November 13, 2001
A few weeks ago, our top government officials were asked by the opposition to produce an original document and thereby prove that the copy they publicly displayed was not a forgery. These opposition members of parliament demanded truth. My parents told me “don’t lie” and “truth may hurt.” They said I should never make up stories to protect myself from truth, yet for some, truth is not that important.
I’ve met people who can lie as easily as they breathe. At first, they sound sincere, but after getting to know them, contradictions appear and my confidence in them begins to slip. I’ve learned that telling the truth involves more than giving other people an accurate description of the facts. Being a truthful person is also an ideal, a desirable quality. People of truth never intentionally deceive others and are never artificial or false.
Truth is sometimes relative though. For instance, if I say “the sky is blue” then it looks blue to me. However, an astronaut in outer space or a color-blind person might see something else. For each person, what they see is true for them. In other words, the color of the sky is relative. It depends on who is looking at it and the conditions of the time.
Truth may also be objective. That is, something is true all the time, for all people. It never changes and cannot be made relative to any person’s opinion or perspective. For instance, “all living people were once babies” is an objective truth. “All will die” is also an objective truth.
A sign outside a church says, “Fight truth decay — study the Bible daily.” What kind of truth is this sign referring to? Is it relative or objective?
If it were relative, the sign would be correct in linking it with decay because relative truth often changes or fades away. The color of the sky is not the same today as it was yesterday. Not only that, those who hold to relative truths often strongly defend or fight for their opinion. Is the Bible relative truth? Those who think so say things like, “it may be true for you but not for me” but with that, they dismiss Scripture as having no importance for their lives.
What if the Bible is objective truth? If it is, then the sign on the church is wrong: objective truth cannot decay. The real victim of deterioration is our attitude toward the Bible and towards the truth in it. Here’s a few examples of objective statements from Scripture. However unpopular they may be, the rules of grammar do not allow them to be made relative. They are either true and apply to everyone, or they are false.
“There is none righteous, no not one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All and none are inclusive words. God is not saying “some” or “a few” people sin and fall short; He says everyone does. If this is not true, then this statement must be false.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.” God cannot say His love is everlasting but only love us for a limited time. This statement is also either true or false.
Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth and the light, no one comes to the Father but by me.” Jesus did not say He is “a way” or “a truth.” He also said “no one” can come to God apart from Him. The statement cannot be partly true or true just for some people. His language does not allow us to say “this is not for me.”
Actually, relativism tosses the Bible entirely. Even though they hope their neighbors will live by the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments, they say Scripture is not for them.
Those who study Scripture find that the Bible is not like other books. God speaks through it. He points at sin but also repeats His declaration of love and offers the Way to overcome that universal sin problem. He tells the truth, and while it often hurts, it also always heals and gives hope.
Showing posts with label decaying society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decaying society. Show all posts
Monday, March 26, 2018
Friday, March 23, 2018
Tolerance can be an enemy ............. Parables 719
June 19, 2001 & August 28, 2001
North American society is slowly killing itself. Its odd weapon is tolerance.
Even though ‘tolerance’ has slid from its biblical definition, it started out as a godly quality. In fact, God is the origin of tolerance. One Old Testament prophet said to Him, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”
This man knew “the wages of sin is death” and he could not understand why God would look the other way and allow evil people to do their thing without bringing them to justice.
This prophet did not realize that God’s tolerance has a purpose. It is explained in the New Testament where it says we should not “show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience” because His kindness is intended to “lead us to repentance.”
Instead of striking sinners dead, God tolerates our godless behavior because He intends that His mercy produces in us a deep sorrow for sin that results in changed behavior. He also asks us to have the same attitude towards others.
We must not forget that God clearly hates sin. We are supposed to hate it too, but we must also refrain from condemning people without giving them a chance to change. Our mercy and grace is supposed to allow them to experience God’s mercy and grace, not give them license to continue in godlessness.
In other words we cannot, in the name of tolerance, say sinful behavior is okay because when tolerance is lifted from its biblical context, it becomes deadly. Instead of hating sin, we become passive, not caring. We do not act against evil but look the other way.
This ‘tolerance’ damages the very core organs of society, including government, church and family. These days, politicians can lie, break promises, be unfaithful, act in immoral ways and speak to and about each another with rude, insulting words. Critics can condemn some of this, but lately if Christians speak against such behavior, we are labeled ‘intolerant.’
More and more, we are expected to look the other way at childish bickering that makes parliamentary debate more like sandbox-style mudslinging, and ignore behavior that mocks what we were taught as children about being considerate and respectful. Although the Bible tells us to pray for our leaders, Christians find this difficult when we cannot respect what they are doing.
‘Tolerance’ also affects the church. God sets high standards for His people, including those who lead them. Society, in the name of ‘tolerance,’ lowers those standards, even changes them completely. Instead of the biblical pattern, the church is expected to show ‘tolerance’ toward those outside of it, welcoming them into leadership. Any Christians who say ‘no’ and stand for God’s standards are said to be ‘intolerant.’
The family is the hardest hit. In the name of ‘tolerance,’ we must accept deviations, even encourage them. In the Old Testament, God’s people fell from His commandment not to marry outside their own people but when the Jews returned to Israel from a long captivity in Babylon, they did just that. Their leader, Nehemiah, was upset. He “rebuked them and called curses down on them . . . he beat some of the men and pulled out their hair and made them take an oath in God’s name.”
Today, Nehemiah would be imprisoned for his ‘intolerance’ and no one would be encouraged to right the wrong they committed against the law of God. Instead, society says to mind our own business when it comes to adultery, even same-sex marriages. What was once shameful behavior is now ‘tolerated’ and God’s model of the family is becoming extinct.
Scripture warns what will happen when God’s purpose for tolerance is ignored: “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”
By perverting what God intended as a good thing, our country is shooting itself in its vital organs. The mess seems impossible to fix. Lord, grant Your people godly courage to speak against evil like You do, and at the same time, the godly ability to tolerate evil like You do — with the purpose that people will turn from their sin to You, that they might experience forgiveness and changed lives.
North American society is slowly killing itself. Its odd weapon is tolerance.
Even though ‘tolerance’ has slid from its biblical definition, it started out as a godly quality. In fact, God is the origin of tolerance. One Old Testament prophet said to Him, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”
This man knew “the wages of sin is death” and he could not understand why God would look the other way and allow evil people to do their thing without bringing them to justice.
This prophet did not realize that God’s tolerance has a purpose. It is explained in the New Testament where it says we should not “show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience” because His kindness is intended to “lead us to repentance.”
Instead of striking sinners dead, God tolerates our godless behavior because He intends that His mercy produces in us a deep sorrow for sin that results in changed behavior. He also asks us to have the same attitude towards others.
We must not forget that God clearly hates sin. We are supposed to hate it too, but we must also refrain from condemning people without giving them a chance to change. Our mercy and grace is supposed to allow them to experience God’s mercy and grace, not give them license to continue in godlessness.
In other words we cannot, in the name of tolerance, say sinful behavior is okay because when tolerance is lifted from its biblical context, it becomes deadly. Instead of hating sin, we become passive, not caring. We do not act against evil but look the other way.
This ‘tolerance’ damages the very core organs of society, including government, church and family. These days, politicians can lie, break promises, be unfaithful, act in immoral ways and speak to and about each another with rude, insulting words. Critics can condemn some of this, but lately if Christians speak against such behavior, we are labeled ‘intolerant.’
More and more, we are expected to look the other way at childish bickering that makes parliamentary debate more like sandbox-style mudslinging, and ignore behavior that mocks what we were taught as children about being considerate and respectful. Although the Bible tells us to pray for our leaders, Christians find this difficult when we cannot respect what they are doing.
‘Tolerance’ also affects the church. God sets high standards for His people, including those who lead them. Society, in the name of ‘tolerance,’ lowers those standards, even changes them completely. Instead of the biblical pattern, the church is expected to show ‘tolerance’ toward those outside of it, welcoming them into leadership. Any Christians who say ‘no’ and stand for God’s standards are said to be ‘intolerant.’
The family is the hardest hit. In the name of ‘tolerance,’ we must accept deviations, even encourage them. In the Old Testament, God’s people fell from His commandment not to marry outside their own people but when the Jews returned to Israel from a long captivity in Babylon, they did just that. Their leader, Nehemiah, was upset. He “rebuked them and called curses down on them . . . he beat some of the men and pulled out their hair and made them take an oath in God’s name.”
Today, Nehemiah would be imprisoned for his ‘intolerance’ and no one would be encouraged to right the wrong they committed against the law of God. Instead, society says to mind our own business when it comes to adultery, even same-sex marriages. What was once shameful behavior is now ‘tolerated’ and God’s model of the family is becoming extinct.
Scripture warns what will happen when God’s purpose for tolerance is ignored: “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”
By perverting what God intended as a good thing, our country is shooting itself in its vital organs. The mess seems impossible to fix. Lord, grant Your people godly courage to speak against evil like You do, and at the same time, the godly ability to tolerate evil like You do — with the purpose that people will turn from their sin to You, that they might experience forgiveness and changed lives.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Using the plumb line ............. Parables 361
March 16, 1993
To ensure walls are straight, a carpenter sometimes uses an odd-looking device called a plumb line. A chalk-coated string is wound from a metal bob and then suspended from the top point of the place that needs a perfectly straight line. As gravity pulls the bob perpendicular, the carpenter snaps the string and the chalk leaves an accurate mark on the wall that serves as a guide for the construction process. Without it, many buildings would be crooked. Thus this gadget is indispensable for keeping structures plumb or square.
Along the same idea, my husband occasionally writes procedures manuals for contracts undertaken by his company. If either the client or the contractors want to refresh their memories on exactly how the work will be done, they refer to such a manual. This set of procedures is important to ensure the project is undertaken with accurate and maximum attention given to each step.
Walls and construction sites are not the only projects that need plumb lines and procedures manuals. So does society — and there are many of them. Unfortunately, many humanly conceived methods and solutions to social problems are not working, or at least not permanently. Just when leaders think the latest treaty will keep the peace or the latest theory will educate the people, another war breaks out somewhere. Just when human rights groups think their latest programs and theories will eliminate violence, there is a rash of serial killings, or someone plants a bomb in a populated area of Ireland, or (closer to home) in the World Trade Center in New York.
Less violent or spectacular but just as deadly are the factors that cause breakdown of families, moral failures of religious and political leaders, and the incredible increase of suicides, abortions and AIDS. No matter how much money is spent or how many well-intentioned people promote new ideas, the statistics seldom decline. What kind of infallible plumb line would prevent social structures and relationships from becoming twisted, warped, askew, and out of plumb?
Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” The psalmist was talking about God’s plumb line from which he gained understanding about what was crooked in his own life and what to do to straighten it. Because he did what it said, he could claim that the commandments of God made him wiser than his enemies and that he had more understanding than all his teachers.
Surveys have been done concerning how many people use the Bible as their guide for everyday life and decision-making. The percentage is not high. Even many who say they believe it admit they seldom read it. Therefore, the guidebook that could be a lamp for each person’s feet and a light for their path is sitting gathering dust on a shelf or in the back corner of a second-hand store.
Note that these verses pertain to the individual, not society. Yet what each individual does has an effect on all of society. For instance, environmentalists say if each person took care of their own trash and recycling, the entire planet would be cleaner. Therefore, the plumb line God offers is also important to all, not just individuals.
Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” Proverbs 14:34 echoes: “Righteousness exalts a nation” then adds “but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Considering how many Bibles are seldom opened much less heeded, do we need to question why there is so little wisdom to cope with the enemies that shred moral fibers and crush spiritual strength from leaders and followers alike? We cannot hope for God’s blessing if we abandon His Plumb line.
To ensure walls are straight, a carpenter sometimes uses an odd-looking device called a plumb line. A chalk-coated string is wound from a metal bob and then suspended from the top point of the place that needs a perfectly straight line. As gravity pulls the bob perpendicular, the carpenter snaps the string and the chalk leaves an accurate mark on the wall that serves as a guide for the construction process. Without it, many buildings would be crooked. Thus this gadget is indispensable for keeping structures plumb or square.
Along the same idea, my husband occasionally writes procedures manuals for contracts undertaken by his company. If either the client or the contractors want to refresh their memories on exactly how the work will be done, they refer to such a manual. This set of procedures is important to ensure the project is undertaken with accurate and maximum attention given to each step.
Walls and construction sites are not the only projects that need plumb lines and procedures manuals. So does society — and there are many of them. Unfortunately, many humanly conceived methods and solutions to social problems are not working, or at least not permanently. Just when leaders think the latest treaty will keep the peace or the latest theory will educate the people, another war breaks out somewhere. Just when human rights groups think their latest programs and theories will eliminate violence, there is a rash of serial killings, or someone plants a bomb in a populated area of Ireland, or (closer to home) in the World Trade Center in New York.
Less violent or spectacular but just as deadly are the factors that cause breakdown of families, moral failures of religious and political leaders, and the incredible increase of suicides, abortions and AIDS. No matter how much money is spent or how many well-intentioned people promote new ideas, the statistics seldom decline. What kind of infallible plumb line would prevent social structures and relationships from becoming twisted, warped, askew, and out of plumb?
Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” The psalmist was talking about God’s plumb line from which he gained understanding about what was crooked in his own life and what to do to straighten it. Because he did what it said, he could claim that the commandments of God made him wiser than his enemies and that he had more understanding than all his teachers.
Surveys have been done concerning how many people use the Bible as their guide for everyday life and decision-making. The percentage is not high. Even many who say they believe it admit they seldom read it. Therefore, the guidebook that could be a lamp for each person’s feet and a light for their path is sitting gathering dust on a shelf or in the back corner of a second-hand store.
Note that these verses pertain to the individual, not society. Yet what each individual does has an effect on all of society. For instance, environmentalists say if each person took care of their own trash and recycling, the entire planet would be cleaner. Therefore, the plumb line God offers is also important to all, not just individuals.
Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” Proverbs 14:34 echoes: “Righteousness exalts a nation” then adds “but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Considering how many Bibles are seldom opened much less heeded, do we need to question why there is so little wisdom to cope with the enemies that shred moral fibers and crush spiritual strength from leaders and followers alike? We cannot hope for God’s blessing if we abandon His Plumb line.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)