In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul warns against many sins that those who are not of God commit. (They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.)
What struck me the most though was what was listed at the end of the chapter, " They know God's decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die-yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them." (Romans 1:32) It says that those against God will not only commit the sins above, but will applaud others who do so as well.
How true that is of our world today! The television spews forth shows that glorify adultery, our society appreciates greed above charity, and violence inhabits our movies, music and video games. Gossip is a national pastime- there are even television shows that do nothing but share gossip on celebrity lives. We disdain our parents and elders, showing them no heartfelt love and respect. How fallen our country is! How decrepit the moral fabric of our society has become.
We worship money and the things of this world instead of revering God and His Holy Word, and then wonder why our nation, and world, is in the state it is in!
What is very sorrowful though is this; many who claim to follow Christ are as eager to commit the sins above as those who acknowledge they do not follow God. When our children no longer honor their parents, when they strive after money and the things of this world, when gossip is encouraged even in churches, and our homes are full of television and movies depicting sex, violence and greed, how can we say we are living Godly lives? The church needs to re-focus; our members need to cleanse their lives and re-dedicate to God. We need to be living markedly different lives than the lost; if we are not, how can we say the light of God lives within us?
God's grace be with you,
Fr. Charles Butler
What struck me the most though was what was listed at the end of the chapter, " They know God's decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die-yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them." (Romans 1:32) It says that those against God will not only commit the sins above, but will applaud others who do so as well.
How true that is of our world today! The television spews forth shows that glorify adultery, our society appreciates greed above charity, and violence inhabits our movies, music and video games. Gossip is a national pastime- there are even television shows that do nothing but share gossip on celebrity lives. We disdain our parents and elders, showing them no heartfelt love and respect. How fallen our country is! How decrepit the moral fabric of our society has become.
We worship money and the things of this world instead of revering God and His Holy Word, and then wonder why our nation, and world, is in the state it is in!
What is very sorrowful though is this; many who claim to follow Christ are as eager to commit the sins above as those who acknowledge they do not follow God. When our children no longer honor their parents, when they strive after money and the things of this world, when gossip is encouraged even in churches, and our homes are full of television and movies depicting sex, violence and greed, how can we say we are living Godly lives? The church needs to re-focus; our members need to cleanse their lives and re-dedicate to God. We need to be living markedly different lives than the lost; if we are not, how can we say the light of God lives within us?
God's grace be with you,
Fr. Charles Butler
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