Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings;
But they did not hear, nor hearken unto Me, saith the Lord...'
Zechariah 1:4
"A backward motion of our bodies will provoke a fundamental questioning of our commonest attitudes and bring about the social change that the urgency and gravity of the problems of our day require."
This quote from a proponent of the trend towards running backwards, believes that the intractable problems of the world and of human nature in general needs a new perspective and going against the norm of human motion might just do it.
If only life was that simple.
'If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord'
Romans 12:18-19
From the Commies to the Greenies, from the Nazis to the Pacifists, from the adherents of the 'superbeings' from outer space, to the peaks of meditative nirvana down to the more terra firma based but no less quirky cults, some of which are trying to keep up with the suicidal tendencies of the Jones(of Guyana fame), the world is never short of man desiring to do things differently.
'As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.....'
Romans 3:10
What make man today think that they are better at fixing the insurmountable woes of the world better than their ancestors?
The Darwinian retort would be that man are evolving into better and smarter beings, compared to their early ancestry, when their forefathers tended to ape around.
'Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or hath stretched the line upon it?'
Job 38:5
The world today continues on its downward degeneration, both physically and morally. Increasingly, a God sanctioned marriage looks at risk of being a rarity in the future, and cohabitation is a matter of preference while partners now replaces spouse as semantic of choice.
Kids today are pretty confused as to their ancestry, for with multiple marriages and multiple partners, and with the advent of test-tube babies and surrogate mothers, who knows anymore. The role of the elders as good role models is at best tepid.
The Great Wall of China was built to keep out the barbarians from the borders of China. But even Emperor Qin would never imagine that the individuals today have increasingly erected walls of mutual exclusivity around their self centred lives. Societies today are moving inextricably towards a tyranny of the minority, where individual selfish rights take precedence over the common good for the majority.
What about ethical and moral standards??
The Plimsoll Line is named after its British inventor, Samuel Plimsoll, who realized that ships were increasingly overloaded, be it for commercial avarice or pure stupidity and many sank as a result.
The Plimsoll Line is a line drawn on the side of the ship, which indicates the maximum load limit for ships and there are variations dependent upon the seasons and the type of waters the ship will be sailing to.
'Decent society' of the past used to have clearer standards of acceptable conduct that define each and every person's role in relation to the general community.
Of course, the misguided interpretations and man driven rather than God led overzealous applicaton of such rules have led to abuse or downright disrespect and disregard for such parameters of behaviour.
The very tenet of 'me first' have now ensured that the common trait of selfishness is allowed to rear its ugly head and today, the principle of the greater common good is now subsumed by the increasingly vocal and persistent pursuit of personal happiness.
In a pluralistic society, if all are selfish and all needs must not be encroached upon, than logically, the world has to keep lowering its standards of values, to cater to all shades and colors of characters. But can society truly function without deteriorating into anarchy??
Gone are the days, when society strives to move on the supertankers of integrity and selflessness. Today, most societies have chosen to take the form of submarines, at least in the sublime practices of general living and moral standards.
Will God allow us to sink furthur???
The Bible is the Word of God. God is the Word and in His Living Word, God teaches, guides and corrects us, His creation, in our journey in this sinful world and beyond.
He is remaking us in His likeness, what we were originally, before Adam and Eve decided foolishly to literally disrobe and remove the glorious light of God's grace and glory upon themselves and put on the sinful cloak of Satan's wiles and deceit.
Unlike the flawed solutions of man, be it walking backward or something else, with God, it is not just possible but the only way for us, to be free of Satan's deathly grip on us, both living and after, is to believe, repent and obey our Sovereign God.
Jesus by his cruxification on the cross, has with his blood wiped clean our sins and by His resurrection 3 days later, has broken forever the grip of Satan on us.
We are free and in taking up the cross of Jesus Christ's salvation, we need never ever sink into the oblivious sinkhole of the devil's wiles.
As of now, most of us in humanity are still good parents. We desire for our children to be brought up well, in material comforts, in their future endeavours and in their character. Yet, it is often a struggle as our children often crossed the lines of acceptable behaviour and in our finite and flawed understanding, we agonised over how to enlighten them on the folly of their precocious ways.
God has endured and continues to endure our whimsical and almost irrascible behaviour. We have grieved Him often enough.
Yet, He is God. He can and will bring us back not just above the line of acceptability but to be like Him.
But, He gave us a free will. We must be willing to let Him.
In closing, it is often on hindsight, that when we look backwards, that we see the foolishness of our ways, and the wisdom and love of God in our lives, even in so called difficult times.
'Blesseth be God, even the Fathe of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.......'
1 Corinthians 1:3-6
My son, Andre after 5 humbling years, was over the moon yesterday. He finally made it to the top 3 classes in school for next year and will get to enjoy the aircon comfort of the rooms reserved for only the 3 classes. Yet, the 5 years have been good for him in building his character, of love, of humility, of perserverence and for correction and refinement. Yet, even in the midst of his character building, which can be painful, God has more than provided and this achievement is yet another anchor of reassurance as we continue to journey in faith, for God knows our limits. And indeed God knows our limitations, and to ensure that we in the midst of our blessings, do not turn prideful, He leaves us a lingering 'thorn in the flesh' to help us stay focussed on Him. To round off the story, my son just found out yesterday that his class(contrary to norm of the past) next year will not be airconditioned, by a quirk of administrative planning, the class is not just juxtaposed between two classes on the left and two classes on the right, that are air-conditioned, but in his mind, is a hotter room than his previous abode and just to rub it in, nearest the aromatic toilet.
All thanks be to God.
(attached is a short sharing my son did at Chapel service in school this week. Truly God is great)
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
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