Have you noticed that nothing is sacred nowadays?
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “… in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”
As I read the passage above some time ago, I was inundated with examples of this pervasive disregard for the divine institutions.
1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”
Our body is a temple for God, Himself, and is to be kept healthy and pure. Sexual chastity is a thing of the past, now teenage pregnancy is the “norm”. Unhealthy lifestyles marked by obesity, sedentariness, rampant alcohol and drug use is also considered normal and even elevated in our society. The gift of our bodies is clearly not held sacred
Hebrews 13:4 “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
The Bible tells us that sex was designed for a man and a woman in marriage and that it is to be honored. Today’s “values” regarding sex and marriage look nothing like those mandated in God’s Word. According to the world, sex is merely recreational (you can download a dating app to find tonight’s casual sex partner), homosexuality and gender identity confusion are to be accepted and applauded, even, adultery is commonplace, and divorce is an option from day 1 of marriage (if one even bothers to get married prior to moving in and having children with their current partner). It is painfully clear that the institution of marriage is not held sacred.
Colossians 3:18-21 “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
The institution of the family, which was once respected in this country, is now often nothing more than a breeding ground for sin and dysfunction. The majority of today’s families look nothing like what is described in the Bible. Most of them are broken and many of the ones that remain intact are handicapped by weak husbands, unsubmissive wives, lack of parental discipline and control, and rebellious children. It is clear that the family is not held sacred.
Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
It is dreadful how the authorities of our country are viewed and treated. Disrespectful commentaries, mockeries, and even attempts at or completed assassinations, regardless of how the authorities carry themselves, occur daily. The anti-authority movement grows each year to the point where there is a slew of anti-authority movements, for example “defunding” the police. It is clear that authority is not held sacred.
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Matthew 22:37 “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ”
God is the Creator and King of all His creation and has commanded people to worship Him and Him alone. The perversions of true religion are too many to count, but there is a resounding theme in all of them- Jesus Christ is NOT the only way, truth, and life (contrary to John 14:6). Idolatry is as abundant as oxygen- people worshiping money, success, physical beauty, and those who have them. These idols are inevitably torn down from their pedestals for the slightest failure or even simply out of jealousy. There is no faithfulness to God, only fickle servants to the temporary “gods” of the world. The reason the planet is in its current declining state, to its shame, is this…it is very clear that God is not held sacred.
It seems hopeless, right? I mean, there is not one single institution God has created which has not been defiled and is currently being trampled on. Believers in Jesus Christ, though, are not called to change or clean up the devil’s world (2 Corinthians 4:4). We are commanded to focus on the Lord, obey His commands, and rely on His power to resist the temptation to sin. Your job as a child of God is to honor YOUR body, YOUR marriage, YOUR family, YOUR authorities, and OUR God. We must always remember that we are to be examples of righteous living to this evil world.
Matthew 5:14-1 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
We are to be the Lord’s ambassadors, holding both Him and as His divinely appointed institutions as most sacred.
2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ…”
Love in Christ,
Monica Ledford