How should a grandparent handle a grandchild who is asking for a gift (something like worldly music) that you don’t approve of BUT you know the parents allow it, and they are going to listen to it whether you buy it or not?
The short answer is: DO NOT buy your grandchild something that is worldly. By “worldly,” we mean something that is “not of God,” but “of Satan,” who is the “god of this world.” The following passages teach us that Satan is in control of this present world:
- “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the GOD OF THIS WORLD hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4… KJV).
- “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the PRINCE OF THIS WORLD be cast out… I will no longer talk much with you, for the RULER OF THIS WORLD is coming, and he has nothing in Me (John 12:31; 14:30).
- “We know that whosoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and that WICKED ONE does not touch him. And we know that we are of God, and THE WHOLE WORLD LIES UNDER THE SWAY OF THE WICKED ONE” (1 John 5:18-19… NKJV).
When Satan deceived the woman in the Garden of Eden, resulting in her and Adam eating of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:1-6), Adam forfeited his dominion over the earth and Satan became this world’s god. Before one is saved, they are under his influence. The Apostle Paul reminded believers of this in Ephesians 2:1-2, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to THE COURSE OF THIS WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” All unsaved sinners are “slaves to sin” (John 8:34) and in “bondage to Satan” (1 John 3:8).
Once a sinner trusts in Christ as their Savior and Lord, they can be delivered from this slavery and bondage if they allow the Lord Jesus to “set them free” (John 8:32, 34, 36 with Romans 6:1-13). Yet the believer may still “be tempted by Satan and commit a sin” because he still has the “fallen, sinful nature” in him (Romans 7:13-20). Satan presents something in the world to attract our sinful nature and if we aren’t “abiding in Christ” we may “succumb to the worldly temptation.” This is why the Apostle John warns us in 1 John 2:15-16, “DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but IS OF THE WORLD.” And this is why the Apostle Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:2,” And DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God.”
It sounds like you may be a believer in Christ who loves his grandchild and wants to keep him from “loving the world,” so no matter what his parents may think, you must act on the Word of God and refrain from giving them anything that is “of the world.” Perhaps you could share some of the scriptures above with them (the grandchild and the parents!). If they are not saved, this would be a golden opportunity to show them they are a sinner “under the sway of the wicked one,” but that Christ can “set them free” if they would turn to Him in faith as their Savior (as we saw in John 8:32-36). If they are saved but are living “worldly lives,” you can show them that believers are not to “love the world” and are not to “be conformed to this world”; rather they should be “transformed by the renewing of their mind” as they study the scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to present Christ to their hearts and minds (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). (DO) (741.1)