August 14
Ashamed of Nothing?
What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person. ––Mark 7:20-23
Lately as I’ve engaged with social media, a recurring expression has been popping into my head: “Nothing surprises me anymore.” Oftentimes, the comments on an outrageous post are more telling than the post itself. For example, recently on Facebook I saw a reel where a young woman boasted that she’d slept with more than 1,500 men—and she could not have been more than 30. (You do the math.)
But even more, she stated this fact as if she’d just earned her PhD. The young man interviewing her was shocked, and couldn’t hide the fact that he was also a bit disgusted.
Immediately, the young woman’s attitude turned from pride to offense. She was deeply offended by the young man’s reaction, and lit into him hard. One of the comments summed up the woman’s position:
“Ashamed of nothing, offended by everything.”
And I have to agree. It seems we are living in dark, pagan times where sin is celebrated—not just tolerated, but applauded—by a growing number of people. It’s no secret that the US is no longer a Judeo-Christian nation—we moved out of that period in the 60s and never looked back. The term most used—particularly since the 90s—is post-Christian, but even that term is giving way to a new term: pre-Christian. Have we sunk so low on the morality scale that paganism and atheism (and other isms) have taken over as the predominant “religion” of the land? (I don’t believe we’ve reached that point, but it feels like we are inching our way there.)
God’s man must stay sensitized to things that offend God. Paul had this warning for his protégé, Timothy:
There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. ––2 Timothy 3:1-5
The flood of darkness can be both overwhelming and demoralizing. I mean, as men of God, we seek to live lives that are pleasing to our Father. But one of the key tools the enemy uses to derail us is a slow, steady desensitization toward sin. If we aren’t careful, just like the frog in the kettle of cool water that slowly turns to a boil, we are cooked. And just because something becomes normalized doesn’t mean it’s okay.
When Jesus entered the Temple to confront the money-changers and merchants, His actions were both literal and symbolic: What the Jews had come to accept as commonplace—monetary exchange within God’s house—Jesus confronted both swiftly and strongly. Man of God, “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God” (1 Corinthians 6:19.) Have you allowed merchants and moneychangers to take up residence in your heart? In other words, what ungodly attitudes or beliefs have slowly taken root in you due to the cultural darkness that surrounds you?
Our response is to invite the Holy Spirit to do some house-cleaning and to reveal blind spots that need to be addressed. We ask Him: “Which of my actions and thoughts are offensive to You, Lord?” When we earnestly seek His wisdom, He will reveal the hidden traps the enemy has laid for us. And the beautiful thing about the Father is that when we approach His throne we come to the startling realization that “ there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set [us] free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 1:1-2).
Lord, give me the ability to discern those sinful areas in my life that need my attention. I don’t want to live in denial or act in ways that do anything but please You.