My editorial thoughts
today have been inspired by several “hot news items” recently seen or heard in
the media. It’s these types of things that, when heard, cause me to grab
my pen and paper and write them down because I don’t trust my memory to later
recall them, but mainly because I see useful spiritual lessons to be drawn from
them. Today I’m going to provide you with my thoughts on three of these
“hot items” and then back up these thoughts with what I feel to be scriptures
appropriate to the article.
About 3 hours up the
road from where I live is the city of Las Vegas, Nevada and I’m sure that most
of you have seen some of their ads on TV enticing people to visit their
city. A city well-known for being a Mecca for gamblers and a place where
morals can be very lax. In fact, don’t we often here it referred to as
“Sin City?” It’s this city’s ads that constitutes item number 1.
Now I’m entirely
cognizant of the fact that one can go there and not commit sin. That they
can engage in activities that are not of a sinful nature. But, the city
does not sell itself with the use of those types of activities, do they?
No, they do so by appealing to the baser nature of human beings and that’s what
I’m addressing here today.
Their advertisements
basically invite people to come to a place where one can dabble in sin and
“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” (One of their ad
slogans) But, one ad that I recently saw and heard is the one that
inspired my thoughts on regarding this “news item.” What they said in
this latest ad was, that by visiting their city, one could “Do the right amount
of wrong.”
Let me just ask you -
What is the right amount of wrong that we can get away with? Just how far
over the line are we allowed to go and still be a Christian? The way that
I see it, the simple answer to both questions is - NONE! Many passages
are available to back this answer up, but I’ll just give you two that I feel
are sufficient to the cause.
First, James 1:14-15: “But everyman is tempted, when he is
drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” And
my second passage is in the 2nd chapter, verse 10: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has
become accountable for all of it.” (ESV)
“Hot item Nr. 2.”
In the past few days there has been a news article regarding the website called
“AshleyMadison.com.” Hopefully none of my readers are familiar with it
except, like myself, to have seen it in the news media. Because, you see,
it’s a website devoted to linking its members up with each other for the
purpose of conducting illicit sexual affairs. To facilitate the sin of
adultery because its membership is made up of married persons. In fact,
their stated motto is: “Life is short - have an affair.”
Well, what made this
website become a “hot news item?” It’s because some “hacked” the site and
is publishing, IE: “outing” some of the members. Spilling the beans, so
to speak, on the details of their “affairs.” Of course, those members
“outed” are outraged because their sins are being broadcast.
Here’s my thoughts on
this news situation. Question - did they really believe that they could
commit a sin and it be hidden from view? How absurd to think that, even
if not “outed” to the general public, that it would forever remain a
secret. Did they think that maybe God doesn’t have a computer and would
not know about their sinful activities?
In response to this news
item, most pundits responding to it are saying things like, “Why would someone
trust their secret life to an internet website? As if that were the
foremost thing to be considered. My questions is: “Why do you want to
commit a sin of this nature ANYWHERE? Just remember what God says in
Numbers 32:23 where He tells us that if we sin against Him “be sure your sin will find you out.”
In other words, all the members signed up for this website’s services have
already been “outed” to God.
Our third and final “hot
news item” is the very recent exposure of the activities of an organization
named “Planned Parenthood” which, basically, is a nationwide abortion
clinic. Even the name seems to me to be an oxy-moron. What
“parenting” are we talking about when the entity exists to perform
abortions? Looks to me to be an “Anti-Parenthood” organization.
In the news lately has
been videos taken of meetings with two of their doctors discussing, calmly I
might add over lunch, the killing and removing of babies from the mother’s
womb. The gist of these discussions is how to go about doing this in such
a manner so as NOT to damage certain parts (tissue) of the baby’s body and
thereby sell those parts for research labs. IE: make money from them.
I’m hard-pressed to find
the appropriate adjectives, nor a sufficient amount of them to adequately
describe what I think about these two doctors. The first one is the words
of Paul in 1 Tim. 4:1-2 where he is talking about “the doctrines of devils” and describes those
involved in such as “having
their conscience seared with a hot iron.”
Plus, when I consider
the consciences of those two doctors, I’m reminded of another passage of Paul’s
in Titus 1:15. When you consider the purity of a baby, especially one
that is still in the mother’s womb, then tell me if you agree that this passage
aptly fits this news item and the two principles in it. “To the pure, all things are pure, but to
the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their
consciences are defiled.”
I can only surmise that,
by their speech and their actions, (refer to Matt. 7:20) they would have to
fall into the “unbelievers”
category. I just can’t imagine a “believer”
engaging in such behavior. And this concludes our coverage of some of the
“hot news items” of the day. If you have comments regarding this
coverage, please do not hesitate to let me know. All comments are
welcomed.
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Covey
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