Articles
We Are So Confused
Old View: Homosexuality is inborn, hard-wired. It can’t be changed.
New View: Sexuality and gender are fluid; they are changeable at will.
Old View: Sexual liberty for all; go for it. Rules are for Puritans.
New View: There are rules which many celebs and CEOs have violated.
Old View: Parents have authority in their home; discipline is necessary.
New View: Children’s rights must be respected; punishment is abuse.
And let’s not even get into politics where every four or eight years the parties suffer collective amnesia and suddenly become very critical of the things they advocated last week.
Yes, we are (hopelessly?) confused. This is the inevitable result when we abandon fixed standards of truth and morality and follow our feelings and preferences. The old patterns and institutions must be swept aside so that the new (and improved?!) can thrive without criticism or opposition.
In a sense, it has always been this way with humans. But in another sense, it seems there has been an accelerated attack on societal norms and common sense in the past few years. Such things are hard to measure, and I could be mistaken. But I now hear and read things that were not discussed, much less debated, in my first 40 years of life.
The rise or decline of societal norms are not steady constants. Certain factors can greatly affect these standards. For example, “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel,” but “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which he had done for Israel” (Jsh 24:31; Jud 2:10).
What was the result of this generational shift? “Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the … people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger” (Jud 2:11-12). Thus commences one of most dismal eras of Israelite history wherein they were repeatedly engulfed in the mire of disobedience and repentance, finally sinking so deep that the tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped out by their own countrymen (Jud 20-21).
We can spend a lot of time analyzing our present culture and its complexion and direction, but such involves so many factors out of our control. What we can do is rededicate ourselves to the principles of truth and godliness so that we are a light of hope to the floundering and a beacon of warning to those heading for the rocks.
Jesus’ words are apropos in our day of confused values: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand … Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:14-16).
