Surrendering Words

"Cool",
"Bad",
"Gay",
"Awesome",
"Bomb",
"Fresh",
"Benjamin",
"Marriage",
"Christmas" ...

... and the list goes on.  What's next?  What words will we give up to the unrelenting foes of objective truth?  Part of me says, "So what?  It's just words."  But a greater part of me wants to fight it.  Even if you don't believe in what the Bible says, it contains some truth that can't be refuted.  Here's one:  Evil does not come bounding in quickly.  It comes slowly, little by little, with hardly noticeable moves.  Small compromises that - when combined over time - result in major changes, rarely for the good.

You've heard of the boiling frog experiment:  Put a frog in a pot of water and slowly, degree by degree, heat up the water.  By the time the frog even notices, he's been boiled to death.  And the interesting thing is, those opposed to what I'm writing here would immediately jump to, "Greg, you're totally overreacting."  But am I?

Have you ever heard the Paul Harvey segment called, "If I were the Devil"?  It's from 1965 - 48 years ago.  Take a listen and tell me his predictions are not what has happened.  And they will continue to happen in our society until things we think of as absolutely absurd and unlikely today become "normal" in 20 years. 
>> Listen to "If I Were the Devil"

Here's the thing ... "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

As we wrap up 2013, I see the two latest trends:

1. "Christmas isn't about Christ.  How dare you make it about that.  That's intolerant of those who don't believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God."  Well, they aren't talking about a nativity, or "Go tell it on the Mountain", or the Gospel of Luke account of the coming of the King.  They are talking about Santa and evergreen trees and presents and consumerism.  They're talking about what the term "Christmas" has slowly become in little bits over time.
2. "Marriage is not defined as the commitment of one man and one woman, before God, to serve one another in sickness and in health, in good times and bad."  Two sub-trends to this:
1. Marriage is being redefined as two "people" committing themselves to one another, and not before God necessarily.
2. The marriage commitment is optional.  Even though those words were said in front of likely hundreds of people, perhaps in a church ... if things get tough, if he/she has "changed", if they just "fell out of love", then a divorce is perfectly fine.  Because marriage is about "feeling love" right?  And if there is no feeling, no marriage.  Sounds logical.  Unless that's not what marriage was created by God to accomplish in us.  For reference, read "The Reason for Marriage" and "Love & Respect" for the actual Truth.

Travel back in time and ask the average citizen what they thought the chances were that these two trends would come to pass in 40-50 years.  They'd call you crazy.  They'd say, "You're totally over-reacting."

So, what are we to do about it?  Are we so afraid of being pegged "intolerant" that we skip the part where we hold on to Truth?  Just writing this blog on this topic is chancy these days.  That's how bad it's gotten.  I mean, I'm probably a bigot for even bringing such things to the surface, right?

What we need to do is stick up for the Truth ... for what's right.  I don't mean we should go around bashing people for their sins.  Heck, I've got a nice sized plank in my eye as I write this.  But the plank is there, and we've all got one.  We can't ignore it.  God put us all together to help one another be better.  Shying away from the Truth does the opposite.  It may seem more "loving" at the time, but it's exactly the opposite.  It's equivalent to not telling the neighbor kid to stay out of the busy intersection because you don't want to make him feel bad for expressing himself in a nice "car dodging" session.  Insanity.

But insanity is becoming the norm.  When you remove absolute, objective truth from the public realm (which we did in 1963), eventually people will latch onto anything, no matter how ridiculous.

I could go on and on, but with Christmas in our midst, and with time to ponder, I can't help but think what God must be thinking, looking down on his defiant and arrogantly ignorant children.  I think He's seeing what He's seen throughout history ... for thousands of years.  His kids running away, thinking they know better ... and good people doing nothing about it.  "They'll be back", He says oh so patiently.  But if I were the Father, how many times would I watch this happen?  Let's just say, thank God I am not the Father.  Thank God - literally - for grace.

For those who understand where I'm coming from here, let's stand up.  For those who have no idea what I'm saying and think everything's fine, I'm praying for you.  For those angry with my words, good.  At least you're thinking about it.  Keep thinking, deeper and deeper and bring this whole thing to its logical conclusion. 

This can't end well, unless we wake up and change.  But fortunately, there is a nice instruction book to help us on our way.  It's chuck full of incredible guidance if you'd just read it and study it.  If you've not picked up a copy, it's called The Bible.  Author - God (through a bunch of chosen vessels over a few thousand years on multiple continents).

God bless.  Merry Christmas.  And Happy New Year.  I love you all.