Does unpopular = wrong?
Also Titled: "Cough Syrup tastes bad...suck it up!"
So I was listening to the radio this morning and over the past few days I have been rapt with the punditry over Sen. McCain's choice for VP candidate, Sarah Palin. As some of you may or may not know, I received a minor in Political Science from Western Carolina (evidently a major in History was not sufficient and they required a minor). Well, I also abhor politics, strange I know. Well this whole business about Palin has reignited my interest in politics but this is not what I'm going to address here. In listening to the radio the war in Iraq invariably comes up. As I listened I couldn't help but hear the words "unpopular war in Iraq" echoing in my ears. Then this thought entered into my mind, if something is unpopular does that automatically qualify it as wrong?
This is where a culture driven by moral relativism has brought us. You see, the flip side is that if it is popular then it must be right. This can't possibly be right can it? Let me just run down some of the things that would be "right" if being popular made them so:
- Britney Spears
- Unrestricted free sex
- cocaine
- cheating
- drunkenness
- Tom Cruise
- Oprah
- laziness
That is to name just a very few. Now let us look at a small list of things that would automatically be "wrong" if being unpopular made them so:
- Taxes, or at least paying them.
- work
- charity
- the 10 Commandments
- God
- Brussell sprouts, or any other green veggie.
- colonoscopies
- dentists
- most of what Jesus said
Again, this is just a short list of things. I hope that by now you have guessed that I am not really going to address the war in Iraq. If you know me then you know how I feel about the subject and if you don't then I'll just let there be a little mystery in our electronic relationship.
The real point is that we live in a society that bases right and wrong off of what it likes and dislikes. Ever wonder why the old Gospel of sin and salvation has come under such heavy attack? Probably because it isn't nearly as "popular" as the newly reinvented Gospel of prosperity. Well, the fact of the matter is that what we like doesn't define what is right. Nope, as it turns out right and wrong are not defined by our tastes. Listen to what the Word says about this subject, be haunted by these prophetic words and how we are watching them come true.
"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths" 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ESV).
There is a reason that God has given us right and wrong. No, it's not to take the fun out of life and be an iron-fisted dictator on high. He gave us right and wrong so that we might have the most abundant, healthy, peaceful, happy life possible. If we lived life by what we liked and what we wanted to do we would have a real state of anarchy. No one would go to work. No one would pay their bills or taxes. With loving charity removed from society we would be inundated with the corpses of the homeless and helpless. The aborted bodies of children would be piled to the heavens. Killing would be the order of the day, that is if anyone could extricate themselves from their recliners. All forms of STD's would become pandemic and eventually society would collapse. I do believe that deep down we know that this is the logical outcome of this foolish notion that morals are driven by desires. However, like every teenager in the world we humans feel the need to rebel against our Heavenly Father and go at it alone.
Now, I realize this sounds awfully doom and gloom. Well, it should. However, we are not without hope. This, you see, is the Good News of the Gospel, we are never without hope. Christ is the Christ of hopeless cases, lost causes, serial killers and company C.E.O's, you and me. God has provided the answer to the toughest questions, Himself and His Son. He is the only answer and He tells us so in His Word, "I am the truth, and the way, and the life" John 14:6. We must only drop our selfish, proud, arrogant desires and ideas then submit to the Master, the Savior, the One who has given us right and wrong, the Author of creation and life. If you'd like to hear more about this One whom we bow to follow this link:
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=cc0817ac7221a8ce288a
So no, the popularity of a certain idea or action does not define whether it is right or wrong. In fact, it can be seen that it is usually quite the opposite. Generally speaking the right thing is not the thing we want to do or the easy thing. That does not mean it should not be done. If we continue down the road of defining morals by desire and popularity we will surely have greater problems than "an unpopular war in Iraq." It doesn't taste good in the beginning but the cough syrup that God offers for our ailment is the only cure, so we need to drink it.
So I was listening to the radio this morning and over the past few days I have been rapt with the punditry over Sen. McCain's choice for VP candidate, Sarah Palin. As some of you may or may not know, I received a minor in Political Science from Western Carolina (evidently a major in History was not sufficient and they required a minor). Well, I also abhor politics, strange I know. Well this whole business about Palin has reignited my interest in politics but this is not what I'm going to address here. In listening to the radio the war in Iraq invariably comes up. As I listened I couldn't help but hear the words "unpopular war in Iraq" echoing in my ears. Then this thought entered into my mind, if something is unpopular does that automatically qualify it as wrong?
This is where a culture driven by moral relativism has brought us. You see, the flip side is that if it is popular then it must be right. This can't possibly be right can it? Let me just run down some of the things that would be "right" if being popular made them so:
- Britney Spears
- Unrestricted free sex
- cocaine
- cheating
- drunkenness
- Tom Cruise
- Oprah
- laziness
That is to name just a very few. Now let us look at a small list of things that would automatically be "wrong" if being unpopular made them so:
- Taxes, or at least paying them.
- work
- charity
- the 10 Commandments
- God
- Brussell sprouts, or any other green veggie.
- colonoscopies
- dentists
- most of what Jesus said
Again, this is just a short list of things. I hope that by now you have guessed that I am not really going to address the war in Iraq. If you know me then you know how I feel about the subject and if you don't then I'll just let there be a little mystery in our electronic relationship.
The real point is that we live in a society that bases right and wrong off of what it likes and dislikes. Ever wonder why the old Gospel of sin and salvation has come under such heavy attack? Probably because it isn't nearly as "popular" as the newly reinvented Gospel of prosperity. Well, the fact of the matter is that what we like doesn't define what is right. Nope, as it turns out right and wrong are not defined by our tastes. Listen to what the Word says about this subject, be haunted by these prophetic words and how we are watching them come true.
"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths" 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ESV).
There is a reason that God has given us right and wrong. No, it's not to take the fun out of life and be an iron-fisted dictator on high. He gave us right and wrong so that we might have the most abundant, healthy, peaceful, happy life possible. If we lived life by what we liked and what we wanted to do we would have a real state of anarchy. No one would go to work. No one would pay their bills or taxes. With loving charity removed from society we would be inundated with the corpses of the homeless and helpless. The aborted bodies of children would be piled to the heavens. Killing would be the order of the day, that is if anyone could extricate themselves from their recliners. All forms of STD's would become pandemic and eventually society would collapse. I do believe that deep down we know that this is the logical outcome of this foolish notion that morals are driven by desires. However, like every teenager in the world we humans feel the need to rebel against our Heavenly Father and go at it alone.
Now, I realize this sounds awfully doom and gloom. Well, it should. However, we are not without hope. This, you see, is the Good News of the Gospel, we are never without hope. Christ is the Christ of hopeless cases, lost causes, serial killers and company C.E.O's, you and me. God has provided the answer to the toughest questions, Himself and His Son. He is the only answer and He tells us so in His Word, "I am the truth, and the way, and the life" John 14:6. We must only drop our selfish, proud, arrogant desires and ideas then submit to the Master, the Savior, the One who has given us right and wrong, the Author of creation and life. If you'd like to hear more about this One whom we bow to follow this link:
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=cc0817ac7221a8ce288a
So no, the popularity of a certain idea or action does not define whether it is right or wrong. In fact, it can be seen that it is usually quite the opposite. Generally speaking the right thing is not the thing we want to do or the easy thing. That does not mean it should not be done. If we continue down the road of defining morals by desire and popularity we will surely have greater problems than "an unpopular war in Iraq." It doesn't taste good in the beginning but the cough syrup that God offers for our ailment is the only cure, so we need to drink it.
Comments