Oh The Depravity...

So I am getting up on my soap box for this post, and speaking to fellow Christians who say silly things like this,

"Our State just made it legal to carry a tiny amount of Marijuana, our world is getting so depraved!"

or

"There are people who want to let gay people get married, our world is getting so depraved!"

or countless other similar ignorant statements.

NOTE: Now let me say this right away, I am not interested in debating whether or not legalizing weed or gay marriage is good, bad, moral, or anything else. If you want to debate these things with someone, that's great, but I WILL NOT ENGAGE WITH YOU!

What I want to address is the ignorance and harm of making a statement like this, because here's the deal, this so called depravity is not new, and it makes you seem hateful.

Please go study some history, and you will find that hundreds and even thousands of years ago there were cultures and societies that were just as, if not more depraved than ours. America or anywhere else.

Let me give you an example, first Century Rome and Roman culture. If you're not sure, that would be around the time Jesus was walking around Earth over in what we now call the "Middle East."

At any rate, here are some things you could see pretty regularly there: drugs, prostitution (male and female and at the temple or what we call church today), sexual slavery, public baths and brothels with orgies going on, rape, murder, stealing, burglaries, extortion, corrupt government leaders, oppression of other people groups, work slavery, extreme racism, women were treated like possessions not people, etc.

You see what I am getting at? First century Rome and Roman culture was extremely perverse, I would be willing to bet even more so than modern day America.
 
Here is another example, go even further back, thousands of years before Jesus' time on Earth, and read the book of Leviticus in the Bible. There are over 600 rules that God gives the Israelites, His chosen people. These are rules to live by. If you take Leviticus Chapter 18 for example. This chapter contains all kinds of sexual rules, things like don't have sex with your mom, dad, sibling, or an animal.

If people had to be told not to do these things, that means, you know...they were doing them. That's some pretty messed up or depraved stuff.

Even further back in history, do some research on why God flooded the Earth in the time of Noah. You will find that it was because people had become so depraved that they were beyond saving, so God wiped them all out.

Here is my point in all this ranting: since sin entered the world people have been doing things that are considered "immoral" or "depraved," and they always will. Even a casual reading of the Bible or study of history confirms this.

So with all that being said, here is where I take issue with statements like the ones I posted at the beginning of the blog for three major reasons:

1. It's untrue. Depravity has and will always be around until Jesus returns to fix the world.

2. It comes off as hateful to people who are gay, or smoke weed, or whatever other sin they are talking about.

3. We all sin. Most people who say stuff like that use it as way to get out of their obligation to love people the way Jesus does. They act like someone else's sin is somehow worse than theirs, because it's a different sin. Thus, they say, "those people," are going to hell, so I can't be near them. This is what the Pharisees did, and why Jesus was at such odds with them.  In the good ole USA, I see this most often directed towards the gay community. Many American Christians are very hateful towards the LGBT community and this HAS TO STOP!

In conclusion, people who don't know Jesus and need Him, don't need Christians telling them that they are causing the depravity of society. The truth of the matter is, that if society is getting more depraved, it's all of our fault. As Christians we should be known by our love, not thought of as hateful. So please, please, please, think before you speak!

Ok I'm getting off my soap box now!

If you took the time to read this blog, thanks. I hope and pray that you doing your best to live in a way that leads people towards the eternal hope, freedom, and love that Jesus provides.