WRONG ISN'T WRONG ANYMORE

From My Perspective - - -

Wrong isn’t wrong anymore – or – is it? In 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the Lyric to: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. It was during The Civil War and countless numbers of men were being killed on the battlefields. As he feared the report that his son had been killed in battle, one can begin to understand the words of the fourth stanza: “And in despair I bowed my head - There is no peace on earth, I said; For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.” We can sense the depth of his feeling and emotion in the words he wrote as he saw the desperate conditions of his day.

Today, whichever way one looks or turns, the right values are being discarded and suppressed and the alternate values are surging forward and being embraced. In an era of political correctness, if one should object to negative and alternate lifestyles, the violator of the values is now deemed right and the objector may have to go to sensitivity training sessions. The Islamist or Jihadist is rapidly moving toward usurping of the Judeo-Christian principles and foundations. The wrong is deemed as right. The leeway occurs when one is expected to become “tolerant” of the culturally wrong, while not being expected to give tacit approval to what is deemed incorrect or wrong. If one does express opposition to the trends and behaviors, that one is seen to be wrong and insensitive towards the rights of others. The Atheist can object to the Nativity Scenes and singing of Christmas Carols, and the Christian must cease and desist from any display of Christianity or praying in Jesus Name.

How did we get into this morass?  Proverbs 14:8-14 states: “The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.  Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance. The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.” Accommodation to the alternate values is becoming more and more the undoing of the culture. The “Christian” has succumbed to the societal onslaught while being silent and passive at the moment for speaking and becoming actively engaged.

What is a God-View and Purpose in all of this? Does He have a plan that He will enact in these times of diverse behaviors and lifestyles? How will He care and provide for His people – IF – they cry out to Him and renew their commitment to Him? We read in Isaiah 30:20-22, “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying: This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them: Be gone!" 

The “Church” and “Christian” has choices. One can go-along to get-along or one can stand tall and strong in the Lord and attempt to point people to the right and narrow way. It will require courage, boldness and risk-taking. Are you equal to the challenge and task? One needs to embrace and implement the words of Psalm 107:2-9, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” What will you choose to be and do? Consider these things with me!