loving Children

I was looking some old files the other day and I found this article I wrote back in 2006! It was used in the my old church’s magazine under the volunteer section. I thought I would post it here

The Importance of Loving Children

By Erik Davison 09/12/06

In our culture, children have been viewed as an inconvenience, a pain, something that just needs to be over with. As a result people have begun to treat kids as if they are unimportant and unwanted. So throughout the years this idea of thinking has elevated until it was made legal to murder unwanted babies. Abortion is the “politically correct” term we give that. I think it’s important to love, teach, and care for children while they are still young.

When the subject of childcare comes up in church, most people consider it to be the thing to volunteer for when you cant find anywhere else to serve. They may think all they’re doing is watching kids so someone else can minister to their parents (i.e. the real ministry is going on outside the nursery). Well that is one of the things you do while watching kids but did you ever consider that you’re ministering to the kids? The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Pro. 22:6.

How do you think Billy Graham or Mother Teresa got to be who they were? What about Britney Spears or even Adolph Hitler? Do you think they were born the way they turned out? No, they were raised in a way that affected who they became. Not just their parents but their friends, family, and peers helped them along that road.

When I look at kids I sometimes think, “Who will they be?” Then I remember that I have a chance to affect that, we all do. Just by taking a few hours of your time to help in the nursery or to baby-sit for a family you know, you are affecting the future. This doesn’t mean preaching to them, or trying to tell their parents how to raise them. For me it just means to love them and to be a good example for them, not treat them like they’re just something to be put up with.

So instead of being annoyed and inconvenienced by children, embrace them as a gift from God and as a chance to show His love to the kids so that when they are old, they will not depart from it.

Is the Heart "Desperately Wicked?"

Yes and No. It depends on who you are!

I think we all know this verse:
"The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
Jeremiah 17:9

However far too many don't realize that this verse was not about Christians. If you study this text, It was referring to an unsaved heart. Continue reading:

"And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart." Ezekiel 36:26

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:16

When you become a Christian God gives you a new Heart! It is essential to realize this because it gives you a new sense of self. Now you know who you are. Yes, You still have your flesh but it's not the deepest part of you anymore. Paul made the distinction between the new heart and the old one (our flesh).

"So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh."

Romans 7:17-18a

You have no reason to sin, no excuse because it's not who you are anymore! Here is a quote from John Eldredge on the matter:

"...what Paul concludes is just astounding: ‘I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it' (Rom 7:20). Did you notice the distinction he makes? Paul says, ‘Hey, I know I struggle with sin. But I also know that my sin is not me, this is not my true heart.' You are not your sin; sin is no longer the truest thing about the man who has come into union with Jesus. Your heart is good. ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you ...'(Ezek. 36:26). The Big Lie in the church today is that you are nothing more than ‘a sinner saved by grace." You are a lot more than that. You are a new creation in Christ. The New Testament calls you a saint, a holy one, a son of God. In the core of your being you are a good man. Yes, there is a war within us, but it is a civil war. The battle is not between us and God; no, there is a traitor within who wars against the true heart fighting alongside the Spirit of God in us... .

-John Eldredge

Beauty

I've heard people say over and over... "When I was a kid, I was carefree and happy..." "When i was just a child, the world seemed much brighter..." "When I grew up i discovered the world was much darker than I thought..." "Oh I wish I could be a child again." Myself included. It is easy to think that life was happier as a child... I thought so.

Until yesterday as I found myself looking back on 2009. It was a hard year for me... but then I realized: Yes, the world was consistently happier when I was little. Yes, I have felt pain I could never have felt as a child. But I've realized that as we get older, yes the bad things that happen do get worse, but the good things, the beautiful things, the moments that take are breath away ALSO get better! I've experienced things I never could have if I had stayed a child my whole life!

This past summer was a hard one for me in more ways than one and I found myself thinking, "I want to go back in time and be a kid again. Then I wouldn't have to worry about any of this!" But now, looking back on 2009, I wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world!! You see, the bad things that happen in this world cannot even compare to the Beauty that takes place here. It cannot even put a dent in the hope I have for the future! I've read the end of the book you see, I know that all the happiest endings we've ever heard of or read about or seen in movies... the ones that touched our heart and brought us to inexplicable tears... I know none of those endings will even compare to OUR ending, the one God has prepared for us.

So remember that when you're going through a dark moment in light. Remember that the "Shadows prove the sunshine." Remember God has a plan for you and an ending that's better than the happiest ending you've ever dreamed about. Instead of focusing on the tragic, hard, and dark things in this world, Look for the hidden beauty... John Lennon wrote, " Living is easy with eyes closed..." It's true but it's also dark when you close your eyes. Beauty is much easier to find if your eyes have been opened. Pray and ask God to let you see the world through His eyes. You'll be amazed at what you've been missing.