What Happened to Ethics?
On January 6th there was some sort of ceremony where a congressman suggested they were commemorating the “five heroic officers” who died because of the “insurrection” at the Capital building on January 6, 2021.[i] (For the record, 0 police officers died that day.)
No matter what side of the political fence a person sits on, we must insist on honest and ethical behavior – consistent truth and unprejudiced judgments. Why do more of the media not call out such a blatant lie? Is anyone, even the Church mentioning it?
What happened to ethics? It appears they have been slowly but surely being abandoned (over at least the last 60 years) as we shook our heads while the media failed to report the truth in the face of lies and Christians thought it would be a bad witness to speak against the government.
As the culture abandoned Christianity, the people in the culture abandoned the principles that God has given us to make life better for everyone.
Since this nation has walked away from Christian principles to live by there have been significant increases in murders, rapes, suicides, depression, fatherless families, abortion, adultery, pornography (to the demise of many relationships), human trafficking. incest and mass shootings.
How does a child of God, or the whole Church of Jesus Christ, undo what has been done? It’s pretty clear that it doesn’t matter who is on the Supreme Court or who is in the White House or any other political office. What matters is whether or not Christians are courageously living their faith and speaking the truth to whomever the Lord sets before us.
The Bible says that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways and that we are to please Him and not men. It uses the word “obey” a lot (over 150 times). In today’s American culture that word is seen as oppressive but God’s Laws are for our good. Not to obey them is to invite His wrath. There was a time when this was understood by more than just the Church.
Not. Any. More. Man has refused to see God as the ultimate Authority, replacing Him with themselves or civil authorities. Think about how many people – how many churches – had no trouble with obeying unjust demands to stop meeting to “slow the spread.” We’ll obey man but not obey God.
When King Saul ignored God’s command in history there were grave consequences. “So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23).
Christian, we have serious work to do to bring back the Name of the Lord in every sphere of life. We need to first, obey Him, then teach the next generation, our children and grandchildren. We need to call out the lack of ethics and honesty and speak the truth in its place in our work places, in our neighborhoods, to our political “representatives,” and as publicly as we have opportunity.
And, we must share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A reformation of society will only come with the resurrection of hearts that are dead in sin.
What has happened to ethics? I fear it is that good men did nothing (or not enough) to keep them. Will we cry out to God in repentance and seek to obey His Word?
“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God” (Isaiah 50:10, ESV).
[i] https://www.foxnews.com/video/6318301595112 (3:14 on the video.)