Most of us recognize a desperate cry for help when we see one. God help Miley Cyrus. Just like Whitney Houston, Anna Nichole Smith, Heath Ledger, and many others who once fought the demons of fame, worldly success – and lost, I pray Cyrus is not too far gone.
It’s apparent Miley lost her innocence, inhibitions, and self-respect. Her flesh-toned rubber bikini and gyrating performance during the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night caused most American mothers to cringe. I am embarrassed for Cyrus.
Just like Lady Gaga, Cyrus has chosen the path paved by Madonna, using sex and outrageous behavior to get attention.
Imagine how God, her Creator sees her. He had a plan and purpose for her life to be a beautiful influence on young women everywhere and model good, clean values for them.
One mother wrote to her daughter and said Cyrus’ lacked self-respect, acted like an “overheated hound dog” with her tongue hanging out, and is simply screaming for attention because Miley hasn’t heard the word “no” very often. She concluded:
“Dear daughter, I am going to fight or die trying to keep you from becoming like the Miley Cyruses of the world. You can thank me later.”
Imagine being in Miley’s shoes, hearing most of your life that you’re the greatest. Every picture you post and every comment or tweet gets thousands of approving, fawning responses. In her mind perhaps she can do no wrong. Fame has a seductive, worldly lure and temptation that comes from being in the public eye.
So what in the world happened to Miley?
She was raised Christian and baptized in a Southern Baptist church, but we know there are plenty of folks claiming to be Christians and not living according to the Bible they profess to believe in. They fail to build a foundation on faith in God’s eternal Word. Whatever faith she had was not strong enough to endure the high life of celebrity.
Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going into a garage makes you a car. Miley went to church growing up and even wore a purity ring. To the world, this is another excuse to call Christians hypocritical; to true believers, this is a sad and tragic fall.
Is Miley a victim of culture, Hollywood, or herself?
She moved to L.A. in 2005 and it took less than five years for her mind to become corrupt and polluted. Her image changed along with her music, and here we are witnessing the awful result of her godless transformation.
Admitted Satanist, Marilyn Manson once said, “Raise your kids better or I’ll be raising them for you.”
He wasn’t joking. Most of us understand the power of music, media and the whole entertainment industry so we had better warn families who have impressionable children. Christian parents, be reminded kids will emulate the fashion, speech, beliefs, and lifestyle of their favorite stars. It is well documented that in many cases, pop culture has been responsible for increased drug use in America, teen pregnancy, murders, suicides, rapes, abortions, and domestic violence.
To better understand the rapid decline of Miley Cyrus, all we need to do is go back to 2009.
Miley turned sweet sixteen and her performance at the Teen Choice Awards included a brief pole dance featuring her in a provocative outfit. She went from Disney’s Hannah Montana to teen idol in a hurry, and through her best-selling single “Party in the USA,” she seemed to take her adult image and sex appeal to the next level when she was seventeen years old.
In 2010, she released Can’t Be Tamed, basically a sexed-up version of her evolving party image. That project excluded any theme alluding to her Christian faith – a subject she had previously been outspoken about.
In the lyrics for Miley Cyrus’ Can’t Be Tamed, she talks about getting crazy and getting her way and describes herself by saying, “I’m hot,” and “I’m built like that.” The song also talks about her getting lots of attention from guys, and that “I go through guys like money flyin’ out the hands.” Her video for the single featured “half-naked dancers and risqué bumping and grinding.”
At her nineteenth birthday party in Hollywood, her friends brought out a Bob Marley birthday cake, and Cyrus said,
“You know you’re a stoner when your friends make you a Bob Marley cake. You know you smoke way too much fu**in’ weed.”
Finally, in the 2012 remake of a film called LOL: Laughing Out Loud, in a role Cyrus said she fell in love with, her character loses her virginity, smokes cannabis, gets wasted, and kisses two girlfriends on the lips.
Maybe some of her more conservative fans have caught on after all.
According to The Hollywood Gossip site in 2011, for the second year in a row, Miley Cyrus was named the Worst Celebrity Influence in a poll of nearly 100,000 people. Ironically, the site’s main audience is ages nine to fifteen, which was once her core fan base. Cyrus even beat out Lindsay Lohan, who has earned her share of negative awards.
There are some who are concerned Cyrus is in danger of becoming the next Hollywood train wreck. We need to pray for her. Though she seems lost, no one is impossible for God to reach, but it appears she’s headed down a destructive path similar to Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, or worse. Where are her true friends?
We shouldn’t expect secular celebrities to live according to God’s Word because Christian values are either foreign or offensive to them. As for the salvation of Miley Cyrus who claimed to be a Christian years ago, only God knows her heart.
She and countless other celebrities need the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. No one is without hope, but the Bible warns us the Lord’s return is close. It’s time to wake up and speak up because “now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)
Will she and other prodigals return to the only God that can save her before it’s too late?
Eradicate: Blotting Out God in America 
Tragically, the majority of Christian mothers encourage their daughters to dress in a cute, show-off-the -body-and-as-much-skin-as-possible manner, as long as it doesn’t fall into the category of the latest version of Miley Cyrus. Moms are as guilty of buying into the cultural influences of sexy dressing (note how many active church women have no qualms about showing cleavage or lots of leg) and allow their daughters to flaunt what they’ve got, just as they themselves do. Instead of setting a high moral standard in dress, they sacrifice their daughters and themselves to the idol of sexuality. I’ve heard the excuse that “you can’t find modest clothes anymore,” but that is absolutely not true. There are plenty of styles that are fashionable and cute but that don’t entice men and boys in a manner that makes it difficult for them to keep their thoughts pure. Until mothers are willing to take a stand about this issue and teach their daughters by word and example that we are our brothers’ keeper and will be held responsible for putting a stumbling block in the way of men/boys when we dress in a manner that attracts by revealing too much, the culture will continue to head downward, producing the likes of Miley Cyrus and carrying other professing Christian young people with it. The church has to be the salt and light, setting a higher standard of dressing and sexual purity instead of joining in. Unfortunately, the wearing of chastity rings, “witnessing” tee shirts, etc., doesn’t have any effect in changing the heart; when temptation comes and has a strong pull, many, if not most of the Christian young people give in very easily. Why? I believe it is because they are not taught to fear the Lord and to love Him in a manner that honors Him and that they are responsible to Him for their actions. This continued teaching by my mother, was the only reason I did not give in to sexual impurity when a young girl.
Am I blaming Christians for Miley Cyrus? Only God knows if true believers in her church or society in general, could have made a difference in her life or if the evil influence of “Hollywood” would have won her over anyway; my focus in this response is that Christians need to look at themselves and see if they are contributing to cultural immorality by their compromising, and if they are, repentance is called for. Only then can we make any headway in keeping other children from heading down the same tragic path as Miley.
Great comments and insight, Betsy. Today’s Christian parents sure have their hands full! The influence of pop culture has crept right into the church and gradually, some of us have been more open to looking like, dressing like, and acting like the world (conforming). So are the kids. We’ve all seen it and the only solution is getting back to the Word of God. The average American family spends about 35 hours a week watching TV and I like to ask how many hours per week are we reading and studying the Bible. Not many people are willing to address this and other issues. I agree with you mothers need to take a stand and teach their daughters by word and example. Thanks for posting and God bless you, Betsy!
Excellent observations, Betsy, and spot on, in my opinion. I have expressed very similar thoughts to Christian friends. The response has either been silence or disagreement. Many believe that other Christians need to keep quiet and “just” pray for Miley, and that we are being too judgmental when pointing out ungodly actions and behavior. It’s becoming more difficult by the day to have a Biblical conversation with many professing Christians.
As the mother of sons and grandmother of grandsons (no daughters or g’daughters), I also believe it is imperative to teach our sons to be respectful of women, even when they’re not respectful of themselves. They need to learn to resist the temptation that WILL be presented, without question. Young men have to put on the full armor of God in order to withstand the onslaught that will come their way.
Found your article through Jan Markell’s http://www.olivetreeviews.org/ So glad I did. Happy to be a new ‘follower’ of your blog.
Blessed to connect with another family member! I LOVE Jan and appreciate her ministry very much.
Yes, Jan and her ministry is a blessing, that is how I found out about your book David! Thankyou!
The issue here is stumbling blocks. Success, fame, and fortune present new temptations that most Christians have no idea on how to handle. Too many people become so corrupted just like Miley because of all the temptations that come with fame. Sadly, Miley is now a stumbling block for many young girls who idolize her. I can only hope that our pulpits will start preaching on how to be good stewards of fame and wealth when they come into our lives.
Sex is another major stumbling block that needs to be addressed in our churches. Women must dress modestly as to not provoke unwanted desires in the men. Marriage should be honored and encouraged as this is God’s plan for sex.
I’m surprised out how many people put up with the filth on TV. I haven’t had TV in many years. It’s not just the sex, cursing, and immoral behavior that sickens me, but the anti-Biblical worldview. TV is programming your children with nonsense like moral relativism and evolution. Then we wonder why our children grow up and leave the church.
David, found your ministry through Jan’s olivetreeviews.org. We need more watchmen on the wall like you!
Thank you so much for the comment and your kind words, David. It saddens many of us who know the one true God to see the state of Christianity in America today, but God is not unaware or surprised and we must accept this as part of His divine plan. You get it. So many are ignorant about how much we have conformed to culture, looking more and more like the world every day. (except the remnant) Keep seeking and speaking the truth, David! Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good! (Romans 12:21) Keep the faith, endure the opposition, and share the Truth with as many as you can. Thanks again!
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I don’t understand what her parents are doing.I used to like Miley when she was acting as Hannah Montana in Disney.Now she is an entirely a different person.She has gone through so many changes in the past couple of years that it is difficult to relate her to the old Miley she once was.Her behavior is disturbing and it screams that she is in desperate need of attention or soon she will end up like Lindsay Lohan.At first I thought she is just going through a phase but now it looks like her condition is deteriorating and somehow it feels like it is because of the lack of love and attention from the people she loves,broken relationships with former lovers and peer pressure of Hollywood.
[…] The Beginning of the End for Miley Cyrus? Don’t judge, pray! But warn others about how easy it is to self destruct… […]