As we enter a new decade, it is amazing to look at how humans have messed up the world in which we live.
As always, the problem is sin (cf. Romans 3:23), and one has only to look at the headlines of the day to see how decrepit our world has become. Let me give you a sample, taken from some of yesterday’s headlines:
New Year Drunks Should Pay for Hospital Care? Taken from a Reuters report, the headline references the toll intoxication is taking upon Great Britain’s public health care program. British citizens do not have to pay for their health care, and in the last decade hospitalization for alcohol intoxication has doubled. The government is considering charging the equivalent of $845 to anyone who is admitted to the hospital in a drunken stupor. (Health care costs for alcohol related illness in Great Britain are in the area of 5 billion dollars a year).
No New Year’s Toasts in Sauna, Russians Urged. Another alcohol related story from Reuters quotes the Russian Emergencies Minister warning Russians that drinking their favored Vodka or Beer in a Sauna could be fatal. The story states that thousands of Russians hold alcohol fueled New Year’s parties in saunas every year. “Maybe this sounds funny… But many people die in saunas,” Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
“Sexting” in U.S. Banned Word List. This Reuters article refers to a linguist group at Lake Superior State University that compiles a list of words each year they believe should be banned from the English language. One such term, “sexting,” refers to text messages (on cell phones) that contain sexual content. This is, unfortunately, very common. Especially among young people. In the past, such behavior on the computer (internet) has led to extra-marital affairs and broken homes. Not to mention promiscuity among the young.
Obama Cites Apparent al-Qaida Link in Bomb Plot. This Associated Press article reports a quote from President Barack Obama stating that the attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253 on Christmas day by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was planned and implemented by the Muslim terrorist organization, al-Qaida. Interestingly, nowhere in the article was there a reference to the religion of Islam. Abdulmutallab and the al-Quaida organization were referred to as terrorists on four occasions, and extremists another three times, but never as Muslims. For some reason our leaders are unwilling to identify and condemn the religious system that foments the terrorist acts.
So there you have it, debauchery, immorality, false religion and violence. And that is just from four stories in a single day, as the year 2010 begins. These are not exceptional for our time, they are the norm.
We, of course, have to live “in” the world… But, we certainly do not have to be “of” the world (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Consider and follow the exhortation of Paul, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
