Illustration: Influence, Moral Decisions
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Published
June 10, 2012
John Huffman recently shared this in a sermon: Dr. James Dobson's ministry circulated an insightful story of a father who was trying to enforce a family rule that his teenaged children could not attend R-rated movies. His three teens wanted to see a particular popular movie that was playing at the local theaters. It was rated "R."
The teens interviewed friends and even some members of their family's church to find out what was offensive in the movie. The young people made a list of pros and cons about the movie so as to convince their dad they should be allowed to see it.
The cons were that it contained only three swear words, the only violence was a building exploding, and you actually could not see the couple in the movie having sex. It was just implied sex off camera.
The pros were that it was a popular movie—a blockbuster. Everyone was seeing it. It was a good story and plot. It had some great adventure and suspense. It would probably be nominated for several awards. Many members of their own church had seen the movie and said it wasn't very bad. Therefore, since there were more pros than cons, the teenagers were asking their father to reconsider on just this one movie and let them have permission to see it.
The father looked at the list and thought for a few minutes. He asked for a day to think about it before making his decision. His teens were thrilled, thinking, "Now we've got him! Our argument is too good! Dad can't turn us down!"
The next evening, the father called his three teenagers, who were smiling smugly, into the living room. On the coffee table he had a plate of brownies. The teens were puzzled. The father told his children he had thought about their request and had decided that if they would eat a brownie then he would let them go to the movie. But before they did it, just like the movie, the brownies had pros and cons.
The pros were that they were made with the finest chocolate and other good ingredients. They had the added special effect of yummy walnuts in them. The brownies were moist and fresh with wonderful chocolate frosting on top. He had made these fantastic brownies using an award-winning recipe. And best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly by the hand of their own father.
The brownies only had one con. He had included a little bit of a special ingredient. The brownies also contained just a little bit of "dog poop." But he had mixed the dough well—they probably would not even be able to taste the dog poop, and he had baked it at 350 degrees so that any bacteria or germs from the dog poop had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if any one of his children could stand to eat the brownies that included just a "little bit of crap" and not be affected by it, then he knew they would also be able to see the movie with "just a little bit of smut" and not be affected. You know the result. None of the teens would eat the brownies, and the smug smiles had left their faces.
The teens interviewed friends and even some members of their family's church to find out what was offensive in the movie. The young people made a list of pros and cons about the movie so as to convince their dad they should be allowed to see it.
The cons were that it contained only three swear words, the only violence was a building exploding, and you actually could not see the couple in the movie having sex. It was just implied sex off camera.
The pros were that it was a popular movie—a blockbuster. Everyone was seeing it. It was a good story and plot. It had some great adventure and suspense. It would probably be nominated for several awards. Many members of their own church had seen the movie and said it wasn't very bad. Therefore, since there were more pros than cons, the teenagers were asking their father to reconsider on just this one movie and let them have permission to see it.
The father looked at the list and thought for a few minutes. He asked for a day to think about it before making his decision. His teens were thrilled, thinking, "Now we've got him! Our argument is too good! Dad can't turn us down!"
The next evening, the father called his three teenagers, who were smiling smugly, into the living room. On the coffee table he had a plate of brownies. The teens were puzzled. The father told his children he had thought about their request and had decided that if they would eat a brownie then he would let them go to the movie. But before they did it, just like the movie, the brownies had pros and cons.
The pros were that they were made with the finest chocolate and other good ingredients. They had the added special effect of yummy walnuts in them. The brownies were moist and fresh with wonderful chocolate frosting on top. He had made these fantastic brownies using an award-winning recipe. And best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly by the hand of their own father.
The brownies only had one con. He had included a little bit of a special ingredient. The brownies also contained just a little bit of "dog poop." But he had mixed the dough well—they probably would not even be able to taste the dog poop, and he had baked it at 350 degrees so that any bacteria or germs from the dog poop had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if any one of his children could stand to eat the brownies that included just a "little bit of crap" and not be affected by it, then he knew they would also be able to see the movie with "just a little bit of smut" and not be affected. You know the result. None of the teens would eat the brownies, and the smug smiles had left their faces.