All In The Name Of Fun

“I do”….When these words join a couple in holy matrimony are a beautiful promise of commitment. When these same words are used to join Jesus’ church to the world they are ugly, filthy, vile and disgusting.

We, Jesus’ bride, have long believed that God has been withholding something from us (that belief goes all the way back to Eve, doesn‘t it?). Looking with longing at forbidden fruits always leads to being discontent with God‘s ways and commands. Discontentment leads us to outright rebellion and disobedience against the Lord (we, however, prefer prettier names so we label ourselves “progressive” “open-minded” “liberal”).

“We aren’t doing anything wrong” because “God understands” and “He knows that we are just human” and , after all, we “don’t want to be different” from “everybody else” because they “might laugh at us” and anyway “we have Christian liberty” and “grace covers a multitude of sins” so we can…sin.

Sin. It’s an ugly word. A word that represents everything that God isn’t. It’s a word that covers everything that put Jesus Christ on the cross; that caused His very own Father to crush Him under the weight of His holy wrath. It’s a word that we can’t stand so we white-wash it and dress it up in pretty clothes and dangle it with baubles and beads. Instead of “abortion” we “terminate” a “fetus” instead of “a baby”. In place of “drunkenness” a man now has a problem with “a disease”. Instead of being a “criminal” a man who robs and murders others had “a disadvantaged childhood” so that he “can’t control his impulses”.

We mask sin in other ways. Because we really like that movie…that author… singer … actor…or song…or because that comedian is so very funny…or everybody is doing it…we can overlook “a couple of references…they really weren’t that much” or explain that “it was only a quick nude scene” and, besides “everybody else will think I’m weird” if I don’t do what they are doing.

We might as well tell the truth: if we don’t please the world that is guided by Satan who is bent on our destruction…everyone will laugh at me.

Does that make you sick? It should. We would never, ever say that, would we? But, we might as well because that is exactly what we are doing. To say otherwise is to lie to ourselves.

We turn a blind eye to sin in the name of fun…as we embrace immodesty and its short-shorts, revealing blouses, tight tee-shirts, halter tops, mini-dresses, swimsuits…all because we really love looking pretty…and, anyway, “I adore swimming“…even though it means walking around nearly naked… but, “our youth group has this thing” and we wouldn’t want to miss out on “Christian fellowship”…and besides that’s what our “Christian” friends will be wearing…and the pastor says nothing. Neither do most moms and dads.
It’s not just kids. What about me…and you? How many of the songs on our I-pods are not honoring to the Lord? How long since we got up and left a movie (even though we paid $10.00 per ticket) because it blasphemed God? How long since we poured out our hearts to God long into the night instead of mindlessly watching television? How many of us make an effort, any effort at all, to teach the truth to God’s people or to reach the lost?

How long are we going to lie to God? How long are we going to pretend to love Him and His Word while selling our souls to the devil in the name of fashion, entertainment and freedom? How long before we wake up and realize that we are the ones who put Jesus on the cross…all in the name of fun?