Should we be concerned? Sure. Remember, the great tasks of adolescence are identity formation and worldview construction. Both of those tasks result in life-long beliefs, commitments, and behaviors. This also has me thinking about our upcoming "Life Up Close" seminar that's designed to teach us how to present the "Do's" about sex rather than just the "Don'ts."
A few years ago I gave a little quiz to youth workers and parents during some youth culture seminars. I'd play a song and ask them if it was one they wanted their kids to hear. Most of the songs I played were more than familiar to kids at the time. Each one of these chart-toppers would have fallen in 2009's 92%. As expected, the response was overwhelmingly negative. But then I would always slip in a track called "Love Cocoon" from Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love. I'd ask for a response again. This time, about 50% of the hands went up in favor of basically banning the song. . . . something, by the way, which many Christian book stores decided to do when they kept the band's album off the shelves. The other 50% answered in the affirmative, saying they wanted their kids to hear the song's message. And so they should! It's said that Mallonee would often intro the song from stage by holding up his wedding-ring clad left-hand then saying, "This one's for anyone out there who has a license to do it." I'd tell people that in my seminars and a debate would ensue. I would often suggest that to be consistent, we should rip the Song of Solomon out of our Bibles or at the very least, ban the Bible from Christian book stores. Of course, that was all to make a point.
The point today? Singing about sexuality is not necessarily a bad thing as long as we're preparing kids for a lifetime of celebrating marital intimacy in all of its wonder and glory. So, maybe you'll want to play this little Vigilantes of Love song for your kids to let them know that there's something out there worth listening to that puts what the other 92% is singing about in its most wonderful context.
3 comments:
To be fair, most music, over any time period, would fall under "reproductive messages." The Beatles and the Beach Boys could put most of their music in this category.
Whatever music is left would get further categorized in drugs, drinking, or vanity...
Meant to write this on your last blog post, but I have enjoyed your past few entries much more lately.
That all sounds good. The one thing I might say in opposition is that I don't want married couples 'rubbing it in' the faces of the singles, including teens. Plus, I might say that we should be teaching the benefits of marriage that don't include sex.
Wait why not rub it in their faces? I'm all for teaching the other benefits of marriage, and of the awesome benefit and grace of giving it all up for the kingdom, but why not publicize how awesome sex is in the proper context? We can't just talk about how negative it is outside of marriage, and then move on to the other benefits of marriage while neglecting how much sex rocks when, as they sing, it 'builds a tabernacle of holy flesh and holy mirth.' Because it does.
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