God Knows (Are we using the tools?)

Living in a busy city like L.A. and observing the "culture" of this city and looking at society as a whole in certain ways leave me deeply disturbed. I could beat around the bush on this nightly rant but instead I will get to my point. (especially since my last blog was quite lengthy! :-)

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has seen the advertising billboards for the CW's "Gossip Girl" with taglines such as "Very Bad for You" and "OMFG" (I'm sure you are familiar with OMG so I'm sure you can take a wild guess in regards to what the "F" stands for.) I find myself briefly watching MTV and in the corner of my screen they are previewing a new series and all I can see is a couple making out and I'm not talking about a sweet, tender peck on the lips I'm talking about an "I've been celibate for 5 years and it's my honeymoon, so it's goin down!" type of making out. The preview stayed in the lower right hand corner of my screen for what felt like the duration of the show I was watching (or at least glancing at for 10 minutes or so). I don't remember seeing anything like that when I was a teenager and that wasn't that long ago. I know that times change but sheesh!

We are being inundated with "moderate" but now moreso EXPLICIT sexual images more and more everyday. The tv and movie producers are constantly pushing the envelope just for that "Wow" factor. This leads me to believe that with the state of our society where "the freakier, the better" is the rule of thumb then that must adversely affect our everyday lives as Christians, as those who claim to report to a higher authority. Are we letting society relax our morals and dictate what is "reasonable" behavior for Christians within this society as if God's law changes with the times? At one point in time sex before marriage was extremely taboo, then it became ok as long as you didn't have a baby out of wedlock, then it became ok to have a baby as long as you were an adult and could take care of it, now teens are having and desiring babies at an early age and the only message they hear from "society" about sex is to "use a condom". Parents are looked upon as old fashioned and almost comical if they were to suggest to their child that sex should wait until marriage (what a concept). It's almost as if God's law is some sort of ancient tool used by the Mayans that was found in an archaeological dig and though the tool is cool to look at in a History museum it is no longer useful to today's society. I guess you don't need to bang two rocks together when you have power tools and jack hammers! This is not just about sex it's about how we treat God's Word in everyday life. Do we act as if He cannot see us? Is he blinded to our indiscretions because you are "really horny" or "had to cuss the b**** out?" Just because the heavens have not fallen on your head does not mean that there are not consequences to your actions.

Question: "Why can't I find a good man?"
Answer: "You need to keep your legs closed."

Question: "Why are so many kids having kids."
Answer: "They don't have any non-hypocritical role models."

Question: "Why don't I have peace?"
Answer: "You may not be doing what God has called you to do."

Look at the state of the world. The U.S. is in a fiscal nightmare, alcohol and drug abuse are rampant, relationships are deteriorating , families are at war, the country is at war, and dagnabbit no one gives a crap about their neighbor! We are either afraid of each other or we just plain hate each other. God sees this and I believe that he is saddened by it and would like for us to recognize our downfalls and raise the bar. His mercy endures forever but the question is...do we have that much time?

When are we going to raise our standards? When are we going to understand that God sees every move we make and though He knows the condition of our heart His desire for us is the same...to do His will. His word is not a tool for primitive people, it is universal and applicable today just as it was then. The cool thing about God is that there is no "Volume 2" or "Second Edition" the same rules apply for this game of life.