Moving the Goalposts
“Remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have set.” Proverbs 22:28
Do you know what the trouble is today? We have nearly decimated the standards by which people used to live. We had limits as to our behavior. We knew when we had crossed the line of unacceptable behavior, and then would step back. Much that goes on today was not done years ago because we didn’t want to make a bad name for ourselves. We actually had scruples. I remember that it used to be when a young woman became pregnant out of wedlock, she would go to a home for unwed mothers and give the baby up to a family who would love and care for that child. I was that child. But today, young women have a “choice”. They can choose to kill the baby while still in the womb. Somebody thought that was OK so they convinced authorities to move the goalpost. They said “It’s not really a life. It can’t survive (is not viable) on its own outside the womb.” Well, neither can a five year old survive on his or her own.
I can remember when it was a shame to use profanity. When we heard another child say one of those four letter words, we would point and say, “Ooh, you said a bad word”. It used to be an offense to issue profanity or vulgarity. There was a list of certain words that were not permitted to be used on television programs. But, gradually, the profanity goalpost began to move towards an attitude of indecency. Profanity is heard on every street corner, nearly every television program and movie, in novels, on the job, and on line. The “f” word is used so much that people don’t even notice it anymore. It doesn’t even make the shock index any longer. How can they top it? And don’t even get me started about how the Lord’s name is taken in vain. It makes me angry, but more than that, it makes me sad that so many people have no regard for Christ who died for man’s sins. God said that He will hold people accountable who take His name in vain, that is, who use His name in an empty and meaningless way or as a curse word (Exodus 20:7). I think He also meant that He will also hold those accountable who claim to believe in and follow Him, yet show no evidence of their profession in Him. In other words, their profession in the Lord is about as empty as a bottomless bucket. People say that they are just words, but the words that come out of our mouths reflect the attitude that is in our hearts, and what is in our hearts is what God judges.
Then, of course, the way folks dress nowadays is quite reflective of the lax attitude toward wearing appropriate dress for the occasion. Even in church women wear clothes that reveal so much cleavage it makes you wonder if they forgot to Whom they were to be drawing attention. Men are visual creatures. It is their nature, and I would think that it was hard for them to not have lustful thoughts when they see a woman dressed so seductively. The women say that it shouldn’t matter what they wear; that it is not their fault if men can’t control their thoughts. Give me a break. And it is not only sexy clothes that has become the norm. What is up with showing most of your boxer shorts? There used to be a saying that “Clothes make the man”, that is, to impress clients, customers, etc., men and women used to dress to show that they were folks who took pride in their appearance and cared how they appeared in public. It is a proven fact that a customer who comes into an automobile showroom, for example, will get much more attention if he or she is dressed like someone who is serious about purchasing an automobile that if he or she is wearing cut off shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops. People do judge a book by its cover. That might not be fair, but it is what it is.
Scripture decries sexual sin as one of the most harmful sins of mankind because it is a sin against one’s own body. A believer is joined to the Lord in spirit and has the great responsibility to honor that union by keeping himself or herself free from sexual sin so as not to bring a reproach upon Christ. All other sins do not affect the union with Christ like sexual sins do. Today, if a visitor from outer space came to the earth, this alien creature would think that anyone who abstained from sex outside of marriage was some sort of pervert. This is how far the goalpost has been moved in intimate relationships between folks.
There are plenty of other examples as to how far we have gone in destroying the standards that God has set forth in His word to help folks live a joyful and peaceful life. I suppose the one that has done the greatest damage is the attempted removal of God from every walk of life. The goalpost of one nation under God has been moved so far that it can barely been seen. We can only hope that the pendulum of righteousness will swing back the other way, but I will admit that I am not very optimistic. I am still going to pray that folks will wake up, stand up, and seek God while there is still time because He is our only hope.