This narrow way

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.” Ephesians 4:17-20.

This could not more accurately assess the state of American culture today in general, and unfortunately, too many Christians aren’t far behind. I would expect nothing less from secular America, but witnessing the desensitization of Christians to the ways of the world is sad, because as Paul wrote, we did not come to know Christ that way. The world has so crept into the church that things which were considered intolerable and heretical just a generation or two ago are now rapidly becoming standard practice. But it was not unforeseen.

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2.

Just in the culture in general, look at how we’ve been desensitized, and our consciences have been seared. Two generations ago, marriage was between a man and a woman. Then the world crept in and said there was no need for a piece of paper to make that union official, no big deal, just live together. A few years later tolerance of and acceptance for the ways of the world grew and now men can marry men and women can marry women. And if marriage isn’t your thing, we’re in the hook up culture. No need for even the appearance of commitment, do what feels right for you at the time. Consequences? No problem. Just kill the baby.

If you’re as old as I am, you remember when, if a young woman got pregnant there was a wedding shortly thereafter, shotgun or otherwise. Or if it was a teenage girl she was sent out of town to a home for unwed mothers until the baby was born. Not an issue now. We’re desensitized to the point where so many children are born without married parents that we’ve invented a cute little name, baby mama, just for the situation and it’s become something to be celebrated.

A generation or two ago, if a child came home from school and Mom asked, what did you do at school today, and the response was, we learned all about sexual acts and positions and a man dressed like a woman danced around the classroom, parents wouldn’t have waited for the next school board meeting to air their grievances. Moms and Dads would have been at the school the next day demanding to know what was going on and demanding it be stopped immediately. I can tell you with 100% certainty that if my sister was on the girl’s swim team at school, and came home and told my Dad there were men dressing and undressing in their locker room, he would have been at the door of that locker room the next day, baseball bat in hand, saying, ‘Nope, ain’t no way you’re going in there with my little girl, buddy.’

But we’ve been slowly but surely desensitized to all these things over the years. The Devil and those useful idiots who do his work have so infiltrated every inch of our society that in the name of tolerance and inclusion things that everyone once knew were wrong are seen as right.  

“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.

Sadly, some who are false prophets spiritual leaders aren’t much better, if any. We have so-called pastors and elders putting rainbow flags on the pulpit and wearing rainbow-colored robes. Many are performing same sex marriages and putting homosexuals in positions of church leadership. The United Methodist Church is in the process of splitting right now over whether to hold to what Scripture says about these issues or go along with the whims of the popular culture, and the popular culture is winning. In the name of being tolerant all types of behavior once labeled sin is accepted. The world has told the church what to believe and what not to believe and the church has dutifully followed along. Teachings like “Come out from among them and be separate” and “Love not the world neither the things that are in the world” are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10.