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Pointers along the way #255

Eroding values
- Jacob Ninan

When strong waves beat against the seashore there is a chance that the shoreline gets eroded. Drops of water falling incessantly on rock will make a dent on the rock! Something similar happens in our Christian values, and we can already see how far down they have come. Christians are more tolerant about issues such as divorce, abortion and homosexuality, not only tolerate corrupt practices in money matters but resort to them themselves, watch movies and read novels that would have been totally unacceptable earlier, listen to comedians who go vulgar or blasphemous and either laugh with them or continue, etc. How did this happen? Not all of a sudden, but over a period of time because of the continuing pressure from the people around and the media.

There is a triangle that becomes bigger with time. At one corner is the Christian's lack of knowledge of God and His values, and in the next corner is the pressure from the world and in the last corner are the eroding values. The sad thing is that when the pressure of the world becomes strong, instead of seeking to know God better people tend to seek to understand the world better! People recognise the cost of going against political correctness and public opinion, and try to adapt themselves to the standards promoted by the world. The fear of being labelled narrow-minded, fundamentalist or fanatical keeps many Christians silent or even causes them to avoid thinking on their own.

God needs His witnesses, His salt and light (Mt.5:13-16), the salt to give the right flavour and to preserve true values and the light to dispel the increasing darkness. We cannot be His witnesses without knowing Him and His heart. Much more than we are exposed to the media of this world, our hearts and mind need to be filled with the knowledge that comes through His word and His Spirit. That alone can preserve us, and also make us useful to Him in this world.

The world system is under the rule of its prince, Satan (Ep.2:2;Jn.12:31). Satan is behind the media, the governments, the institutions, the think tanks, scientific research, etc., guiding the minds of those who do not know God to think in the direction away from God and towards corruption, debauchery, immorality, violence, etc. We remember how the scientific world was driven to support the theory of evolution even ignoring the use of common sense, and now similar things are happening regarding homosexuality. In one sense we cannot stop that. But what we can stop, and what we need to stop, is our own flow in that direction, being pushed and pulled by the things around us.

We cannot be renewed in our minds (Ro.12:2) without taking time to think over these things, and without first taking time to get to know God and His heart through His word. In times such as these, there is all the more need for us to seek God's heart. We also need to remain bold in the knowledge of God and His values even while showing compassion on the ignorant and perishing.

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