Fools dive in where angels fear to tread…
This one has been rambling around in my brain for several days and it leaked out a little on our class Sunday morning…so my apologies up front to any of you all who were in there and now are reading.
I have watched a couple of interviews and read one news article related to the Olympic Diver Fiasco, but I have stayed away from commentaries and opinion articles.
I am sure there are plenty of thoughts flying around along with tweets and posts and however else people express themselves…and I hesitate adding mine.
I tend to stay away from news items that are getting bombarded with commentary because who needs one more thought…but this one is burning in my heart so I am breaking policy here.
Unless you have been under a rock for the duration of the Olympics, you know that four members of the United States swim team got themselves in a bit of trouble in Rio…outside the pool.
It’s not like I am a rocket scientist but…as a mom and someone who has taught in schools, I could have told you in his first interview their ring leader was lying.
He looked about as convincing as Emmett does when he tells me he hasn’t touched his monitor…
and it’s blasting static right next to his bed…
and it was on when I left the room…
and now it is clearly off…
and the way he’s stammering around and avoiding my eyes and mixing up the story…
yep…
busted.
So the fact that he lied was never a shock.
What is shocking is how shocked everyone is that this young man has evidently taken to heart that whole “no absolute truth” mantra of our culture and is grasping it as firmly as he did his gold medal.
As I listened to the interview, where a seemingly baffled reporter tried to get him to say that the statement “we were robbed” is a lie, Ryan continued to repeat that it was whatever you wanted to call it.
So he called it “robbery” or “extortion” whereas the reporter wanted to call it, “paying for damages incurred during an act of drunken vandalism.”
And the reporter just kept plugging away, incredulous that the man would not admit any wrong-doing and instead claimed to be a victim.
You could feel the anguish of the whole country because the total lack of scruples and integrity is just blatantly obvious to many of us.
I would assume that most people are treating the whole thing as an embarrassment.
The quick withdrawal of endorsements would suggest that on this issue, there is still some kind of consensus on what is a “truth” and what is a “lie.”
But I think to myself, what we see here is a young man who has learned the language and customs of his culture well.
Increasingly we have been told that truth is what you believe.
Your truth…my truth…there is no absolute TRUTH.
And so we redefine things and values and standards to fit our own truth.
We have so many areas where this can apply, but let’s pick something even more controversial than this matter.
How about the sanctity of life…and how we define that ..
For instance, one person might call it “choice” or “dying with dignity”; whereas another might call it “taking the life of an unborn child” or “taking your own life to avoid the natural path of death”
Does that make you cringe?
Me too.
But does it sound familiar?
That example is glaringly obvious and there are others I could drag out, but I am more concerned with this…
some are so subtle they have slithered into the very hearts of homes and churches of those who have TRUTH-fully committed themselves to follow Christ.
I dislike leaving you without encouragement, but sometimes I think we need to take a good hard look at the stuff that is becoming the fodder of the late night monologue and stop laughing about the shameful fruit of deception.
I urge you to be cautious about rolling your eyes and joining in the jokes about these kinds of moral breakdowns that are bound to happen when a nation turns away from God.
When we all “do what is right in our own eyes”, it isn’t long before chaos ensues.
There is only one position for the people of God in such times and that is on our knees praying for God to open blind eyes.
Renaming sin and relabeling evil leaves us no need for a Savior.
If it’s all how WE view it, we have no need to repent …
no need for His cleansing Blood…
no need to be covered in His righteousness.
We truly must ask for His mercy and grace to be poured out not only on this country but around the world.
It is only His hand that can remove the veil and reveal truth, because He is TRUTH.
May God bless you as you navigate the slippery slopes of life in 2016… be encouraged…our God IS with us! Our God IS for us! Our God is…
the WAY…
the TRUTH…
the LIFE…. <3
Well said ! I heard it Sunday ,but it bears repeating! Deception is raging a war that confuses many, by definition. I pray for our children, and generations to come, to know the Truth and the grace that can only come from Him.
amen amen amen <3
Really good one, Laura! There is absolute truth, not mine, or yours, but God’s. I believe if the men are repentant they should be given grace, but to be repentant they have to admit they are wrong. Repentance and grace do not equal no consequences. I believe so many women who have had abortions feel guilt and shame (which I’m just going to be bold and say that is an admission they did something wrong-Satan is all over that). This is their consequence. My heart breaks for them, because God will grant them grace if they come to Him and let Him heal them. Lessons learned, I hope.
Thank you Susan. I feel empathy for anyone who struggles with guilt and shame because I have same for things I have done that I knew were wrong OR learned later were wrong. But I have sorrow for all who do not know Christ and who refuse to repent in order TO know Christ – because it is only Christ who can wash away that stain and guilt and shame. To know that He, who was without sin, bore my sin…this is everything. This is life to me <3 It makes me angry when the world convinces our young and old that what is wrong is right and what is right is wrong. We are seeing the fruit of so many years of turning our backs on God...being our own gods...truly the cries of the prophets reach through the ages to all who would have ears to hear. Scripture clearly says Jesus preached repentance...but we have to acknowledge our sins before we repent. Not popular, never has been. Bless you dear prayer warrior!