Every once in a while I truly shock myself. Today is one of those times. I just have not been able to stop thinking about this one. So I think I will share what is on my mind.
Last night, after the house emptied out, we settled on the couch to relax & watch TV. Pretty normal scene – him with the remote in hand, flipping between sports & Guy Fieri. The man just cannot get enough of Diners, Drive-ins & Dives! Seriously! Somehow in his flipping, we ended up on it. And we were stuck. For a few minutes, time was suspended.
Yeah we were watching the MTV awards.
And we could not believe our eyes.
Lady Gaga should have done us in. But no, we hung around for a few more minutes & saw with our own eyes the very act that would trend on twitter & be all over the internet this morning.
Miley Cyrus.
If you google for her performance, I would highly suggest making sure you there are no kids around. It was that bad.
I sat & wondered how a young woman, who was so cute as a kid & had such a promising future could deviate as much as she had. When she performed with Robin Thicke, we were no longer able to even watch it & switched back to the safety of Little League Baseball.
All I could feel was sadness.
Sadness for the choices Miley has made. Sadness for our kids today who face unprecedented peer pressure. Sadness that there is no longer a standard of any sort on television. Sadness that our kids have poor role models. Sadness that a young girl has lost her way in life & is so out of control. Sadness for the young woman whose performance screamed that she was hurting & empty & broken.
I found myself wondering if I was just getting old or out of touch or perhaps just a prude. Then I saw this picture included in a tweet this morning & knew it was not solely me…
Lord, help us. Help us to teach our children what is pure & right & lovely. Help us to be living examples that they can emulate. Help us to keep our eyes & ears attuned to our children to speak to them if they begin to stray.
But mostly, Lord, make us strong parents who desire to be the parents our children and grandchildren will need in the days to come.
And Lord, remind Miley of Who You are & how to find her way back to You.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10 NIV).
I linked with Teach Me Tuesday and Titus 2 Tuesdays and The Character Corner .
It was an absolutely horrible display, as I’ve learned from the tweets and posts I’ve seen today. MTV has definitely doubled down on cashing in on a partying teenager mentality, instead of the more intelligent insightful television they used to do (although, that was only in places; they’ve never been a bastion of good).
The only comment I can add to your post here is that, sadly, even the “cute kid” that Miley Cyrus once used to be was also only a ruse. What Miley was or wasn’t we can’t know very well, because Disney and the like have created an industry out of marketing these “cute kids”, and it’s all as much of a show (though cleaner) as the VMAs from last night. It’s makeup and lights and glitz and marketing and a polished script (both on camera and off). So, in a way, it’s important for us to teach our kids not only that behavior like the horrendous debauchery from MTV and other award shows (and entertainment magazines) is awful and wrong, but that also: things aren’t always what they seem. Beware of the deception of all that is glamorous. Watch out for marketing; be a shrewd thinker. Do not put your hope in man (or teen pop star), but put your hope in God. Find your home and joy with those who find their hope and joy in God. Everything else is just a trap, or at the very least will let you down.
Thanks for sharing your post. I’m glad to see a response that doesn’t revel in all that crud from last night, but instead wonders how to deal with it and seeks to find ways to point back to God.
Thank you for reading & sharing here as well.
thank you so much for sharing this! i saw the headlines and it appalled me.
I didn’t see the performance…I just saw a friend of mine had posted on facebook; “Miley, please, no more…oh please, stop Miley.” And I wondered what in the world she had done. How sad, so very sad! And only just 18!! Where are her parents???! Where have they been all of her life? Surely they blame themselves for this? I would be beside myself if that were my daughter! Dear Lord, have mercy on this poor wayward soul!