It doesn’t take a social analyst or historian to tell us our dysfunctional culture is like an out-of-control train headed for a disastrous accident. We can point our fingers and blame whoever we want, but flesh and blood cannot generate what we are seeing. If you examine scripture, what we are seeing is the fruit of what Jesus and New Testament writers warned regarding diabolic lies and self-deception 2,000 years ago. Paul described it well in his letter to the Romans.
God’s anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known. God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them, for God himself made it plain. Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness. They say they are wise, but they are fools; instead of worshipping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortal human beings or birds or animals or reptiles. And so, God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts’ desire, and they do shameful things with each other. They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen. Because they do this, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts. In the same way, the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result, they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing. Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do. They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent, proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others (Romans 1:18–31, GNB)
What we are now seeing is the long-term results of what man will do when God gives him over to their sin. Paul told the church at Corinth to do the same to the persistent, wicked man among them. (1 Cor. 5:5) You may think God will not let His children suffer the consequences of the sin of others. Careful here. When the early Jews stubbornly refused God’s persistent pleading through His prophets, He gave them over to their sin and allowed the Medes and Persians to march them off to Babylon. Daniel and 3 young, righteous Jewish men were among them. However, God promoted Daniel and walked with the 3 young Jews in the fire! Their selfless commitment influenced the king and the wise men under Daniel. He was the most likely person who influenced the wise men of his day to believe enough in God to motivate their offspring to travel to Bethlehem to find baby Jesus.
How then, should we live among those being judged? In short, we must do what Daniel and the 3 young Jews did while living among those under God’s judgement? They grew closer to God. When choosing the fiery furnace or bowing down before another god, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up (Daniel 3:16-17, GNT). They were ‘all in’ regarding their faith and selfless obedience to God.
Surrounded by cultural sickness, we must not circle our wagons! Rather, like Daniel, be influencers by intensifying our efforts to hide God’s word in our hearts and seek to help others to do the same. Why? To prepare ourselves and others to be able to identify and resist Satan’s deceptive lies and stay true to our God. Allow God to position you to show others your sold-out faith in Him.