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iQuestions Faculty, Ron Blue 
 
 
Question: 
 
Are my kids being sent the wrong messages from society about 
money? If so, what should I do? 
 
Answer: 
 
JUDY: Well, I like the fact that you asked what we had to fight, 
because I do feel like we are in a war. And I can remember when all 
my children were growing up, sometimes feeling like I was standing at 
the back door of our house, fighting the cultural messages that were 
coming in, not only with what they learned at school, but from their 
friends, and now the television and the media is so much more 
pervasive and invasive than it was when we were raising our children.  
 
So, I think there’s lots of cultural messages, and I think it truly is a 
war, and if we realize that and be on the offense rather than being on 
the defense, ultimately we will be served well. 
 
I think some of the cultural messages include that you owe it to 
yourself—after all, you do “deserve a break today,” right? That’s what 
every mother thinks at the end of the day. 
 
RON: That is a cultural message: “You deserve a break today,” and I 
always want to say, “Who said I deserve a break today?” or “Who said 
you deserve a break today?” I think of some of the billboard 
messages—an advertisement that says, “You only go around once, get 
all the gusto you can.” 
 
JUDY: Or “he who dies with the most toys wins.” 
 
 
 
RON: That’s on billboards, and that’s on bumper stickers, and so 
forth—and what else? 
 
JUDY: Well, I think your favorite is, that you can “buy now, and enjoy 
it while you pay for it.” Just kidding. But that is one that certainly 
invades our homes on a regular basis. 
 
RON: You know I saw a billboard that said, “Get out of debt. Take out 
a home equity loan,” which is kind of the same thing! 
 
JUDY: It’s another cultural message that we have to fight against. And 
then I think through advertising and through friends and through lots 
of other media exposures that we’re important because of what we 
wear, or what we drive, or where we live, or where we vacation—and 
that just comes into us at such a subtle level. 
 
And so, as parents, we have to be proactive about helping our children 
understand where their value comes from, and to understand the 
biblical messages. 
 
RON: Boy, I think that’s really important. And I think it’s important for 
parents to understand that there’s literally billions of dollars being 
spent every day—through advertising, through billboards, through 
media, through various media, to try to convince our children that 
they are what they wear, where they live, who do they idolize, and so 
forth.  
 
So, we’re in a phenomenal battle with our culture, when we want to 
teach some real basic values to our children. 
 
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