LIE #9: ''MY CHILD WILL DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.'' (9 OF 10)
Scripture: Exodus 34:6-8, Numbers 14:32-34, Deuteronomy 5:8-19, Deuteronomy 12:24-29, 2 Kings 17:40-45
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Lie #9: ''My Child Will Do as I Say, Not as I Do.'' (9 of 10)
Series: Lies Parents Tell Themselves
Wyman Richardson
Exodus 34:6-8; Numbers 14:32-34; Deuteronomy 5:8-19, 12:24-29; 2 Kings 17:40-45
When I was a twelve-year-old kid, a group named ''The Beastie Boys'' released a song that absolutely took youth culture by storm. It was entitled, ''(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!).'' It was a very controversial song by a very controversial group. It was also being sung repeatedly by probably 90% of all young people in the United States shortly after it came out.
It is a typical song of youth rebellion, youthful carelessness and youthful angst. I will spare you the complete lyrics, but two lines in particular stand out in my memory. In the middle of the song, the three angry young rappers scream these words.
Your pop caught you smoking - and he said, ''No way!''
That hypocrite - smokes two packs a day!
This chapter is not about smoking, and, in truth, those particular lyrics are not really about smoking. They are about something much deeper. They are about the outrage we feel when authority figures ask us to do things that they themselves are not doing. They are about hypocrisy.
It is impossible to tell, but there can be little doubt that the success of that song depended at least in some part on its ability to tap into youthful angst over authoritarian hypocrisy. In other words, that song tapped into the frustration that everybody feels when an authority figure hypocritically says, ''Do as I say, not as I do.''
This anger is felt by citizens towards their government when they sense hypocrisy in their leaders. It is felt by Christians towards hypocritical church leaders. It is felt by students concerning their teachers when their teachers practice hypocrisy. And it is especially felt by the children of parents who try to get their children to do as they say and not as they do.
Behind it all, of course, is the assumption on the part ...
Series: Lies Parents Tell Themselves
Wyman Richardson
Exodus 34:6-8; Numbers 14:32-34; Deuteronomy 5:8-19, 12:24-29; 2 Kings 17:40-45
When I was a twelve-year-old kid, a group named ''The Beastie Boys'' released a song that absolutely took youth culture by storm. It was entitled, ''(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!).'' It was a very controversial song by a very controversial group. It was also being sung repeatedly by probably 90% of all young people in the United States shortly after it came out.
It is a typical song of youth rebellion, youthful carelessness and youthful angst. I will spare you the complete lyrics, but two lines in particular stand out in my memory. In the middle of the song, the three angry young rappers scream these words.
Your pop caught you smoking - and he said, ''No way!''
That hypocrite - smokes two packs a day!
This chapter is not about smoking, and, in truth, those particular lyrics are not really about smoking. They are about something much deeper. They are about the outrage we feel when authority figures ask us to do things that they themselves are not doing. They are about hypocrisy.
It is impossible to tell, but there can be little doubt that the success of that song depended at least in some part on its ability to tap into youthful angst over authoritarian hypocrisy. In other words, that song tapped into the frustration that everybody feels when an authority figure hypocritically says, ''Do as I say, not as I do.''
This anger is felt by citizens towards their government when they sense hypocrisy in their leaders. It is felt by Christians towards hypocritical church leaders. It is felt by students concerning their teachers when their teachers practice hypocrisy. And it is especially felt by the children of parents who try to get their children to do as they say and not as they do.
Behind it all, of course, is the assumption on the part ...
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