10/11/09

I don’t have any statistics before me but I think it is generally agreed that there is a crises of morals and ethics in the United States as well as in the rest of the world. In our own country there is a growing trend away from our Judeo-Christian foundations and this has really accelerated in the past half century. There is in fact no longer a consensus in our country regarding what is right and what is wrong in any number of moral issues. This is most painfully seen in varying sexual practices, the value of human life and especially the unborn, business practices, advertising, and political processes. Deception, telling half truths, stretching the truth, and hiding the truth are commonplace in our daily life. As the church has less of an influence on the nation’s morals we see a continuing breakdown in the moral fabric of society and a widespread moral malaise that has spread to every facet of modem life. Our current economic woes are largely due to this fundamental ethical meltdown.

The church today is living in a culture and society whose world view and morals are profoundly shaped by what is largely projected through the pagan media, namely the print media, cinema, television, videos, video games, and the internet. Our schools are factories for the “manufacture” of human beings who have no moral compass and little or no faith in any god let alone the Biblical God. Ethical relativism is in and Biblical ethics are scorned. Instant gratification is the norm and pleasure at any price regardless of the consequences is the way to go for so many. Tragically, our children including our teenagers and young adults are trapped in this moral jungle. Parents, whether believers or unbelievers, lament their increasing loss of control over their children’s behavior and this is compounded by governmental agencies which actually prefer that parents exercise less control lest their children “be unduly influenced by their parents.”

This all means that it is critically important that the church advocate moral truths that are more than opinions but Divinely given moral imperatives. We need to specifically preach and teach that sexual libertinism, disregard for human life, mendacity, stealing in all its obvious as well as subtile forms, pornography, drunkenness, drug abuse, sexual perversity, and the like are not only “dysfunctional,” but downright sinful and have eternal consequences. For those caught in this web of moral disintegration, we can certainly show them compassion and provide guidance rather than immediate condemnation, but we need to show loving concern without undermining our own commitment to the Biblical teachings about right and wrong. In Ephesians 4:17 - 5:21 and Colossians 3:1-17 as well as Galatians 5:16 - 6: 10, not to mention the Ten Commandments, we have excellent Biblical examples of sound teaching on what is good and what is bad, what is righteous and what is sinful. The teachings there are not optional suggestions on the conduct of our lives, but direction for living righteous lives before our God and our neighbor. They provide clear and unambiguous guidance that we all ( but especially our children) badly need.