Best of Both Worlds

Christopher Strok

Later this month the world renowned Miley Cyrus, aka Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana will release her third studio album entitled “Breakout” in stores nationwide.  Following the success of her first two albums (Hannah Montana, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus) the 15 year old teen sensation is sitting at the top of the charts. Following a sold-out US tour and with a 2009 movie release currently in the works, Miley (who could have been in your kids church less than three years ago) has taken America by storm.

Now, I don’t have any major problems with Miley, or for that matter with Hannah Montana either.  What I find interesting is the prominence of what I’d like to call the “duality reality” that our kids are facing here in America.

This “duality reality” isn’t anything new, in fact we need only to look to Hollywood or our favorite comic book characters for further illustrations of this phenomenon: Peter Parker (aka Spiderman), Clark Kent (aka Superman), or Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) all also illustrate this concept.  The formula: a normal person is transformed into something they’re not, given fame, glory and power, and are catapulted onto a larger-than-life stage.

Now, I am all for heroes and positive role models.  I love stories about the underdog who achieves victory against all odds.  I believe these stories, and the characters contained within them, play a vital role in the development of our children today.  In fact, this theme is illustrated in many of our favorite Bible stories because it is one of the themes of our lives!

We need to learn how to face challenges and rise above them to find victory!  I think these heroes, role models and stories are important because they reflect the reality in which we live… but something somewhere shifted.

I think somehow we’ve lost our focus.  Though I can’t be positive, I think this shift occurred when we bought into the lie that we can DO whatever we want, and BECOME whoever we want, simply because we want to. 

This lie would be wonderful to believe, if our lives were ours to control and we didn’t know that God had a plan for them (Jeremiah 29:11).  In my experience and as far as I can tell, sometimes the plans that He is so meticulously orchestrating differ from the plans that we have for ourselves.  Proverbs 16:9 tells us “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

The problem I see with a “duality reality” is whether we were bit by a spider and are now trying to make a difference in our world; whether we came from another planet and discover we now have superpowers; whether our parents died and we decide to take a vigilante stand against injustice; or if we have somehow found ourselves living as a student by day and a teen pop sensation by night, we’re ultimately relying on our own strength. 

We are reminded continually in scripture that our strength comes from The Lord.  Eventually, our strength will falter and fail if it is not found in Him, the One who provides it.

The problem with Peter Parker, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne or Miley Stewart is their alter ego overshadows who they really are.  These characters have become so consumed with living in an alternate life, that the people and circumstances in their real lives begin to suffer at the expense of their romanticized reality.

Now before you write me off, YES, I do understand that I am building the basis for this article on fictional characters.  Bruce Wayne, Batman and Hannah Montana are not real, however this doesn’t eliminate my concern for our kids.  They’re the ones watching the shows, hoping to be Hannah Montana, Spiderman or Superman.  They’re not wishing they could be Peter Parker, the average ordinary citizen.

There is nothing average and ordinary about living a Christian life!  We’re supposed to be the ones implementing change to affect nations, to impact the world.  We need to share the potential and harness this passion that our kids already have inside of them!

Am I contending that we can’t do anything and that we are relegated to live lives stooped in mediocrity?  Absolutely not!  Am I saying we will never overcome any of the obstacles or challenges we face in our lifetime unless we are superheroes?  NO!  We are children of the King, and not just any King, the KING of KINGS!  He has created us to do great and mighty things, to accomplish many victories and achievements for His namesake! 

Our confusion sets in when we spend our entire lives focused on fixing the things that we’re not, instead of developing the gifts, talents and abilities He has already placed within us! 

I believe if we focus our children in a Godly direction, utilizing the “natural resources” (gifts, talents and abilities) that they have inside of them already, we will begin to see a harvest like we have never seen during our lifetimes!  I’m not talking about a revival like Azuza Street or Brownsville, but a revolution that will sweep our Nation and flood our world!

As each of your kids begin to flourish in the God-given talents and abilities He’s entrusted them with, the seeds that you have planted are going to produce a mighty harvest!
The truth is that we do live in a “duality reality”.  We live in a world where there is much more going on than we can see or perceive.  Allegorical stories like Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia help to illustrate this bigger world in which we live.  It is not the “duality reality” that is our main issue; our lack of guidance is where we’ve dropped the ball.  As we learn to harness the “natural resources” already within our children, developing and preparing them for the road ahead, we will be equipping and sending out a generation that will turn this planet upside down!  You see, children just aren’t our future, they’re our today – that’s a reality you can bank on.