Spiraling Downward

I didn’t sleep much last night.  My heart was so heavy that resting just seemed impossible.

I feel like the world is on a high speed roller coaster and we are all in the cars going down the track in anticipation of that moment when the cars suddenly start going back up…but that moment never arrives.  It is a ride where the track just keeps spiraling downward and we know that at some point we have to crash and life, as we know it, will be over. 

It is so easy to point fingers these days.  Blaming the court system for condoning same sex marriage and viewing videos of very sick individuals glibly talking about “crunching” babies…comes rather easily for most of us.  But that wasn’t what was on my mind.  What kept rumbling through my thoughts was the fact that this downward spiral began a very long time ago and we as Christians have let it happen. 

How did we allow all of this to happen?  By looking the other way…one compromise at a time.  Oh, each situation seemed rather harmless…none of them seemed to be that big of a deal.  But Satan knew that he could have the biggest impact by just slipping small things into our daily life that would someday lead us to where we are today. 

Some of our daily decisions have included:

*Deciding that PG movies really aren’t that bad…which led us to believe that R rated movies were ok because we were strong enough to handle the bad parts…which led to X rated movies or better yet thinking internet porn was ok because it was done in the confines of our home.

*Allowing TV shows to fill our minds that at first just slipped in a cuss word once in awhile.  That of course led to shows where many of the words were vulgar and so when sex was thrown into the dialogue and scenes, we just shook our heads but kept watching.  Then when the content began including people of the same sex living together and showing physical affection…we didn’t turn the station because even though we knew it was wrong…we stayed glued to the screen because it made us laugh.

*We taught our children that it was important to be in church on Sundays, unless of course there was a ballgame we needed to be at or a lake cottage that was calling our name.  There wasn’t anything wrong with these activities, but when we showed our kids that these events were more important than being in God’s house, our spiraling picked up speed.

*We agreed that it was ok to change the rules on our kids’ sports teams so that all the kids get a trophy; that way everyone is a winner and no one has to feel bad.  This has shown our kids that whatever we do should always make us feel good and make us happy.

*Our churches have decided to lower the standards for those in leadership because we haven’t wanted to step on anyone’s toes and make them feel bad.  Plus we figured that if we lowered the bar, we could find more people to fill open positions on our boards.

*Many of our Pastors have chosen to just preach “feel good” sermons…touting happiness and wealth for those who choose God.  Heaven forbid if hell was mentioned or social issues were addressed…because that wouldn’t make the listeners feel good.

*Christian couples have decided that premarital sex and living together is ok since they planned to marry someday anyway.

*Christians have wanted things to change in our country, but have been too busy to vote at election time.

And unfortunately, my list could continue.  I think we need to remember at a time like this, that as we point a finger, there are many pointing back at us.  It is time for us as Christians to fall on our knees, asking for God to forgive us of those times when our focus has gone astray and we have refused to follow the Biblical principles that have been set before us. 

Each day we face choices and make decisions that will either make us look more like Christ, or make Satan applaud as we experience spiritual death… one compromise at a time.  We may not be able to stop the hideous acts of others, but we can stop our own sinful actions.  The choice is ours to make.