...think about such things

One of the first and most enduring lessons on parenting I learned before I had ever birthed a child myself. As members of a bible study that met in the chaplain's home each week, we had a Friday evening front row seat to how he and his wife interacted with, disciplined, and discipled, their children. One evening we joined the conversation in progress. The issue? whether or not to buy the latest in video games. Finally, in response to his son's appeal, "but there's nothing wrong with it," the dad replied, "but what is right with it?"

What is right with it? Because, you know, there are a lot of things that aren't exactly wrong. But then, they aren't exactly right, either. That question, taken from the standard Paul sets in Philippians 4:8-9, has stuck with us ever since, and has been a benchmark as we parent our own kids, even today, nearly 19 years later. This article from Shepherd Press reinforces the same idea, and is worth the reminder.