I began a new series of messages at our church, called “Do We Really Know What We Believe?” The purpose of the study, in my mind, is to take the Scripture and dissect the verses and principles and let them dictate exactly what we believe. One of the reasons for this is that in our culture there is a prevailing attitude that what is right to one person is not necessarily correct for another person. “Cultural Relativism,” as it could be called, is permeating our society. It is even alive and well in the political arena. I am personally deeply concerned – not that someone agrees with me, but agrees with truth. Truth never changes. There are some candidates that are “pleading the Fifth” and choosing not to make a decision one way or the other on some issues. By not deciding, they have already declared their conviction.When Jesus came to this world, His greatest threats were not to Him personally. He could move in and out of towns and never be caught until He was ready to reveal Himself as the Messiah. The problem then is still the problem today: people of the culture are hesitant to say what is absolute or not. After 9/11 there was a groundswell of faith, and believers came out of the woodwork. Now the culture, from music to television to celebrities and, sadly, some Christian organizations, has not lived up to truth and the world is once again saying, “Well, it may be right for you, but that’s not necessarily what’s right for me.” Sadly, Christian leaders have chosen immorality over Godliness, acceptability over Truth, and success over what is right. I am not at all suggesting that I am a sinless saint myself (that’s not what this article on Beliefs is about). However, there are core values and beliefs that drive our actions. My core values and beliefs do not drive me to call myself right if God’s Word says something is sin.
The recent hoopla over movie stars and their “misfortunes” is quite harmful to the younger culture. They see a slap on the wrist for a young celebrity and can’t rationalize how the celebrity can get off so easily, yet they themselves must pay a more severe penalty for the same or lesser offense. They don’t see the cultural relevance behind the scenes. Money, fame, and prosperity are not bad, but not believing in Truth is. Being popular or not doesn’t make the person. Someone has well said, “Character is what is done when no one is watching.”
I understand the article today and the blogs on my church web site are not always popular. I really want to be accepted as much as anyone, but I don’t want to sacrifice Truth on the altar of acceptability. When situations are evaluated correctly, there can be fun had by all. I’d venture to say that more fun is to be had when right choices are made. Think about it… What do you Believe?
