From the Heart
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. – Luke 6:45 NKJV.
The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart. – Luke 6:45 The Amplified Bible.
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. – Luke 6:45 New Living Translation.
It is obvious that for an adult to input bad things into your life, i.e. your heart produces in some way bad things. The opposite is true as well if an adult inputs good things into their life, i.e. their heart, it will produce good. Perhaps the most good thing of all is the Word of God. If this is true of adults, I believe it must be true for children as well.
I think we can agree that drag queen shows for children are bad and will produce bad things in their lives. Also bad for children are horror or scary movies, shows, and books.
Why are these things bad for children? Dr Katherine Hall, sleep psychologist at Somnus Therapy, explains in an article for the Mirror that the intense emotions that horror films cause us to feel can lead to having nightmares in bed. She said: “Nightmares are predominantly caused by stress and horror films are designed specifically to heighten emotions. They use psychological tricks to create illusions of suspense and danger which cause stress and anxiety. We then bring this stress to bed with us, making our brains unable to relax and switch off.”
Why are nightmares specifically bad for children? New research provides a rationale. The rationale for this is found in an article written by Abidemi Otaiku, NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Neurology, University of Birmingham and published in eClinicalMedicine Journal. The research revealed that children between the ages of seven and eleven who regularly have bad dreams and nightmares are twice as likely to develop cognitive impairment by the age of 50. In addition, they may be as much as seven times more likely to develop Parkinsons by the age of 50.
As we can see allowing bad things to be put into a child’s heart and life can be very bad indeed. Proverbs 4:23 gives this warning: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” What are you putting into your child’s life? What are you putting into your own life?