"If
the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do"? (Psalm 11:3)
You
read it (in today's society, you probably watch it), all the time. Increases in
venereal disease, more divorce, less marriage, lower birth rates. The world is
awash in sinful behavior and lack of modesty and, let's face it, rational
decision making. Today, people will tell us that the epitome of freedom is to
do what you want, regardless of how reckless and irrational. People no longer
think about the consequences or their actions. They just "go with it"
and deal with the results, if they ever do, at some point much later in the
future. We are reminded of the old Jewish king who, when God told him that He
would punish Israel for their sins, but not during the king's lifetime, thought
it was just fine.
And
where does all this come from? For decades, secularists have insisted that
religion, and especially Christianity, must be eliminated from the public
sphere. Men and women should be allowed to do just about whatever they want, as
long as it supposedly doesn't "hurt anyone else." If you have a
modicum of common sense, however, how you can come
to the conclusion that the behavior that takes place on a regular basis all
around us doesn't hurt others is beyond me. Every person's behavior has a
ripple effect on others. I don't live on an island all by myself. What I do
today will have consequences for others, even if just for my children, in the
future.
The
issue, however, is that people have become so self-centered, that they no
longer care what happens to future generations. Witness how parents are
increasingly permissive. Our society has become an infantile one where, as John
MacArthur once said "teachers are afraid of the principal, the principal
is afraid of parents, parents are afraid of their children and the children are
afraid of no one." Thus, the people who are least equipped to make
rational, sensible decisions, our children, are the ones who are running the
show. The predictable result is that we conduct society's business based on our
feelings at any given moment rather than relying on our God-given intellect.
And, sad to say, this is an attitude that has also infected the church. As John
Robbins said, "Twenty-first-century American churchgoers are children
carried about by every wind of doctrine, not knowing what they believe, or even
if they believe anything for certain." Recent surveys tell us that even
among young people who are still churchgoers many doubt whether the Bible is
even true. Yes, even within the church the post-modernist virus grows
unchecked.
The
irony of all this is that the ones that howl the loudest at the wretched
condition of our nation and our world, are the very ones that brought us to
this point in the first place. In their rush to create a world where passions
and desires are the most important factors in how you live, they forgot that
living that way inevitably leads to chaos.
If you preach sexual liberalism, you get an increase in venereal disease and
pregnancies out of wedlock with their resulting fatherless children. If you
preach abortion on demand, you get women who are psychologically damaged and
whose lives are forever shattered, not to mention millions of little lives
snuffed out at the altar of convenience. If you preach lack of discipline, you
get undisciplined children. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For what
a man sows that also he will reap" (Galatians 6:8).
So,
the next time you think that libertine behavior will somehow make your life
better, think again. The only thing that such undisciplined lifestyle does is
destroy the future you could have if you submit to God and His law. After all,
law and order is how He designed the world to run. And, whenever we attempt to
do things contrary to the Designer's wishes, they never turn out well, now or
in eternity!
