A Morass of Moralizing

In the book of 2nd Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes about the subject of holiness, providing sound instruction about living a life set apart to the Lord.  We pick up in the final verses of chapter 6 and go into the first verse of chapter 7:
17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."
18 "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty."
1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Bible provides for us sound teaching and a strong foundation for our morality.  This has served our culture well - giving us a sense of right and wrong and providing standards for what is and isn't acceptable behavior.  But, those standards have eroded, and people have decided what is right or true for them, which doesn't necessarily line up with the teachings of Scripture.  We have to start with the Word and in the Word, so that we can know truth and that our lives can line up with that truth.

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The Bible prescribes principles and patterns by which we can live, and God has provided the
capability to walk in His holiness. Here is some material from 1st Peter 1:
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers...

We have to careful whom we allow to lecture us about morality.  For the Christian, we recognize that our source of moral teaching is the Bible; and our culture, unfortunately, does not uphold those teachings.

So, people will look to high-profile individuals, who may not have a sense of who God is, much less devote their lives to Him.  Entertainment "stars," who will be part of content that is contrary to Scripture, that paints detrimental images, and do not exhibit positive lifestyles, attempt to lecture others on matters of morality.

Now, Ricky Gervais is certainly not known as a religious man and is a somewhat controversial figure.  I don't know from what he derives his morality - but, he took on the Hollywood elites the other night as he hosted the Golden Globe Awards.  According to ToddStarnes.com, the actor and provocateur said: “If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You are in no position to lecture the public about anything,” adding, “You know nothing about the real world.”

Hollywood types are quick to lecture, but not so quick to live out very much of a sense of morality - just look at the filth that is churned out that pollutes the minds of adults and children alike.  Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, in a Washington Times piece, took Ron Howard to task recently for describing the President as "morally bankrupt."  Without taking a stand or attempting to justify Trump's moral character, as evangelicals are accused of doing, Piper did call the former "Opie" to task for hypocrisy:

This moralizing comes from a leader of an industry that, for decades, has lectured all of us rubes in heartland America about our beliefs in traditional morality being backward and prudish.

This is the club that, for years, has shouted, “who are you to judge?” when conservative Christians have objected to the sexualization of our children.

This is the superior class that has told us drag queen story hours are a good idea for preschoolers.

These are the “smarter-than-thous” who have preached to us, over and over again, that “it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as it works for you.”

You get the point - and there is plenty more.  Piper writes:

In “Mere Christianity,” C.S. Lewis shared that as he looked at the various cultures that spanned the course of human history, he couldn’t avoid the evidence of a common moral code that crossed the boundaries of time, geography, race, gender and even religion.

Lewis concluded that people, by and large, have an intuitive sense of some underlying moral assumptions from tribe to tribe and from age to age. He also noted that proof of a “universal moral code” is that everyone seems to have a common reaction of indignation when its rules are violated.

So, Piper contends that Howard's comments indicate that Hollywood still has a "faint wisp of a conscience."  But, there is rampant hypocrisy.  He writes:

But, what Mr. Howard and his fellow elites apparently don’t understand is that the more they flail against the “immorality” of Donald Trump, the more they expose themselves to be little more than a parade of “wannabe” emperors with no clothes. For decades they have marched through our culture, naked as a jaybird, while apparently thinking they are dressed in the finest attire. And now they presume to tell us that they are our moral exemplars?

Yes, Ron Howard, there is such a thing as morality, and I am glad you admit it. But the huckster here is not so much Donald Trump as it is you and your peers. For years you have sold a nation the snake oil of sin, and this has cost you all credibility. Millions of us care little about what you think. You can take your traveling medicine show elsewhere.

A few years ago, Melissa Henson of the Parents Television Council wrote a piece that called out Hollywood's hypocrisy in light of the Harvey Weinstein scandal; basically saying that the behavior that many in Tinseltown are decrying has been contained in the work product of entertainment producers for quite some time.  She writes:

Given how wide-spread the problem of sexual abuse, harassment, and predatory behavior appears to be in the entertainment industry, isn’t it worthwhile to consider how a worldview that excuses and justifies this predatory behavior might be seeping into that which they create, and thereby influencing our shared culture, and in turn, influencing the world view of children who are the primary consumers of their creative output?

Theologian and philosopher, Francis Schaeffer wrote, “People are unique in the inner life of the mind – what they are in their thought world determines how they act. This is true of their value systems and it is true of their creativity… The results of their thought world flow through their fingers or from their tongues into the external world. This is true of Michelangelo’s chisel, and it is true of a dictator’s sword.”

How can the same not also be true of those who write, direct, edit and produce entertainment products? It would be naïve to believe they can leave their presuppositions, attitudes, and worldview at the door when they go to work. Their worldview is the prism through which they see the world, and it is the foundation on which all of their creative endeavors are built.

Those who moralize must be careful lest they be accused of or even found to be participating in what they are railing against.  That's why we have to make sure that we are living what we say we believe.  Jesus did not spare harsh words for those who were hypocritical in His day - that's why He was so hard on the religious types: they didn't live what they said they believed, and their hypocrisy negatively impacted their followers, who were held in bondage to their oppressive dictates.

As Jesus taught, we should spend more time getting the logs out of our own eyes than trying to extract specks from others.  We can ascertain whether or not we are living a life that is properly aligned - we certainly have a responsibility to speak truth, but perhaps our greatest target and our greatest audience should be ourselves. 

We can also think more deeply about a subject that the Bible addresses quite frequently - holiness.  That is something we cannot conjure up ourselves, or in our frail attempts, we can become holier than thou.  But, holiness reflects our oneness with Christ and an expression of His nature. Committing ourselves to be Christ's disciples and seeking to reflect His holiness can transfer us out of a double-minded life into a singular focus on Him.