From The Pastor’s Desk. . .

A couple of weeks ago as I driving around, a talk radio pundit made the following statement, "We're not going to fix this economic mess until we fix our moral mess.  Our country is in a moral shambles, and until we fix the moral destruction that has crept over our culture we're not going to be able to really fix anything else." WOW, I thought myself!! You have no idea what you just said. This little nugget from a secular source under scores so much of what we face in the world around us today.

In the 21^st Century we are living right in the middle of an ongoing culture war. It is a battle for the hearts and minds of individuals. We find it in our political systems, religious centers, entertainment arenas, etc. "Situation ethics" have replaced moral absolutes. It has not been a sudden change but rather a gradual change that comes over time. If we recognize that the Satan the devil is at the center of this culture war, doesn't it make sense that he would attempt to make that change gradual so as mankind would not see or understand that they are entrenched in it? It is the old boil the frog to death in a pan of water technique. If you raise the water temperature slow enough, the frog will not jump out and literally boil to death. Mankind today, in this culture war we see, is boiling to death.

The essence of the moral mess we find ourselves in is rooted in a verse in Isaiah 5:20. Notice what it says, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

God inspired Isaiah to write down a passage that is timeless in its meaning. It is as meaningful today as it was when Isaiah wrote it. It is presenting very clearly those who would confound and pervert distinctions between morality and religion. Three times in this verse Isaiah makes a clear distinction between iniquity and moral uprightness by way of contrast. Notice; evil » good, darkness » light, bitter » sweet. In every one of these three statements of iniquity or sin who do we find out the very core of that attribute? Well scripture tells us that our battle is against the rulers of darkness. Who is their leader? Is it not Satan? He is also referred to as the evil one which goes along with the same contrast Isaiah is writing about in verse twenty. Finally he uses the term "bitter". Several times in scripture bitter or bitterness is used to denote sin. Countless scriptural reference tells us that Satan is at the very core of sin.

What we hopefully end up realizing is that this culture war we are in has been orchestrated by an evil genius; none other then Satan the devil. As man continues to try to solve his economic woes he cannot come to grips with the answer because the god of this world has blinded man to what true morality is. As an end result the world is paying the price in the form of an economic meltdown.

The good news is we have the answer; we know that the economic mess will be fixed. We just realize that the ultimate fix will be in the Kingdom of God when the economic system is fixed because the moral shambles we are currently in will be fixed.

Jon Pinelli