The Fear of God

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”  Romans 3:18

If this one verse doesn’t sum up the state of affairs of our world, then I don’t know what does.  The Apostle Paul was writing about the ungodly, wicked men and women of his day, but our day is also filled with murder, theft, and unspeakable crimes against even the youngest of children.  People can’t get along with one another because of selfishness, arrogance, envy, and greed.  Some say that things are worse now than in the past while others say it only seems that way because of high speed communication, that is, we just hear about it more, and with a much larger world population, there is naturally going to be more people committing crimes.  I’m with the first group, and I can back it up with scripture.  In I Kings 14, after Israel had split into two kingdoms, Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, was king over Judah, and he and the people of Judah had turned to idolatry.  I Kings 14:22 states: “Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed above all that their fathers had done.”  In other words, to say it simply, the people of Judah were doing things that were more horrendous and disgusting than previous generations.

When I was a child, we didn’t have to lock our doors.  Some folks would even leave the keys in their cars.  Neighbors would watch out for one another’s children and lend a helping hand when needed.  People drove their cars without getting into road rage.  We hear nearly every week about some driver who pulled out a gun on a fellow driver, sometimes firing on them.  A family could sit down and watch just about any TV program without embarrassment or offense.  Men didn’t curse in front of women, and women didn’t usually curse, at least, not in public.  Now it’s hard to hear any conversation without some choice four-letter words being said profusely.  Of course, life wasn’t perfect and neither were people.  But even among unbelievers, there was a respect for the house of God and for His followers.

Now I know that everyone didn’t experience life like that, but that’s how I remember it.  There is a huge contrast between the 1950’s and today, and this turn for the worse can be traced directly to the fact that so many of the worlds’ inhabitants do not fear God.  I suppose that this should not take us by surprise.  If we pay close attention to scripture, we see that this is how it plays out in the last days.  Jesus said in Matthew 24:10-12 that many people will be offended, will betray one another, and hate one another.  Many will be deceived by false prophets, and because of the prevalence of sin, people’s love for one another will turn cold.  Those of us who do fear God and honor Him as the sovereign Lord of all can continue to pray that the hearts of folks will be softened, and that they will surrender to the will of God, but if they do not and continue on the road of self-destruction, then it’s “Katy bar the door”.