I've had more time to think lately, and something I keep coming back to is priorities. Your character determines your priorities. Your priorities are built upon the foundation of the things you value. Those of us who are brought up in good, God-fearing homes value things such as honesty, selflessness and diligence. These values make up our character which in turn determines our priorities. Many seasoned Christians have been left reeling due to the moral decay that has taken place in our nation in the past even 20 years. I don't intend to unravel the intricacies of why such a drastic change has been made in so few years--that would take knowledge and expertise that I do not possess, but I can recognize patterns and make observations about the world as I knew it...and the world as I now know it.
Every single action that one carries out is based on what they value and their character and it directly reflects their priorities. From the way that one talks to others to the way he carries out everyday duties to the way he runs a business, his every action will expose his character and priorities. Every TV show, every magazine, every song that floats into our ears, every advertisement and even some messages on Sunday mornings give clues to America's priorities that have gone south. The media is there only to benefit itself. To persuade us that we should, for whatever reason, buy what they are selling so that it can make profit for itself. In our country, our character has ceased to be molded by the biblical virtues on which this nation was founded. Instead, it is now based on one of our worst enemies--our sin nature. We are now invited to indulge in our every appetite to whatever measure that we so choose...until we have satisfied that desire within ourselves. That should scare us to death. We don't even know the depths of our own depravity, and to be flirting with the enemy is a far cry from wise. It would seem that we've sold our character to the media of our time, and it is not on the lookout for our good...only its own.
I don't trust the media...I don't trust humanity...I don't trust you...I don't trust myself. Why? Because of the sin nature which was cauterized to my being the moment I could be called a person. We know that we have a sin nature...but we no nothing of the severity of this nature or the reverberations that it sends out into eternity. Even if you've committed every sin there is to commit...you have not even tapped the resevoir that is human fallenness. Our sin is worse than we know and more putrid and revolting to God than we would care to think about. Our ignorance is obvious by the kinds of things we choose to value and therefore prioritize. Our culture has programmed us to think in the here and now--our immediate wants and appetites. By adopting this mentality, we have allowed blinders to be fixed onto our eyes, and our vision is narrowed to what we want and how to get it. This is hardly the mentality that God intended when he put in the mind of Paul to write Colossians 3:2- "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
That might sound like a strict rule lacking practicality to people these days, but God's Word is timeless--it applies to all people at all times. As I'm writing this, it is becoming clear that much of our disobedience towards God stems from our lack of knowing Him as He really is rather than how we perceive Him.
This is all that I have time to write about right now, but I'm sure it's plenty long enough to have read, and it has started a new train of thought in my head and hopefully yours.
Please give any insights or ideas. I am just another mind trying to figure this stuff out, too. More mind power is greatly needed and appreciated.
Blessings
