I read somewhere the other day that "Leave it to Beaver" was on Netflix. So, I checked it out and we have it on Netflix. I asked Joel and Hannah Grace if they had ever seen an episode of "Leave it to Beaver." Not only had they not seen an episode, they had never even heard of the show. There's an idea for a "first."
I remember enjoying watching the Beaver when I was young. Who knew what kind of trouble the Beave would get into? His brother Wally would be there to usually help him as best as a junior high brother could help. He had to watch out for mean old Eddie Haskell. He would get Wally and the Beaver in trouble in a heartbeat. If not, he would be giving the Beaver "the business."
We watched an episode tonight. Beaver and Wally got into trouble and then more trouble for covering it up. Ward and June (Mom and Dad) sat them down and helped them to see their mistakes and then they were punished for it. As typical, nobody got too mad and everyone was pretty happy at the end of the episode having learned a good lesson. Life was typically pretty good in the Cleaver household. They had troubles, but they were pretty small troubles compared to today's shows. The Cleavers never encountered murder, kidnapping, or international terrorists that are so common in today's TV offerings.
I asked the family how they liked it. Hannah Grace said she was not sure. When pressed, she said it was OK. I think that's being kind. Joel said he liked it. I asked him if he liked it a lot or just a little. He said medium. Laura also said she liked it medium. It seems that the Beaver was not a big hit in the Wilkinson household tonight. I think I liked it more than anyone. I was hoping the kids would like it more.
Mean old Eddie Haskell
It is easy to look back at those shows that were funny and taught good morals and moan that today's shows are not like that. So, MOAN! Moaning is not going to help anything. What occurred to me as I was watching it was that I need to present Biblical truth in terms of today. We simply do not live in the Cleaver generation regardless of how much we might want to or think it was better. This is the day I live in and my challenge is to make Biblical truth real and relevant to the people around me. This is a day of technology, information, and change. Jesus has something to offer this generation (as He does every generation) that we desperately need and can't find anywhere else. Philippians 2: 13-14 says (NLT), "Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people." Two things hit me out of those verses. One is that I am not to be a complainer. Many people today complain a lot about TV, politics, declining morals, etc. There is plenty to complain about if one looks around. That does not help and I don't think complaining is a very good witness to the joy I have in Jesus. The other thing is that we do live in world full of crooked and perverse people. So, we should stand out. We should shine. Jesus should be on display in our lives in a way that is markedly different from the average.
So, we may not watching Beaver much around here. We will be looking for Jesus and opportunities to let Him shine in our lives.
Grateful that the abundant life is available today
Barry
3 things I thank God for today
1. Pocket knives
2. Jesus is relevant to every life and generation
3. An outstanding sunset
No comments:
Post a Comment