George Floyd: A Troubling Postscript
Yesterday George Floyd was finally laid to rest in a small community outside of Houston, TX. Until his untimely and tragic death, George Floyd was unknown by most Americans and certainly was unknown around the world. Yet, nearly every media outlet from around the world gathered yesterday in Houston for his service. His service was televised around the world. The central message delivered by Rev. Al Sharpton focused upon the need for racial and social justice.
Yet the civil unrest and rioting continues. Police officers have been assaulted. At last count, over 600 had been injured, with about 10 being killed while in the line of duty. City Councils and State officials have raised the cry to either defund the police departments or, as in the case of the City of Minneapolis, to totally disband the police department. Both the mayors of New York City and Los Angeles have pledged to slash tens of millions of dollars from their respective police departments. What will be the consequence of a lessened police presence on the streets of our major cities? Will people suddenly become more respectful of each other because there will be no men and/or women in blue on the streets? Will gang violence dramatically lessen? I think we saw what happens when police are not involved with those images of smashing windows, looting, and setting buildings on fire. The social evolutionists believe that the goal of mankind is to advance toward perfection. Yet, the Bible reminds us that the heart of man is incredibly evil (Jeremiah 17:9). The only way a heart can be changed is through confession and repentance and the receiving of Jesus Christ as Savior. So, the reduction or even absence of police presence will only exacerbate the strife that is already present within our communities.
Yesterday Dennis Prager posted an article that really came to grips with the problems within America. I have always appreciated Mr. Prager's desire for clarity as he wrestles with the issues of the day on his radio talk show. The article was posted at: www.patriotpost.us/opionion/71234-the-four-horsemen-of-Americas-apolocalypse-2020-06-09. I strongly encourage you to read this article. It will give you much about which to think. Allow me just to highlight those four horsemen that Mr. Prager has identified. "No. 1: Victimhood. The more people who regard themselves as victims - as individuals or as a group - the more likely they are to commit evil. People who think of themselves as victims feel that, having been victimized, they are no longer bound by normal moral conventions - especially the moral conventions of their alleged or real oppressors. ... No. 2: Demonization. Demonizing a group as inherently evil. That is being done now with regard to the white people of America. All - again, all - whites are declared racist. The only difference among them is that some admit it and some deny it. ... Not only are white demonized, but America is, too. Unlike traditional liberals, the left regards America as a moral cesspool - not only racist but, according to The New York Times, founded to be so. .... No. 3: A Cause to Believe In. Until very recently, Americans would have found the expression 'for God and country' deeply meaningful; that term today, on the left, is risible and execrable. But people need something to believe in. The need for meaning is the greatest human need after the need for food. Leftism, with all its offshoots - feminism, environmentalism, Black Lives Matter, antifa - has filled that vacuum. ... No. 4: Lies. Lies are the root of evil. ... Objective truth doesn't exist on the left. The universities have already declared 'objective truth' as essentially an expression of 'white privilege.' The public self-debasement demanded of anyone who differs with the left happens almost daily."
Friends, that is a pretty objective picture of American culture today. We observe it within our media, within our politics, within our athletic enterprises, and within our corporate structures. In the absence of God, truth becomes mere opinion and personal preference. Jesus proclaimed that He was the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). He did not say that He was a just another truth among many truths. He did not say that He was just a portion of truth. No, Jesus said He was the truth. All truth is anchored in Jesus. And when we cast that truth aside, there are only opinions and preferences upon which to lean.
The Barna Group has just released a new poll, conducted in association with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. You can find this article at: www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4104. The article is titled, "US In Moral Freefall As Everyone Does What Is Right In Their Own Eyes." The article begins with a quote from Len Munsil, president of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. "The consequences of rejecting God's truth are undeniable. We know that what we believe dictates how we behave. Today, we are seeing the moral breakdown permeating the culture around us, and it is playing out with devastating consequences in our culture." The article continues, "A total of 58 percent of U.S adults agreed that 'identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time.' Sadly, 48 percent of adults who identified as born-again Christians agreed with the statement."
Friends, I found that statement extremely troubling. How we have failed as pastors and teachers to help our flocks understand the trustworthiness and the implicit truth statements found within the Word of God. Allow me to continue from the article: "Perhaps most troubling, the findings regarding the moral views of the youngest generation indicate this downward moral trajectory is likely to continue. Americans age 18 to 29 are least likely - only 15% - to turn to the Bible for moral guidance and instead look to themselves (29%) or to family (25%)."
Dr. Barna concludes: "The percentage of adults with a biblical worldview has been sliced in half since 1995. As Americans embrace the consequences of unrestrained moral choices, we will see further rejections of traditional marriage, conventional child-rearing practices and objectives, millions more abortions, excessive substance abuse, and wider acceptance of suicide, polygamy, sexual perversion, and religious persecution. Any society that substitutes humanity's latest and greatest ideas for God's truth and authority is on the fast track to ruin." Does Dr. Barna have a solution? "The restoration of biblical truth can facilitate the turnaround of a declining society. It starts with churches relentlessly and consistently teaching biblical truth principles for practical application within all dimensions of life. It requires churches equipping parents to teach those truth principles to their children. ... Restoring our foundations will be neither easy nor quick, but such a turnaround can happen if a remnant of God's people devotes themselves to such a process of cultural deliverance."
Friends, our work is certainly cut out for us. Our God is able to do exceedingly more than we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). The real question then becomes: How dedicated and committed are we to following God's directives?
Yet the civil unrest and rioting continues. Police officers have been assaulted. At last count, over 600 had been injured, with about 10 being killed while in the line of duty. City Councils and State officials have raised the cry to either defund the police departments or, as in the case of the City of Minneapolis, to totally disband the police department. Both the mayors of New York City and Los Angeles have pledged to slash tens of millions of dollars from their respective police departments. What will be the consequence of a lessened police presence on the streets of our major cities? Will people suddenly become more respectful of each other because there will be no men and/or women in blue on the streets? Will gang violence dramatically lessen? I think we saw what happens when police are not involved with those images of smashing windows, looting, and setting buildings on fire. The social evolutionists believe that the goal of mankind is to advance toward perfection. Yet, the Bible reminds us that the heart of man is incredibly evil (Jeremiah 17:9). The only way a heart can be changed is through confession and repentance and the receiving of Jesus Christ as Savior. So, the reduction or even absence of police presence will only exacerbate the strife that is already present within our communities.
Yesterday Dennis Prager posted an article that really came to grips with the problems within America. I have always appreciated Mr. Prager's desire for clarity as he wrestles with the issues of the day on his radio talk show. The article was posted at: www.patriotpost.us/opionion/71234-the-four-horsemen-of-Americas-apolocalypse-2020-06-09. I strongly encourage you to read this article. It will give you much about which to think. Allow me just to highlight those four horsemen that Mr. Prager has identified. "No. 1: Victimhood. The more people who regard themselves as victims - as individuals or as a group - the more likely they are to commit evil. People who think of themselves as victims feel that, having been victimized, they are no longer bound by normal moral conventions - especially the moral conventions of their alleged or real oppressors. ... No. 2: Demonization. Demonizing a group as inherently evil. That is being done now with regard to the white people of America. All - again, all - whites are declared racist. The only difference among them is that some admit it and some deny it. ... Not only are white demonized, but America is, too. Unlike traditional liberals, the left regards America as a moral cesspool - not only racist but, according to The New York Times, founded to be so. .... No. 3: A Cause to Believe In. Until very recently, Americans would have found the expression 'for God and country' deeply meaningful; that term today, on the left, is risible and execrable. But people need something to believe in. The need for meaning is the greatest human need after the need for food. Leftism, with all its offshoots - feminism, environmentalism, Black Lives Matter, antifa - has filled that vacuum. ... No. 4: Lies. Lies are the root of evil. ... Objective truth doesn't exist on the left. The universities have already declared 'objective truth' as essentially an expression of 'white privilege.' The public self-debasement demanded of anyone who differs with the left happens almost daily."
Friends, that is a pretty objective picture of American culture today. We observe it within our media, within our politics, within our athletic enterprises, and within our corporate structures. In the absence of God, truth becomes mere opinion and personal preference. Jesus proclaimed that He was the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). He did not say that He was a just another truth among many truths. He did not say that He was just a portion of truth. No, Jesus said He was the truth. All truth is anchored in Jesus. And when we cast that truth aside, there are only opinions and preferences upon which to lean.
The Barna Group has just released a new poll, conducted in association with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. You can find this article at: www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4104. The article is titled, "US In Moral Freefall As Everyone Does What Is Right In Their Own Eyes." The article begins with a quote from Len Munsil, president of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. "The consequences of rejecting God's truth are undeniable. We know that what we believe dictates how we behave. Today, we are seeing the moral breakdown permeating the culture around us, and it is playing out with devastating consequences in our culture." The article continues, "A total of 58 percent of U.S adults agreed that 'identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time.' Sadly, 48 percent of adults who identified as born-again Christians agreed with the statement."
Friends, I found that statement extremely troubling. How we have failed as pastors and teachers to help our flocks understand the trustworthiness and the implicit truth statements found within the Word of God. Allow me to continue from the article: "Perhaps most troubling, the findings regarding the moral views of the youngest generation indicate this downward moral trajectory is likely to continue. Americans age 18 to 29 are least likely - only 15% - to turn to the Bible for moral guidance and instead look to themselves (29%) or to family (25%)."
Dr. Barna concludes: "The percentage of adults with a biblical worldview has been sliced in half since 1995. As Americans embrace the consequences of unrestrained moral choices, we will see further rejections of traditional marriage, conventional child-rearing practices and objectives, millions more abortions, excessive substance abuse, and wider acceptance of suicide, polygamy, sexual perversion, and religious persecution. Any society that substitutes humanity's latest and greatest ideas for God's truth and authority is on the fast track to ruin." Does Dr. Barna have a solution? "The restoration of biblical truth can facilitate the turnaround of a declining society. It starts with churches relentlessly and consistently teaching biblical truth principles for practical application within all dimensions of life. It requires churches equipping parents to teach those truth principles to their children. ... Restoring our foundations will be neither easy nor quick, but such a turnaround can happen if a remnant of God's people devotes themselves to such a process of cultural deliverance."
Friends, our work is certainly cut out for us. Our God is able to do exceedingly more than we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). The real question then becomes: How dedicated and committed are we to following God's directives?
Time for a revival..............we as Christians need to stand up for God.
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