Parenting/Children,  Wisdom/Discernment

Our Children’s Toys – Just Child’s Play?

I like toys. I mean, I really like toys. When our children were young, I enjoyed going to the toy section almost as much as they did. And Christmas time? Well, I really get a kick out of watching the kids open their toys. Yes, I try to be a good Nana these days and buy some “needed” things. But, toys are so much more FUNNN – right??  🙂

Now, let me make something clear. Even though I like toys, I can’t bring myself to pay full price for them. Nooooo. My love for a good deal always overrides that cute toy. If it’s not on clearance…or at least on sale…it probably won’t make it into my buggy. On the other hand, let me run into an outstanding clearance sale on toys and you will find me standing in the aisle while trying to think of which GRAND “needs” this for Christmas.

Because of the size of our family, (combined with my determination to watch my spending), my Christmas shopping is year-round-shopping. That’s right, folks. I started shopping in January for this Christmas and have already made a pretty good “dent” in our family list. A couple of months back, I came across one of those amazing, can’t-pass-this-up deals at our local Walmart. As I quickly scanned the toy aisles for clearance stickers, there they were…in the back aisle…way up on the top shelf…just about out of sight. I just stopped right there and looked up. If I remember correctly, there were five of them left. Five scooters at 75% OFF! That is PERFECT! That will be the oldest 5 GRANDS “big” toy this year. They will have a ball riding them out on our big front porch (and probably through the hallway into the kitchen)! YESSSS!

Wait a minute…

What is that a picture of? What kind of scooters are these?

Right then, in my mind, the struggle began:

It’s a GREAT deal!

But what theme is portrayed on them?

It’s just a scooter!

But what characters would you be encouraging in your grandchildren?

Now, although I was not completely familiar with this theme, I felt I had a pretty good idea of the characters involved. HOWEVER…the struggle continued (I say that to my shame) and so I told myself, “I’ll just walk through the toy aisle and take a look at them. Maybe….just maybe they aren’t THAT bad.” It didn’t take me long to see dark, strange, unnatural, unhuman characteristics in these creatures represented. That’s it. I can’t do it. As great a deal as it was, those scooters would NOT come from Poppa and Nanna.

This past Sunday evening, we enjoyed hearing Br. Larry Wells preach. He took his text from Revelation 9 which included the following:

“And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.” Revelation 9:7-10 

Even though the above is straight from God’s Word, it could just about be a description of some toys today – dark, strange, unnatural, inhuman creatures. The only difference is, that the above is NOT a toy description. The above is a description of events that are REALLY going to take place one day. And, as Br. Wells preached, that he believed that these locusts are actually demons.

The definition of toy is: an object for a child to play with, typically a model or miniature replica of something: “a toy car” 

Another definition: an object, often a small representation of something familiar, as an animal or person, for children or others to play with

With the above definitions in mind, some questions today would be – What are our children playing with? What do their toys model? If their toys are miniature replicas, what would the “real thing” represent?

From all my trips to the toy section, I do know this – not all toys are child’s play. Let’s be cautious and discerning in our selections for our children and grandchildren.

“…I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” Romans 16:19

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