The Culture of 'Pick and Choose'

We live in a culture of subjective beliefs. We often hear in some form or fashion, “What may be wrong for you doesn’t mean it’s wrong for me.” In other words, sin has been tossed into the basket of pick and choose relativism. God’s Word, however tells us that sin is serious business. In a newspaper article from the mid nineteen nineties, Gary Richmond, a former zoo director tells a story about a friend of his who owned a pet raccoon. In the article, Richmond warned his friend Julie that raccoons go through a glandular change at about twenty four months old. It is at that time that they have often been known to attack their owners. Richmond recalls Julie saying, “It will be different for me, Bandit would never hurt me, he just wouldn’t.” Three months later, Julie underwent plastic surgery for facial lacerations given to her by her pet raccoon.

Believers and unbelievers alike can fall into the trap of the deceptiveness of sin. Sin comes clothed in an appealing manner. It promises more than it can deliver. It takes us into deeper problems than we ever thought it could. And the price it extracts is far greater than we could possibly ever imagine. Psalm 119:11 tells us, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

God’s Word is our shield against the self-deceptive notion that, “It will be different for me.” We are called to be different for God’s glory. His Word, His Power and His Spirit will give us the victory and make us different in the best sense of the word!

Blessings,

Dr. Joe