How Should Christians Respond to the "6 7" Trend? Helping Kids Think Biblically About Cultural Phrases

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Hello friends! Today's podcast question says:

"How would you biblically approach kids saying 'six seven'? A quick Google search shows an association with a rapper who has some very dark content. Others say it's a basketball reference. How can parents help their kids think biblically about cultural phrases when the origins aren't clear?"

This is an interesting question, and I'm sure it's one that many parents have been thinking through over the past however many months since the term "six seven" has become such a cultural phenomenon. So we're going to dive in today and look at how we help our kids evaluate these kinds of phrases.

That's what we're going to cover today on the Foundation Worldview Podcast, where we seek to answer your questions so that you can equip the children that God has placed in your care to carefully evaluate every idea they encounter and understand the truth of the Christian worldview.

I'm your host, Elizabeth Urbanowicz, and I'm thrilled that you've joined me for another episode today.

Two Key Questions We Need to Explore

As we think through the phenomenon of "six seven" — or anything similar — I really think there are two different questions we need to explore:

1. How do we make a decision about something with questionable origins?
2. How should we guide our children biblically through cultural phenomena?

That's what we're going to dive deep into. But before we do, I just wanted to make you aware of a resource we have at Foundation Worldview that I think will really help answer questions like this. If you've never yet checked out our Family Discipleship Workshop, I highly recommend that you do. It's a quick three-session series that looks at holistic discipleship — how do we disciple our children's hearts, hands, and heads? If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend you do so.

Question 1: How Do We Make a Decision About Something with Questionable Origins?

Beware of the Genetic Fallacy

The first thing I think we need to do is ask ourselves: Is the negative or questionable origin currently impacting this thing?

In this case, the questioner is saying, "I don't really know what the origin is. It might have a really dark origin with this rapper. It might have an origin in basketball. I'm not sure."

What we need to be careful of is that we do not fall prey to the genetic fallacy. This is an error in logic and reasoning where a claim is either accepted or rejected based on its origin rather than on its own merit.

Instead of evaluating, "Hey, what is this thing currently?" we look at where it came from and either accept it or reject it based on that origin alone. We see this all the time in life.

A lot of times, people will just blindly follow an idea because someone they trust has said it — without actually evaluating that idea on its own merit. They're just saying, "Oh, it came from this person. It has to be trustworthy," so they blindly accept it.

An Example of Rejecting Based on Origin

Conversely, sometimes we reject things based on their origins. I remember about a decade ago, a friend shared with me how someone had told them they should not be a Christian. My friend was African-American, and this person was saying, "You're only a Christian because your ancestors were brought over here as slaves and they were introduced to Christianity through slavery."

Now, it is true that my friend's ancestors were brought over as slaves to the United States, and it is true that they were most likely first introduced to Christianity through being in the United States as slaves. However, Christianity should either be accepted or rejected based on the truthfulness or falsehood of the claims that it makes — not the origin of how someone's family was introduced to it.

So we have to be careful that we're not just accepting or rejecting something based on its origins. We need to actually examine something based on its own merit, regardless of where it came from.

When the Origin Still Matters

Now, there are cases where the origin of something may still be deeply affecting it. For example, Eastern meditation. We find Eastern meditation all over the place in the US and in other Western countries, and in Eastern meditation, the philosophy of emptying one's mind is still deeply embedded.

When we as Christians avoid Eastern meditation, we're not engaging in the genetic fallacy and just saying, "Oh, this came from an alternate religion, therefore I'm rejecting it." We're saying, "Okay, here's what this is — this is emptying one's mind. This is the opposite of what Scripture has called us to."

Scripture has called us to fill our minds with God's Word.

So we reject Eastern meditation not because it came from another place, but because it currently does not align with Scripture.

Applying This to "Six Seven"

So when your child says "six seven," we need to ask ourselves: Does it have a dark or anti-biblical meaning?

Because we don't know exactly the origin of it — I Googled it, ChatGPT'd it, and talked to others about it, and I got different answers from all of them — I can't even tell you the exact origin of this phrase.

From what I can tell — from what I've seen online, from the way I've heard other people use it — "six seven" seems to just be one of these strange cultural phenomena with a bit of a hazy origin. When people use it, it doesn't seem to have a dark or anti-biblical meaning.

So even if there was some really dark meaning when it originated, that's not the case now. It has morphed simply into a strange cultural phenomenon that will eventually die down in time. I don't know how long it's going to last — maybe a few weeks after we release this podcast, a few years, or maybe three decades from now we'll still be saying "six seven." I have a feeling probably in three decades, we won't.

But from what I can tell, even if the original origins were dark, when people use the phrase "six seven" now, there doesn't seem to be a dark meaning behind it. If you hear it used in a way that does have a dark meaning, then that would be a reason to say, "Using 'six seven' in that way is not appropriate because that doesn't align with Scripture."

Bottom line: We need to evaluate something based on its current state and its own merit rather than just accepting or rejecting it based on its origins.

Question 2: How Should We Guide Our Children Biblically Through Cultural Phenomena?

I know even for myself, when I was at my parents' over Christmas, two of my nephews were using the phrase "six seven." We were actually playing bingo, and every time it was something like N-67, my nephews would get so excited. So I've seen this cultural phenomenon even within my own family.

Start by Asking Questions

I think it's wise to always begin by asking questions. If your kids are using this phrase, just ask. Here are some great questions to guide the conversation:

Question 1: "What does 'six seven' mean?"

Your kids might not have any idea what "six seven" means. It might just be that they've heard it, they think it's cool, and they're using it. Or maybe their peer group has assigned it a certain meaning. Just asking questions helps you discern: How are you using this term? What is your current understanding of it?

For anyone looking for further resources to help your kids evaluate the different meanings of terms and how they're used — if you haven't yet taken your children through our Careful Thinking curriculum here at Foundation Worldview, I highly recommend you check that out. In our second unit, we have several lessons where kids look at hot-button cultural words and different meanings they have. They're asked to evaluate: Based on the context of this sentence, what is the meaning being used? Can you discern the meaning, or do you need to ask further questions? If you have children who are 10 and up and you haven't taken them through Careful Thinking, definitely check that out.

Question 2: "Why do you choose to use this term?"

Your kids might not know — but it's helpful to ask this question just to get them to think through their own motives.

Question 3: "How can 'six seven' be used in ways that honor God?"

Can we use this phrase to honor God? Here are some ways:

• Appreciate God's gift of mathematics. Isn't it amazing that God has designed us in His image in such a way that we're able to discover and engage in mathematics? We know what the number six is and what the number seven is. There's no other creature — no animal or plant — that can do math. Only humans as God's image bearers.
• Engage with the culture around us and enjoy it. Right now, this is a cultural phenomenon. It's something that probably causes a lot of laughs when kids say it. It can be a fun way to engage with the culture around us.
• Build relationships with others. Every generation has their own lingo. If you think back to the 1970s — the term "groovy" — we would probably never use that term, but it was popular then. Every once in a while, I like to watch episodes of Leave It to Beaver, and I always laugh when Wally Cleaver says, "Yeah, he's really givin' him the business!" We would never use that term today, but it was a term used in the fifties and sixties. "Six seven" right now is a term that's helping build relationships with others.

Question 4: "How can 'six seven' be used in ways that do NOT honor God?"

There are ways we can use it that don't honor God:

• When a friend group assigns a meaning with an ungodly connotation. If a friend group assigns a meaning to it that has some kind of connotation that doesn't honor God, then using that term would not be honoring to God.
• Causing inappropriate rowdiness. I'm sure many of you have heard that the fast food chain In-N-Out removed Order 67 from their order lineup simply because whenever they would say over the microphone, "Order number 67 is ready," there would be so much rowdiness in the restaurant that they couldn't handle it. Being rowdy in that way might be appropriate at a sporting event or an outdoor event, but inside a restaurant, it's just not culturally appropriate. If we're engaging in inappropriate rowdiness because of the term, that's not honoring God.
• Defying authority figures who have asked you to stop. I know there have been examples where teachers have told their class, "You need to refrain from using this," simply because of the rowdiness it was causing. When a student chooses to defy that and use the term, that is not honoring God. Recently, I was also at an event where children were performing on stage, and I know the person leading them had specifically asked the kids not to say "six seven" when they were up on stage. One of the children chose to do it. Did it get laughs? Yeah, it did. But that child had rebelled against the God-given authority that this person directing the performance had over them.

If we use "six seven" in these ways, that is not honoring God.

Avoiding Two Extremes

I hope that as we've gone through these different questions, it's helped you think a little more clearly about how we can guide our children through this current cultural phenomenon — and through other cultural phenomena that will arise at different times.

I think it's really easy for us to fall into one of two extremes:

1. Extreme annoyance — just getting really frustrated with cultural phenomena
2. Wholehearted, uncritical engagement — diving in without any evaluation

Rather than falling into either of those extremes, what we want to do is help our children think critically about the term — where it came from, what it currently means, how it can be used to honor God, and ways in which it can be used to dishonor God.

In the process, your children might not enjoy the fact that you're asking them all these questions or making them think so deeply about something that seems so light and frivolous. And if there are eye rolls or bad attitudes or huffing of the breath — those are things that obviously need to be addressed. But I would encourage you to push through, because the goal isn't necessarily to have your children think perfectly about "six seven" or any other cultural phenomenon.

The goal is to create in them the habit of thinking critically, so that when they're not with you — when they're grown and no longer under your care, no longer in your household — they have been trained so that whenever they encounter something in culture, they're thinking critically and biblically through it.

Equip Your Kids to Think Critically About Every Cultural Trend

Navigating cultural trends like "six seven" is just the beginning. As your kids grow, the topics will get more complex and the stakes will get higher. If you want practical tools to help your children evaluate the ideas and language they encounter every day, check out Foundation Worldview's Careful Thinking curriculum for ages 10 and up. It's specifically designed to equip kids with the critical thinking skills they need to discern meaning, spot logical errors, and think biblically — whether they're sorting through a viral phrase or wrestling with the bigger questions of life.

If you have a question that you would like for me to answer on a future Foundation Worldview Podcast, you can submit that by going to FoundationWorldview.com/podcast.

As we leave our time together, my prayer for you is the same as always — that no matter the situation in which you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves, you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of His Son. I'll see you next time.