24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
The circumstances were the same - rain, floods, and winds. The difference was the foundation. In an era where cultural winds are blowing in opposition to the principles of God's Word and our culture is in need of a moral compass, our lives can continue to reflect the presence of the Lord and the conviction of His truth. As we see people define truth for themselves, which is a shaky foundation, we can abide in God's truth and reflect that His ways are best.
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In Proverbs 21, we see that even though people may try to craft their own morality, ultimately it is God who is the judge:
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.
3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.
If you were to be asked by a pollster if you thought the state of moral values in this country is getting better or getting worse, what would be your answer? Well, according to the Gallup organization in a recent poll, 72% of Americans responded that the state of moral values in the U.S. is "getting worse," while 22% say it is "getting better." The Gallup website says that, "Large majorities have said the state of moral values in the U.S. is declining since Gallup started asking this question annually in 2002."
Gallup says that those who identify as social conservatives have consistently been more likely than social liberals to believe the nation's state of moral values is getting worse, with social moderates falling about midway between the two. The liberal-conservative gap was relatively narrow in the first two years Gallup measured this, in 2002 and 2003, but that may have reflected the more positive feelings Americans had about their country in the first few years after 9/11.
When asked to rate the overall state of moral values in this country, 45% of Americans describe the current state of moral values in the U.S. as "poor," with 34% saying they are "only fair" and 19% rating the state of moral values as either "excellent" or "good." Currently, 57% of social conservatives say the state of moral values is poor, down from 63% two years ago.
So, in culture at large, it seems that perhaps that morality is defined by the individual. What is immoral to me and you may be perfectly moral to someone else. When there is a lack of a moral compass, foundational principles that define what is "good" morality, then people abide by their own definitions. For some, apparently, to say we are in decline morally means that we just aren't being nice to one another. I do believe that lack of civility is a big problem, but when tolerance and acceptance do not have specific definitions, then it is left to the individual, which can lead to cultural chaos.
Bottom line, what constitutes so-called "good" morality for society has become debatable. Someone who embraces what God has called sinful and sees others move in that direction might think the moral climate is improving because larger numbers of people hold to that point of view. But, while our politics are democratic, what constitutes right and wrong in God's eyes is not the result of majority rule. But, when people define their own truth, without regard for the "true north" of God's Word, it leads to a person doing, as the Scriptures say, "what is right in his own eyes." Judges 21:25 says, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
I believe that in this culture where morality is adrift and truth is no longer adored, that we can demonstrate in our own lives what is right in God's eyes. While there are those who would redefine marriage, for instance, we can respond by showing the benefits of living in a one-man, one-woman, one-flesh relationship. We can attempt to instill values in our children that are consistent with God's Word. We can demonstrate peace in the midst of shifting tides and live out our convictions in a way that can draw people to the presence of Christ in us. In short, we build our lives on the rock of Jesus, and allow His life and nature to be foremost in our thoughts and actions.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.
3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.
If you were to be asked by a pollster if you thought the state of moral values in this country is getting better or getting worse, what would be your answer? Well, according to the Gallup organization in a recent poll, 72% of Americans responded that the state of moral values in the U.S. is "getting worse," while 22% say it is "getting better." The Gallup website says that, "Large majorities have said the state of moral values in the U.S. is declining since Gallup started asking this question annually in 2002."
Gallup says that those who identify as social conservatives have consistently been more likely than social liberals to believe the nation's state of moral values is getting worse, with social moderates falling about midway between the two. The liberal-conservative gap was relatively narrow in the first two years Gallup measured this, in 2002 and 2003, but that may have reflected the more positive feelings Americans had about their country in the first few years after 9/11.
When asked to rate the overall state of moral values in this country, 45% of Americans describe the current state of moral values in the U.S. as "poor," with 34% saying they are "only fair" and 19% rating the state of moral values as either "excellent" or "good." Currently, 57% of social conservatives say the state of moral values is poor, down from 63% two years ago.
There are more people identifying themselves as social liberals these days, according to Gallup, and there have been significant shifts in Americans' views on same-sex marriage and other moral issues. However, all in all, Americans' views of the state of moral values haven't changed much over the past 13 years. The Gallup summary points out that "...Americans' views about the declining state of moral affairs largely reflect a belief that there is a deteriorating collective moral character.That is, their views have less to do with greater acceptance of same-sex marriage or having babies out of wedlock and other hot-button issues, and more to do with matters of basic civility and respect for each other."
But what constitutes a "moral value?" Dr. Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief for Gallup, writes:
But what constitutes a "moral value?" Dr. Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief for Gallup, writes:
When we asked Americans a few years ago to talk about what was wrong with moral values, many responded by talking about the lack of consideration of others, deficits in the public's compassion, personal accountability, respect and tolerance; greed, selfishness, dishonesty -- in addition to things such as the change in family structure, lack of religion, lack of morals (a somewhat tautological response) and fairly small percentages who mention sexual promiscuity, abortion and gay marriage, specifically. Thus, we have Americans largely saying that the overall moral tone of our culture is in bad shape and getting worse, even as they increasingly say that formerly taboo behaviors are morally acceptable.Newport makes the statement that, "Gallup has been noting in a series of articles that Americans are shifting left on moral issues. But they aren't shifting on their views of the state of moral values in the country.
So, in culture at large, it seems that perhaps that morality is defined by the individual. What is immoral to me and you may be perfectly moral to someone else. When there is a lack of a moral compass, foundational principles that define what is "good" morality, then people abide by their own definitions. For some, apparently, to say we are in decline morally means that we just aren't being nice to one another. I do believe that lack of civility is a big problem, but when tolerance and acceptance do not have specific definitions, then it is left to the individual, which can lead to cultural chaos.
Bottom line, what constitutes so-called "good" morality for society has become debatable. Someone who embraces what God has called sinful and sees others move in that direction might think the moral climate is improving because larger numbers of people hold to that point of view. But, while our politics are democratic, what constitutes right and wrong in God's eyes is not the result of majority rule. But, when people define their own truth, without regard for the "true north" of God's Word, it leads to a person doing, as the Scriptures say, "what is right in his own eyes." Judges 21:25 says, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
I believe that in this culture where morality is adrift and truth is no longer adored, that we can demonstrate in our own lives what is right in God's eyes. While there are those who would redefine marriage, for instance, we can respond by showing the benefits of living in a one-man, one-woman, one-flesh relationship. We can attempt to instill values in our children that are consistent with God's Word. We can demonstrate peace in the midst of shifting tides and live out our convictions in a way that can draw people to the presence of Christ in us. In short, we build our lives on the rock of Jesus, and allow His life and nature to be foremost in our thoughts and actions.
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