EXCUSING RESPONSIBILITY

From My Perspective - - -

Is it fair to refer the times in which we live as Cultural Morass? What is happening in the ebb and flow of life today is impacted by the influences that dominate within our society and culture. The word “morass” is a comprehensive term that has these applications: It is/can be: (1) “a tract of low, soft, wet ground; (2) a marsh or bog; (3) marshy ground; or (4) any confusing or troublesome situation, especially one from which it is difficult to free oneself; (5) entanglement.” It is the fourth part of the definition - “any confusing or troublesome situation, especially one from which it is difficult to free oneself” – that has the nation bogged down in its state of moral relativism. The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) states: “Moral relativism is a philosophy that asserts there is no global, absolute moral law that applies to all people, for all time, and in all places. Instead of an objective moral law, it espouses a qualified view…especially in the areas of individual moral practice where personal and situational encounters supposedly dictate the correct moral position. Summing up the relative moral philosophy, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: You have your way, I have my way. As for the right way, it does not exist.”

In a Wall Street Journal Column by Jason L. Riley, he quotes a Chicago Pastor – Corey Brooks – who assesses the violence and need of his city. “The pastor's response mentioned in passing "dysfunctional break-ups of the family," but his larger point was to insist that what plagues the black poor is largely beyond their control. ”You're dealing with young black men who are hopeless. You're dealing with a situation where the educational system is awry. You're dealing with a situation where you have an influx of drugs and hopelessness." He called for a "better educational system," more "resources" and "more utilization of summer programs and things that these young people can do to enhance their lives." The pastor is right that we need better schools in our inner-cities, but…better schools won't help people who don't value education to begin with. Nor will more jobs help people who lack a work ethic. And so long as having a black man in the White House trumps having one in the home, the situation is unlikely to change. Ghetto residents do not need more people making excuses for black pathology, which is mostly what they get from cable commentators, especially the black ones. What blacks need is an honest conversation about black culture…”

However, what is common to all the races within the Cultural Morass? Whether or not one will acknowledge where he/she is in terms of cultural orientation, the Biblical declaration regarding the cause of cultural morass is clear. In Jeremiah 17:9-10, the stated fact in terms of God’s viewpoint is: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." A second component in this regard is stated in Hebrews 3:12-13, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Jeremiah records that “the heart is deceitful above all things…” The writer of Hebrews speaks of the potential of being “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

You may be a person who allows – “that will never happen to me.” The fact that temptation is relentless and the possibility of failure is a reality should be sufficient to cause us to avoid the cultural morass and to embrace/proclaim the moral high-ground, namely, the foundational principles and core values of the Biblical Standards of God. Why is this essential even for the Biblical Christian? I Corinthians 10:12-13 states a basic answer: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” These words should serve to keep one alert and guarded at all times. The basic guidance for us all is summarized in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." Consider these things with me.