When we were small, our parents
used to read fairy tales to us before we went to bed. Perhaps that still
happens in families. While most of us picture fairy tales as all about glamour,
pretty pictures, and happy endings, that really isn’t quite so if they are
carefully dissected. Some cases in point are:
1. Cinderella: Cinderella is held prisoner
in her own home where she is treated like a slave. She is subjected to both
physical and psychological torment at the hands of her stepmother and
stepsisters after the death of her father. That’s real happy times isn’t it?
2. Hansel & Greta: They are abducted by
a sadistic maniac who keeps them in captivity in the woods. His plan is to
fatten them up and then roast them alive to cannibalize them. That’s a real
class story for the little guys isn’t it?
3. Little Red Riding Hood: This girl goes
to the forest to visit her grandmother. What does she find there? That granny
has been savaged and eaten alive by a wild animal. A darling little story for
the kids, right?
Despite the behavioral implications
of those fairy tales, they are still being read to children. In no way am I
implying that these fairy tales are the driving pin for future behavior of kids.
What I am saying is that since they are not true and are just fairy tales full
of fantasy why not share stories with our kids that are truth with no fantasy
involved?
When have we ever heard of the
Bible being called a book of fairy tales? In its entire history it has been
challenged and tested, but it remains solid and has never been debunked as untrue.
What it has been is a matter of choice for all people. We have the choice to
believe the Word, or we can disbelieve it. The stories, parables, and lessons
within it all deal with the lives we live in one way or the other, and we can
apply it to our lives.
Bottom Line Thought: Whether
a father, eventually a father, a grandfather, or just a man of faith, wouldn’t
you prefer to share life lessons with the children in your life instead of
fairy tales based on bad behaviors?
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