Articles
Numbed And Calloused
The history of the Israelites is one that gives the reader a clear illustration of what can happen to even good people if they are not alert to the spiritual dangers that surround us. Though God gave them clear laws that outlined His demands of them if they were to be His people [i.e., the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses], they eventually broke just about every one of those laws and commandments and they, as a result, suffered the punishment He had promised would come when they disobeyed.
The nation of Israel was brought out of Egyptian bondage and brought into the Promised Land by the power of the Almighty, and in ways they could clearly see He ruled over all. Despite His provision and protection, they still turned away time after time and, despite His chastisements through the years, they didn't ever seem to learn their lessons. If you know the history of the Israelites, you know their fall didn't happen overnight, but was a long, drawn-out process that lasted as long as it did only because of the longsuffering of God. They didn't simply wake up one day and decide to rebel and disobey; there were some factors that led to their fall, and they are factors that could lead to our fall today, as God's people, if we do not learn from their mistakes. What were those factors?
They Followed Their Own Hearts. As they were going into captivity [after years of patiently trying to turn them back], God spoke to the people through Jeremiah as to why this was happening: “I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward” (Jer. 7:23, 24). They chose to do what they wanted to do, rather than what God had commanded.
They Followed the Surrounding Nations. Relatively early in the history of the nation [at the end of the rule of the judges], the people came to Samuel and demanded, “Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). It wasn't the first, nor the last, time they would look at the nations around them and seek to do as they were doing; that is where they learned to follow the false gods and all kinds of evil, too.
They Lacked Knowledge of God's Word. When the destruction of the people was inevitable, God spoke to them through Hosea and again pointed to the reason why: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6).
Now, with this said, we must realize that these same factors can desensitize us to sin and error to the point we fall into the same errors as the Israelites, if we are not alert to the dangers. The same factors of following our own hearts, desiring to be like the world around us, and ignorance of God's will and His ways will result in the same sad end as the Israelites.
I probably do not have to tell most of you reading this that our society has changed in the last 50 years, and not for the better. Today, our society tolerates and even welcomes many things that — not so long ago — were unthinkable. Not so long ago, our society believed that profane language was unfit for public; marriage was the foundation of our society, divorce was a topic mentioned only in whispers, and spouses treated one another with respect; we believed children were to obey their parents and show them respect.
We believed life itself — every life — was precious and valuable; we believed work was honorable and expected for every citizen; we believed drunkenness was a shame and drug abuse was aberrant behavior and a sign of rebellion; we believed all sorts of deviant sexual behavior was unacceptable and certain forms should be seriously punished; we believed criminals should be the ones punished and the law-abiding citizens praised; we believed schools were for instruction and learning about things like mathematics, proper English, and proven scientific evidences; we believed government was for our protection and our leaders would base their choices on the good of the country.
But these things are no longer true or believed, it seems. Now, marriage is a joke, divorce has come to be expected, and adultery is only "an indiscretion"; now, children talk back to their parents and many parents are more interested in being their children's 'friend' than their parents; now, abortion is a "right" or a "choice"; now, work is despised while gambling and government subsidies are encouraged; now, drunkenness is exalted and a "rite of passage" for college-age kids, and drug abuse is "recreational" and, if taken too far, the fault of society
Now, all kinds of deviant sexual behavior is defended and some even encouraged, and excused as an "alternative lifestyle" and those who disagree are "bigoted" and are guilty of using "hate speech"; now, criminals are the heroes and law-abiding citizens are often made to pay for "violating their civil rights"; now, our schools spend more time teaching the very things we have just noted and our children consistently score lower than just about every other industrialized country; now, our politicians are more interested in political power than the citizens, and choices are often made based on whether or not they can be re-elected.
How did we get here? Well, this didn't happen overnight, either. This slide into immorality and into a society that calls evil 'good' and good 'evil' arrived after many years of a step-by-step digression. But it began by first making light of the things we used to call sin. It was turned into a joke for late-night TV and then it wasn't so bad. Then, celebrities began practicing these things and our movies and television portrayed these behaviors as normal and justifiable; crime was explained away by psychologists and psychiatrists as the fault of society and not the criminal; marriage was 'old-fashioned' and discipline became 'abuse'; those who held firmly to the ways of the past were labeled as backwards or bigoted and the lives of the deviant were held up as 'victims'; we redefined morality and 'good' and promoted selfishness while we simultaneously denigrated self-sacrifice. And here we are.
What has made it all easier is far too many people who profess to be Christians who are actually just following their own hearts [just like the Israelites], desiring to be like the world [just like the Israelites] instead of like Jesus, and who lack even the most basic level of knowledge of what God actually demands [just like the Israelites] of those who wear the name of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Friends and brethren, let us not become numbed to the sinfulness that surrounds us! Let us not become so calloused to sin that we say nothing and attempt to blend in! Let us not be guilty of following our own hearts or desiring to be like the world, but let us rather resolve to live as God demands. That means we must also make a concerted effort to know God's word intimately, and apply it to our hearts diligently and consistently.
Change begins with self. — Steven Harper
