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| 2024 Paris Olympics, public domain taken by Irene Leoline |
Shedding light on evil is painful. We don’t like confronting
the reality of the ugliness of human history. Instead, we prefer to look at the
illusion of how wonderful life was back then, and the great wonders man has
achieved.
It deeply saddens me that modesty and appropriateness for
children have now become a toxic free-for-all, with all restraint gone. This
did not happen overnight. It has been a systematic shift, purposefully
orchestrated by those who want free will to do as they please and to have
acceptance from all cultures, including the church. As long as the church is
present on earth, there will be a voice calling out sin for what it is. So,
they need to get the church to relent, just like a child desires a parent to change
the limits.
Even a child understands the fundamental principle: if you
want to do something you have been told not to, get the parent to change their
mind by any means possible. Today, the means involve desensitizing the vast
majority into acceptance a little at a time, moving the standard of acceptance
one inch at a time until finally, you have moved the full length of the
yardstick.
Calling into question Genesis 1-11 has allowed this shift
away from holding onto a foundational standard of the Bible. The new standard
of thinking, "I am not the worst person on earth," clears the way to
lower the standard indefinitely. As long as you are not the worst, you are
okay. This is how the standard is moved over time to allow for acceptance of
any depravity of the human mind. Today, we call against sex trafficking but
hold up the shiny glory of days gone by in ancient Greece and Rome, which supported
the sex industry and enslavement as part of daily worship within the temples of
stone and wood gods. In a few years, we may be back to that standard.
We are crying for the saving of children and the harm being
perpetrated by self-worshipping evil people, all the while giving freedom to
kill the very children who have not even left the womb. This is in the name of
the god of self and the right to live life as one wants. Today, we protect
children out of the womb and keep them safe. In the name of prosperity and
wealth, children were sacrificed at the temple of the gods by the very hands of
their parents. I fear we are returning to this reality as we have provided the
means to mutilate the bodies of the very young. The children who, until this
time, were understood to be incapable of understanding the long-term
consequences of their choices and were much too young to have the skills and
experience to make life-altering decisions. Magically, this has changed to give
approval and acceptance for adults to have the comfort of enjoying the
pleasures of sexual deviations. The confusion of a 7-year-old can lead them to
choose to alter their body; but a 17-year-old is incapable of handling
nicotine, alcohol, or firearms. The logic behind this rationale can only be
traced back to what will justify the god of pleasure.
This all brings us to this past week. The show of what was
said to be “art” and the reverence for history has caused a firestorm of both
disgust and approval. This was no accident. By using the world platform to
create shock and awe, the pebble in the lake has started the ripple effect. The
question is, will the people of the church be silent?
The fact of the matter is humans are inherently sinful, and
not everyone is always going to make the right choices or decisions. I am
included in this nature. Earlier today, I was absolutely disgusted and
disappointed with the justification of the parading of acceptance for
debauchery, sexual free pleasure, and approval of public drunkenness. I spoke
out when I should have been more cautious. As I am human, I will make mistakes,
and I express my regret over my first ranting. But the very elements that keep harm
from coming to people are the very same restraints people are complaining
about, keeping people from having their fun. We all cry foul when a family in a
car accident has been killed by a person who was intoxicated after a night of
partying. We cry foul when a perpetrator rapes but wants free rein to express
their sexuality and satisfy their pleasures. Instead, they call on the
“public” to look away to allow for their enjoyment parading down the streets.
The reality is you can't have free will without restraint. There will always be
a point where your free will comes into the sphere of another’s free will. Just
by living our daily lives, we all affect each other.
God knew this and established the guidelines for us to live.
Not a single law or guideline in the Bible is established to harm us or prevent
us from a life of joy or peace. The only stealing of peace and joy is by the
very sinful nature of our own will to serve self.
The Olympic opening ceremony was an example of our human
want to become our own gods, to serve ourselves, and to celebrate our
achievements in attaining this. Sadly, this has tainted all the hard work and
dedication many of the participants have put into this event. We should not
stop supporting the spirit of the accomplishments these athletes have achieved.
Nor should we stop supporting the spirit of the want to have peace and work
together. We should hold those in leadership of the Olympics accountable and
call out the distasteful charades of personal agendas. Future events should be
monitored and reviewed for discreetly appropriate displays.
How should the church respond? We need to call attention to
what is sin. Yes, we will offend. That is the point. Calling sin for what it is
will be offensive. The Gospel is offensive to evil. But we need to also be
tempered in our expressions and remember we are all of the same human race in
which we all sin and are all struggling against the desires of self. That is
why we are in desperate need of rescue. There is only one way of rescue, and
that is through the Gospel and Jesus. Your good works won’t get you to heaven;
killing people or completing penitence won’t get you to heaven; praying to a
saint or paying your way won’t get you into heaven; thinking good thoughts or
worshipping wood and stone statues won’t give you peace. There is only one true
way that will solve your sin problem, and that is through knowing and believing
in who Jesus is, the only Son of God. When you die, do you know if you
will be going to heaven?
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Matthew 26:27-29
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