FRUIT REVEALS DECEPTION

In this past generation, Americans have changed the way we raise our families, teach in our schools, run our government and establish our social order. America’s ‘new’ moral code says, “If you can get away with it, it’s all right.” Personal accountability, respect for authority and self-control have become an antiquated way of thinking. Nothing, it seems, is repugnant or indecent. Very little deserves to be honored and respected as rules and boundaries are fought against. Actions which were “unthinkable” thirty-to-forty years ago have become “commonplace.”

Even our government leaders have passed legislation that has allowed for immoral causes and ungodly standards. Passing out condoms in schools, for example, sanctions promiscuity. School prayer was made illegal.  A law was passed that has allowed the murder of more than 50 million innocent babies through abortion.

A report that covered a recent 30-year period showed the bad fruit our society has produced. Crime increased by 500%, illegitimate births by 400%! Three times the number of children were living in single-parent homes. The teenage suicide rate tripled. The divorce rate doubled. It became OK for schools to teach homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. The entertainment industry discovered it could display sexual permissiveness and violence with little resistance. Child molestation and incest became a national disaster, with police stating that only 25% of all cases are reported. Our children began to gun down peers and teachers at school. Every day the newspapers are filled with reports of robbery, rape, murder, greed, gang violence and other horrors.

In American society today, the most fundamental means of preserving social order—commitment to family—has been shattered. Unethical conduct and greed have tainted such professions as doctors, bankers, lawyers, politicians, educators, corporate leaders and even spiritual leaders, who historically have been the pillars of our society. Our great American cities, once the principle evidence of a mighty industrial nation, have become a stalking ground for crime, violence, sexual perversion and drugs. The character of many Americans has also transformed through sexual immorality into a lifestyle devoted to self-gratification. By passing laws that actively undermine the truth, our great republic form of government has turned from the scriptural principles that formed the foundation of our country.

Humanistic philosophy has captured public education! Public school textbooks no longer teach the Christian influence in our country’s development. However, nearly every book has the religion of humanism running through its pages. It is a religion that teaches the perfection of human ideas about right verses wrong and the development of culture to be mankind’s guide, not God and His Word. This is definitely one of the reasons why our Christian heritage, which burned brightly for many generations, has been extinguished so quickly. We are seeing what Abraham Lincoln said come true: “The philosophy of the classroom today will be the philosophy of the government tomorrow.”

Let me site just one fruit in our public schools of many that have been produced by this humanistic religion that is being taught throughout our society. A survey completed by Gospel Films reported that in 1940 the major discipline problems in public schools were: Talking in class, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, cutting in line, improper clothing and littering. One generation later in 1983 the major discipline problems were: Rape, robbery, assault, burglary, arson, bombing and murder.

Dr. James Dobson, founder and president of Focus on the Family, and Gary L. Bauer, president of the Family Research Council wrote Children at Risk, a book detailing the battle in our society for the hearts and minds of our kids. Every parent and grandparent needs this kind of information and more. Speaking about our culture, they write: “The same twisted philosophy that permits us to kill infants through abortion with impunity is now prevalent throughout the western world. This new way of thinking has produced a society that is extremely dangerous to minds and bodies of children (emphasis added).

“At the arrival of adolescence, teenagers are subject to the pressure and wrath of their peers, making them prime targets for brainwashing with the mind-bending process at which television and movies constantly hammer away at moral values and principles. Any form of self-discipline or restraint is usually ridiculed by friends and acquaintances. This develops a lot of pressure for conformity, until finally, many of our youth trade in their freedom for slavery and domination. Their behavior has been warped by the enormous social pressures coming through society. This opens the doors of temptation which carry many names: alcohol, marijuana, hard drugs, pornography, gambling, homosexual experimentation, premarital sex and more.

“It should be clear that one of our jobs as parents must be to keep these temptation doors closed, locked and barred to adolescents. It is frightening today to see that these doors are not only unlocked for many of our youth— they are wide open. It is no wonder that the kids who want to remain chaste are often made to feel like prudes and freaks.

“With the heartache and illness the loose humanistic standards are now causing for the families of our society, one would think responsible adults would be united in a campaign in opposition. But normally the contrary is found to be true.”

Does it concern you that the moral standard by which the American people lived for years has deteriorated more in this last generation than in all of the years combined since we became a nation? It is not pleasant to consider these truths. I would rather hear about the positives than the negatives. But when you are in a battle, you cannot afford to hide your head in the sand or you will soon face defeat. The spiritual foundation of our country is being eroded. Yet the majority of people, including Christians, do not seem all that concerned. They ignore the scoreboard!

FULFILLING OUR MISSION STATEMENT

We need look no further than ourselves to find the real reason behind the corruption and violence in our nation. As the cartoon character Pogo said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” It is imperative that Christians see clearly how Satan’s work of deception is bringing this great country to the brink of destruction. The Body of Christ has lost much of its light and the function of being salt. We have allowed society to exchange our commitment to righteousness for a spirit of tolerance toward the ways of the world.

The principle of Jesus’ teaching is that if Christians assimilate anything other than the purity of God’s Word, we will become contaminated and lose our saltiness. Our influence on society is dependent upon our being distinct from the world, not identical to it. Herein lies the problem. This is the reason for the bitter harvest of suffering and defeat. “But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength” (Hosea 10:13).

When talking about deception I am reminded of the story about a frog. The frog was put into a pan of cold water. The water was then slowly heated so that the frog didn’t notice the water becoming warm. As the water continues to heat to a boil, the frog is gradually overcome and never legitimately tries to escape. He didn’t become alarmed because the change was not sudden. Therefore, he paid little attention to what was happening. The results were he became a casualty to his environment by being overcome by deception.

The fruit of our society compared to the teachings of Jesus Christ is not a pretty picture. However, we cannot blame the people of the world. The people of the world will naturally do what the standards of the society in which they live allow. They are part of the kingdom of the world. They live in darkness! But we know better, and that is why Jesus declared that it is our responsibility to be salt and light. Are you one who has been slowly caught in the web of deception by the changes that have been taking place in our society the past 40-50 years?

Watch for Part 1 of “Deception Illustrated” on August 30^th, 2010.

Tags: commitment to righteousness, crime, deterioration of moral standards, drugs, fruit of deception, greed, humanism, humanistic philosophy, immoral causes, self-gratification, sexual perversion, social order, unethical conduct, ungodly standards, violence, web of deception