Are We Accepting The Unacceptable?
A catchy title - right? Unfortunately it bespeaks of a societal problem of grave consequences. Robert Bork, the ill-fated Bush nominee to the Supreme Court a few years back, whose book, "Slouching Toward Gomorrah," covers pretty much the same issues in great depth.
Of course nothing says a truth better than Scripture. Please reference Isaiah 5:20 which says "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" Please read the verses fore and aft to this verse to really appreciate the context.
All sorts of examples come to mind of society's accepting the unacceptable. How often do we hear of a man or woman (sometimes even clergy) who has betrayed his/her wedding vows described by friends and neighbors as a good loving father/mother and husband/wife. Yea, right!
Or how about the politicians - especially those at the top of the heap, e.g. our President and many Congressmen - who deliberately lie to the American people. When overwhelming facts are revealed refuting the lie and a recant is politically expedient, their toadies will tell us that he/she was quoted out of context or that he/she mis-spoke. Remember a lie is any statement that we utter with the intention to deceive.
Another very serious example is how political leaders view the jihad that has been proclaimed (a fatwa "Urging Jihad Against Americans" signed by Muslim leaders from several countries in 1998) against America by Muslim leaders in position of authority in Islam. If you care to read about Islam's intentions I would refer the readers to the following Suras in the Koran (Qur'an) and then decide for yourselves: Suras (chapters) 2:191; 5:33; and 9:5. Please keep in mind that there are several Islamic organizations committed to terrorism: Hamas; Hizbollah; and the Muslim Brotherhood. You don't often hear so-called moderate Muslims condemning them unfortunately. Present day slavery in Muslim controlled countries, women's rights, and human rights violations occur regularly in these countries. Need I say more.
Our leaders so often describe Islam as a peaceful "religion", ignoring the fact that it has never been peaceful since it's inception in 622 A.D. A little tidbit of Islamic history which happened circa 620 A.D. - Mohammed ordered and participated in the beheading of between 700 and 900 Jewish (Beni Quraiza tribe) men in Medina who refused to follow his orders. In reality it is an ideology bent on conquering the world by the sword if necessary, terrorism and imposing Sharia law and establishing Khilafah (a global Islamic state in which Islam reigns supreme and controls ever aspect of society and government). A peaceful religion? Talk about calling evil good - whew!
Space limits posting other examples, so one more will have to suffice. As a so-called Christian nation we have pretty much stiff-armed God, rejected His authority in our individual lives and in society in general. II Tim 3:1-9 describes the coming apostasy and the characteristics of people and society. There are 20 characteristics listed, so here are only a few germane to our subject: proud, arrogant, swollen with conceit (boastful - NIV), treacherous (constant liars - LT), etc. Do these in any way describe our society and unfortunately many of our political leaders? Think about it!
So as believers what can we do? Here again we come back to Scripture for an answer. II Chronicles 7:14 tells us - the context being God's answer to Solomon's prayer - "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." For most Americans that means a drastic lifestyle change, getting right with God, a.k.a. receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior and purposing to live our lives in obedience to Him. It also means becoming proactive in the "body politic" and voting against and actively working to defeat our leaders who support the "unacceptables", e.g. bigger government, profligate government spending, greater debt, progressive (socialist) programs versus a free market, free enterprise economy that has made our nation a world leader, abortion on demand, same sex marriage, etc. Aligning ourselves with those who are trying to make a difference in the morality of our community is also a wonderful way to "walk the talk". Laus Deo
Paul E. Williams
Marietta
