Just when you think that the depravity of our modern culture cannot sink any lower, something else pushes the envelope. Enter: Skins, a television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom and that has now been adapted for the United States. The quick synopsis of this MTV show is: "Follow the adventures of a group of high school kids trying to discover who they are and what life is about by experimenting with drugs, alcohol and sex."

Sex, drugs and lots of underage skin

There have been many programs and movies over the years that used this "coming of age" story steeped in ancient sins, but a particularly disturbing part of this show is that the actors portraying the high school kids are kids themselves. The underage actors range from 15 to 17. Legally, they are minors. Yet these minors are put into sexual situations on camera—touching each other's bodies and, in some cases, showing lots of skin.

The sexualizing of our young people—children—is an abomination.

If I were to describe the content of the promotional materials that are being used to advertise the show, that in itself might be considered pornography. The fact that the actors are children intensifies the controversy because, by definition, MTV is selling child pornography.

MTV has gone from playing music videos 24/7 to pushing the "easy money" of reality television and controversial dramatic programming with overt sexual themes targeted at young viewers.

Where are the parents?

Where are the parents of these actors? Have they no protective instinct to shield their own kids from being exposed to such filth? What about all the adults involved in the production? Have they no conscience? Are their minds so seared by sin that they gladly accept the paycheck and put human standards aside?

Jesus Christ warned, "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones" (Luke 17:2).

I happened to speak with two coworkers this week about the show. The 45-year-old mother of an 11-year-old girl said, "If you go after them, you'll have to go after Abercrombie and Fitch." A father in his early 30s commented, "Well, my daughter's only 4, so I don't have to worry about it. Besides, the show that aired in the U.K. was much worse."

To sum up both responses: There's a lot of bad stuff out there, so just accept it. Evil builds upon evil.

Where evil comes from

According to surveys, most Americans don't believe a literal Satan exists. He does.

Satan knows all he needs to do is corrupt one generation and when the corrupted people have their own children, their evil ways will be assured. Satan knows the wisdom of Scripture and uses it to suit his own devices: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

MTV is paving the way for more depraved programming. The only thing that might turn them back, besides an effective lawsuit for interstate traffic in pornography, would be very large numbers of Americans standing up and saying, "Enough!" What can you do to stand up against this disturbing program? You could write to the advertisers of the show. You could write to MTV. You could call them. You could tell them they are promoting the corruption of our young people by glorifying the worst moral values that exist in our society.

But would you make any difference?

It's not yet clear whether the Justice Department will investigate to see if federal laws were broken, but the damage is already done. The moral standard in our society has been lowered—and once that is cemented into the mainstream consciousness, it will open a door for the next step down. Satan may be laughing, but God is not.

The apostle Paul warned in his letter to Timothy, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:1-4, New International Version).

Any society that does not fulfill its obligation to protect its children is a society that does not deserve to exist. But rather than praying for God's judgment upon those who have contributed to this path of destruction, let us all pray that the children be protected from temptation when the parents fail to do so.

To learn more about what the Bible tells parents about protecting and raising moral children, see our free booklet Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension.