Ten Sins That We Now Take Less Seriously - Part Four
He leads me …
In the previous three blogs we have had a look at how some recognised sins in the first half of the 1900’s were progressively ignored. People’s way of life changed, and their standards became laid-back.
One of the key changes was the loss of manners. Manners let others see that we cared about them, and this enabled everyone to feel comfortable in social situations. We saw that this was a practical application of, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ as taught by Jesus in Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:12.
Manners covered many aspects of life, but they came down to some basic principles of etiquette - consideration, respect, and honesty.
A downturn with these values led to a more ‘enlightened’ way of life in the 1960’s.[1] Changes to our general behaviour were in progress. This meant that the Ten Commandments which is the basis of most of our laws were being progressively disregarded. The ‘sins of the flesh’ listed in Galatians 5, were being ignored too.
Previously we have looked at buying lotto tickets, swearing, Game of Thrones, sex before marriage, and the inappropriate joke, but there are still some sins that have become forgotten that we should look at too.
Let us look at some more examples –
6. Idolatry
Most Christians realise that anything that becomes more important in their life than God has become a god/idol. For a man it may be a car that is being modified and for a woman it could be shopping trips. The car is unlikely to be worshipped, but the way that it is polished and looked after is getting close. For the woman it is all about what makes her feel good and what she really wants. There is the feeling of ‘Oh, that’s so cute’, and ‘What a great deal that is’, and ‘Look how much I saved’, and ‘Oh, I neeeed that!’[2]
If these types of activities are taking up more of a persons time than what they spend with God, it is not hard to see what the priorities are.
Probably the devise that has become an idol in most people’s lives is the mobile phone. They have so many features that enable us to be almost self-sufficient. Some of the features that they have include - a phone, a TV, a camera, internet access, sending and receiving verbal and written messages, voice activated messaging, a music player, an endless supply of games, a book reader, a fitness tracker, GPS navigation, a clock, and a budget tracker.
Satan tempted Eve so that she could be like God by knowing the difference between good and evil (Genesis 3:5). Eve accepted satan’s enticing because she wanted to be wise (3:6) but she refused to pursue wisdom God’s way. Instead she avoided Him and still ate the fruit.
Since then, mankind has pursued ultimate knowledge and power on our own terms, and as we have just seen the smartphone has brought us as close as possible to having that maximum knowledge and power.[3]
Having lots of ‘stuff’ is called materialism. But what does materialism actually do to us? Here are some thoughts -
· Materialism prevents or destroys our spiritual life.
Jesus rebuked the Laodicean Christians because although they were materially wealthy, they were incredibly poor in their Christian experience (Revelation 3:17-18). An obsession with materialism in the pursuit of happiness and fulfilment takes our attention away from God and what He is doing in our life. This means that we live in spiritual poverty. When we try to find ultimate fulfilment in something or someone other than God, we become idol worshippers. According to the Bible, ‘real life and real living are not related to how rich we are’ (Luke 12:15 TLB), and that instead we are to ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33).
· Materialism ends in ultimate futility.
The book of Ecclesiastes has a really powerful explanation of materialism. Solomon talks about his attempts to find meaning in materialism. He lived by his conviction that ‘Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself. I did not miss any pleasure I desired. I was pleased with everything I did. And this pleasure was the reward for all my hard work.’ (Ecclesiastes 2:10 ICB).
But as for the outcome Solomon said, ‘But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.’ (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NLT).[4] The Christian life is the only way to find true fulfilment.
7. Alcohol
At the beginning of the 1800’s alcohol was seen as the cause of many of the social problems of the industrial society, such as poverty, ill health, abuse of families, immorality, and social and economic instability.
Church groups like the Methodists in the 1820s and 1830s started temperance societies that required their members to sign pledges not to consume alcohol. By 1900 temperance campaigners were a major force in many Protestant countries. Scholars have estimated that at this time, one in ten Americans had signed a pledge to abstain from drinking.[5]
Since then Christian attitudes to alcohol have generally relaxed. Despite what Christians may have been taught, it is not a sin to drink alcohol. There is nowhere in the Bible where there is any instruction that condemns or prohibits drinking moderate levels of alcohol.
Drinking alcohol in moderation cannot be a sin, otherwise Jesus would not have done it. Jesus never got drunk, but He did drink wine. We read in John 2:1-11 that He also turned water into the equivalent of nearly 1,000 bottles of wine at a wedding celebration in Cana, and of course He also originated the Lord’s Supper with bread and wine (Luke 22:14-20).
The problem with alcohol is when someone gets drunk, their senses become unreliable. Then their lack of judgement means accidents can happen. Most of us have seen the effects of this at some time and can see why excess drinking is wrong. Being addicted to alcohol is even worse.
The Bible is clear about becoming drunk too. See - Proverbs 20:1, 23:20-21; Isaiah 5:22; Luke 21:34; Romans 13:13; Ephesians 5:18; Titus 2:3; 1 Peter 4:3.
What this means is that drinking alcohol in moderation is acceptable, but if our conscience cautions us on account of previous problems, or showing support for others who have a problem, then abstinence is probably advisable.
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Definition of Etiquette, Emily Post, emilypost.com;
https://emilypost.com/advice/definition-of-etiquette
[2] Should Christians Love Shopping? Emily McClements, Live Renewed;
https://www.liverenewed.com/2013/11/should-christians-love-shopping.html
[3] Apple’s Logo and Eden’s Forbidden Fruit, Brett Mccracken, The Gospel Coalition;
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/apples-logo-edens-forbidden-fruit/
[4] Ten Ways Materialism Brings Us to Ruin, Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries;
https://www.epm.org/blog/2019/Dec/13/ten-ways-materialism-ruin
[5] Thorpe, Jaishila Dabhi. "Radical Temperance: Social Change and Drink, from Teetotalism to Dry January". University of Central Lancashire. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
