Protecting Innocence in “Good Boys”
On August 16, 2019 the movie Good Boys will premier worldwide. The movie features of group of three pre-teens invited to their first kissing party and the misadventures they get in as they learn how they should behave and act at a party. “Good Boys is rated R by the MPAA for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout – all involving tweens.” (Good Boys Parents Guides). The movie presents the contrast of young boys in age-inappropriate scenarios where there is a clear lack of understanding, all for the sake of comedy for adults to laugh at. Furthermore, the makers acknowledge their actions, producing trailers where the lead actors understand they are not allowed to watch the movies they stare in. For all the supposed humor and comedy, I find the concept of this movie rather disturbing from a societal and cultural perspective.
The clear issue seems to be our willingness as a society and as a culture to expose the youngest and most innocent of our families to the most obscene and absurd with a wonton disregard for the well being of those involved. Then, rather than communicate the nature of the societal evils, we celebrate the exposure as we enjoy the comedy. It serves our own pleasure to gain enjoyment from the loss of innocence when we should choose to first protect the innocent. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5-6 ESV). Jesus makes it abundantly clear that we should strive to teach and train the next generation while preserving their innocence.
Yet, to just sit here typing angrily would be to softball in the whole issue and become one of those angry Christians without any real call to action to diligent seeking of the will of God. As parents, as adults, and as leaders, our role is to safeguard the innocence without. When these types of scenarios arise, as the safeguards, we must be willing to make some difficult choices.
Our Role As Protector
I do not want to be the person who says that all movies are unchristian or that there is only one proper way to care for the lives of others. However, as adults, rather than relishing in the loss of innocence or celebrating the change, we must be willing to approach society through a Christ-centered lens.
- Refuse to Willfully Exposing Children to The Evils There is no doubt in my mind that children will one day grow up and see terrible sins and deal with their sinful nature first hand. However, this does not mean they should be exposed to the darkest the world has to offer as if we provide some moral high ground. Nor should we excuse the behavior simply because “kids will be kids.” We should not rush children to supposed maturity. For the actors in Good Boys, they will not doubt need to, one day, wrestle with the issues of drugs, sex, and various other moral qualms, but let that fall to someone else rather than me. The children of Good Boys were willingly exposed to inappropriate content to the laughter of adults.
- Train Up A Child This is not to say to shelter the child. We cannot afford to shelter children from the evils of society then release them as adults only to find them overwhelmed by the situations they face. Our goal in raising children and protecting the innocent does not mean hiding the truth from them but rather training them how to handle the world. We must train the innocent to build on the foundation of Christ’s strength. Teach them to use the tools of the world but rely on the strength and wisdom that comes from God. Children will face many things in their life, we must be willing to put in the hard work of preparing and equipping them for what lies ahead of them.
- Demonstrate Godliness As the protectors of the innocent, we must first model and walk out the behavior we want them to do themselves. We cannot maintain the be willing to settle for “do as I say, not as I do” but should make take up the self-sacrificial nature that Christ took up for us. Teen struggling with underage drinking? It may be time to remove the alcohol from the house. Children using inappropriate language? We should first look at our own tongue. We should look long and hard at the choice of media we consume as well. The children and innocent among us see what we do as a representation of how they should behave. Even when we do wrong, they will see us. The shows we watch, the way we treat people all show those in our influence the nature of God, whether it is accurate or not.
I will not say whether a person should or should not go see the movie Good Boys (although I certainly have my own opinions). All I can say is that I will not be. It’s disregard for childhood innocence and the moral values it espouses and grace-filled are not in keeping with a message that brings glory of God. We should strive to preserve the innocence of children while simultaneously equipping them for the pressures of the world they will face one day. We cannot reasonably expect that our children will never face any trails or difficulties in this world, however, we can do our best to prepare them for face the challenges on the foundation of Jesus Christ and in so doing, preserve their innocence. We can equip and prepare them to receive their strength from God and rely on Him for all they need.
