As of late I've been really hindered by the way people are behaving around me. I feel like I'm living in a generation of lawlessness. The "christians" today just put me off sometimes. I'm not trying to be self-righteous here or put myself in a bird's eye view and point fingers at the world cause I know I am never excluded. But the frustration of seeing how people don't have any stands that come from the Word makes me cringe in disgust. People are making decisions based on everything except what God is saying in His Word.
I came across the book of Judges from someone's devotional blog post yesterday and the passage was taken from Judges 19-21. I've read this passage a couple of times and it never fails to put a loathsome feeling in my heart. If God's intent was to show how low humanity's morality can degrade to, this will be the passage. In this few chapters, it talks about an unidentified Levite in Ephraim that was heading home from Bethlehem after getting a concubine for himself. But the journey took a twist as he had to stay for the night and an old man in Gibeath (in Benjamin) invited him to stay the night.
"They had something to eat and drink. While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, 'Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.' The owner of the house went outside and said to them, 'No, my friends don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing. Look, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing.' But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, 'Get up; let's go. But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home." Judges 19:21-28
The Levite then cut the dead concubine into 12 pieces and sent them to all the 12 tribes of Israel. A war broke lose as they all armed themselves to go against Benjamin. The final words of the book of judges were these, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." And I have to admit, that hasn't changed in the world that we live in today. Many that claim to be our very own brothers and sisters in Christ themselves don't see the urging need to put God as their Lord and master, looking unto Him for wisdom and prudence.
How is it that we can use God's name in vain and feel absolutely fine with it?
How is is that we can call ourselves a Christian and still swear?
How is it that we don't have any regard about the choice of words we use?
How is it that we don't talk about God's goodness in our lives?
How is it that we can be so slanderous?
How is it that we can sing these words, "You are my everything. You are all I need" when every decision is about their selfish ambitions?
How is it that we can be so shameless about our sins?
How is it that we can be so unforgiving?
How is it that we can be so hateful?
How is it that we can be so ignorant about the things God have to say about holiness?
How is it that we can take sin so lightly?
How is it that the world is now our friend?
In the words of DC Talk, "What have we become? In a world of degenerating."
