How to make a whitewashed sepulchre....

.....out of your children, not in your backyard with some cinder blocks, stone, mortar, and lime.  What do I mean here?

Well, way back when I was skinny, a pastor noted that Elvis, Dolly Parton, Mickey Gilley, and a host of others had gotten their singing careers started....in church.  Now that I'm older, I'm aware of a bunch more....Jessica Simpson (and her little sister, too), Mrs. Kevin Federline, Katy Perry, and others. 

Of course, we don't know these singers today for setting a good moral example, let alone Godliness.  So what happened?

Certainly there is not only one factor, but I'd have to guess that a combination of outward conformity, physical attractiveness, and musical ability led their parents and others around them to neglect what Tedd Tripp would call "shepherding a child's heart."   It probably doesn't hurt, either, that parents saw a LOT of dollar signs in their child's beauty and skill.  The end result is a person whose mind and heart is of the world, but knows how to look like they've got their act together.

And like it or not, there are plenty of job opportunities for whitewashed sepulchres out there, as the pop music industry knows all too well.