Oct
22
Written by:
Bob Flynn
10/22/2009 6:16 AM
Oral Hygiene — "You'll wonder where the yellow went." I remember the jingle from the Pepsodent toothpaste commercial. I suppose with the advent of modern dentistry we would not think of letting the barnacles grow on our MacLean's smile. However, what about the moral decay we see in the world society each day?
Morality
MORAL'ITY, n. The doctrine or system of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics.
The system of morality to be gathered from the writings of ancient sages, falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.
1. The practice of the moral duties; virtue. We often admire the politeness of men whose morality we question.
2. The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the divine law, or to the principles of rectitude. This conformity implies that the act must be performed by a free agent, and from a motive of obedience to the divine will. This is the strict theological and scriptural sense of morality. But we often apply the word to actions which accord with justice and human laws, without reference to the motives from which they proceed. (Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary of American English)
Oral Hygiene — "You'll wonder where the yellow went." I remember the jingle from the Pepsodent toothpaste commercial. I suppose with the advent of modern dentistry we would not think of letting the barnacles grow on our MacLean's smile. However, what about the moral decay we see in the world society each day? In the style of modern day politicians, I will tell you what the problem is and who is to blame for it. The problem is moral relativism and its all our fault.
If one refers to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy you will discover that the anthropologist asserts that Christians are the cause of moral relativism.
"The practice of Christian missionaries who caused serious problems in trying to change the sexual practices of the societies to which they came may have been one of the reasons why ethical relativism was put forward by anthropologists. Inappropriate generalization may have led them to deny that there is any universal morality that should be used by people in all societies to guide their own conduct and to make judgments about the conduct of others."
I guess the pumice was too gritty for a great many in the world as the moral turpitude of the flock impinged upon the various practices that (according to history) was the chief cause in the decline of the number of husbands and wives—not to mention the proliferation of sexually transmitted disease. Are moral standards that are based upon truth inflicting such an excruciating harm upon the inhabitants of earth that rebelliousness abounds in a way never seen before? No, it is the absence of Grace! One can wholeheartedly agree with sexual abstinence and wear the ring of purity, so much maligned lately on MTV, and still end up on the commercial for the pill that treats (but does not cure) genital herpes.
Can we expect someone, apart from Grace, to avoid even the appearance of evil? Not likely! Else why would the Apostle Paul write chapter 7 of Romans? With the law of my mind, I try to obey the law of God, but the law of sin and death gives me only one choice (paraphrase mine).
Continuing with our hygiene analogy, you could brush and floss with great exuberance and loose your teeth to scurvy for lack of vitamin C. Moral hygiene requires the life giving vitamin that only comes from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of citrus fruit we need the Fruit of the Spirit to infuse life giving qualities upon a valley of dry bones so that they may be brought into the land of the living. And if we are alive in Christ then it ought to effect how we see the world. If we see world through Christ's eyes our prayer closet will be full of His mercy and our hearts full of His loving kindnesses. If our heart is full of judgment only then the world around us just smells our bad breath. Oh Rose of Sharon be my aroma to a lost and dying world!
Copyright ©2009 Robert Flynn