By Paul Proctor
March 18, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

Anyone with an ounce of discernment can tell that our world is losing it. Sin has its consequences; and it’s clear to many now that we are beginning to reap what we have sown.

Oh sure, there have always been liars, thieves, con men, murderers, drunkenness, debauchery, lasciviousness, perversion, profanity, blasphemy, violence and cruelty; but have you ever seen depravity so widely accepted in America? And, what a passion and pride we have for it now!

Brazen sin, as the Bible defines it, has become our cultural standard – the rule rather than the exception. That’s what brought fire and brimstone raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah! And we act as if that tragic story from Genesis 19 was just a fable – that the Lord would never actually bring judgment to the fruited plain.

But, God does not need America – America needs God.

We’re so proud of our depravity that we mass market now. It’s what America’s is known for around the world. It’s our trademark! And, selling our depravity as entertainment is no longer limited to the seedy side of society, but is now readily available in primetime and on main street in almost every format and venue imaginable, as news, commentary, business, music, sports, politics, religion, retail, drama, documentary, gossip, cartoon, commercial, sitcom, standup, talk show, game show and reality TV.  It’s on your big screen – it’s on your laptop – it’s on your radio – it’s on your CDs, DVDs, MP3s

and in 3D. It’s on your cell phone and on your home phone – it’s in your mailbox and in your inbox.

It’s on billboards, banners and in bathrooms – it’s in courtrooms, classrooms and chat rooms. It’s in print ads and in want ads – in pop ups and in previews – on t-shirts and tattoos and clothes you can see through.

It’s in analog, digital, high def and blue ray – it’s in musicals and plays both on and off Broadway. It’s in videos, in bloopers, in trailers and in teasers to tempt everyone from grade-schoolers to geezers.

It’s at the ballgame – it’s at the theater – it’s at the mall – it’s at the park – it’s on parade – it’s in concert in broad daylight and at dark. It’s in hotels and motels, in lodges and in bars – it’s right out your window and staring from cars.

It’s in clubhouses, bathhouses, crack houses and church houses – where cursing and lewdness are met with roundhouses. It’s in studios, spas, salons and in parlors – at clinics and centers that take credit or dollars.

It’s right on the shelves of your local library – It’s in magazines and tabloids where customers tarry at the grocery, the bookstore, the drug store and quick mart – with shocking new photos and headlines of gossip.

It’s at your kid’s school and in back of the bus – and hidden in lockers behind all their stuff. It’s studied at college in classes with teachers proclaiming their theories like humanist preachers.

It’s just business – a living – a career move – an occupational hazard – a hobby – a pastime – a charity event – a good cause – a talent – a gift – a vice – an accident – an excuse – a diversion – a disease – a disorder – a journey – a ministry – a memoir – a book deal – a good deal – a way out of poverty and a means to an end – not to mention a basic human right.

Sin has come a long way since the Garden of Eden, but its wages are still the same even though many would have us believe it’s all relevant in our evolutionary world – a sure sign of madness.

And where is the church in all this?

They’re right in the middle of it looking for market share with a designer Jesus.

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” –1st John 2:16-17

© 2009 Paul Proctor