Christian Singer Sounds Off About Britney Spears

CNN reports that Rebecca St. James, a grammy-award winning contemporary Christian singer, who preaches a message of abstinence from sex until marriage, says "she feels sorry for Britney Spears who herself once famously vowed to be a virgin until she wed."

Rebecca St. James gave a concert at Wild Adventures last year, and while I really enjoyed her music and the uplifting message that it gave, I was even more impressed with her bold stance for abstinence that she promoted from the stage. She works closely with the "True Love Waits" campaign, and promotes the abstinence message in her songs, her dialogue during concerts, books, and commercials. I think she is a wonderful role model for teens and young adults faced with this temptation.

The big question then, as I see it, is how to help turn our children onto good role models like Rebecca St. James and turn them away from cultural role models like Britney Spears. In spite of the revelation that Britney Spears lied about her virginity (revealed last June), her one-day marriage in Las Vegas to an old high school flame, and her revealing clothing, Britney is still tops on both the charts and in the hearts of young girls everywhere. Girls everywhere want to be like Britney, and they are dressing just like her. Just go to the mall on a weekend and you can see so for yourself.

But, whose fault is this? Is it the fault of the culture and the times we live in, or does the blame lay squarely on parents and the church for failing to promote more positive role models for our children? Perhaps it's time we took a stand and started actively pointing our children towards following the example of women like Rebecca St. James and others like her.

What can we do to make a difference? I don't know. I try all I can to point my daughter into other directions, but the world keeps dragging her back to it (reminds me of the weeds choking out the seed in Jesus' parable). One things for certain, though. If we don't try, we will never win.