“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21, NIV).
There sure is a lot of filth in the world we live in. Just turn on your television or open the front page on a Web search engine and there is filth right in your face. Shoot, we’re surrounded by filth and it grows every day it seems.
Is it only me, or do filth and evil seem so prevalent in our society that we sometimes don’t even recognize it as such? I rarely watch television anymore because the filth on it is pervasive in just about every show. Seems like the documentary channels are the only television escapes from the filth on primetime television. Even those channels are starting to air shows that are of moral question and filth, because, well, evil and filth pays and brings in an audience.
I wonder why people are drawn to it? I guess it is just part of our sinful nature that draws us to watch sin and moral decay on television or on the Internet. To me though, the more I learn of the Lord, the more filth and evil I see all around me─like being surrounded by the enemy. It’s everywhere. Commercials, billboards and posters in the mall: filth and evil surrounding us on all sides.
Now that I’m in Christ, I can recognize filth and evil like I can spot the sun rising. It is quite amazing to me that before I knew Christ, the moral decay and evil in the world was seemingly normal and acceptable to me: I didn’t notice it or pay attention. Now I find most things reprehensible. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive, but I can’t stand being surrounded by filth and evil.
Just recently, my sixth-grade daughter went to her middle school prom. She dressed very conservatively in a nice dress. She was very presentable in my eyes. Not immorally dressed to say the least. When we went to pick her up, I was appalled at the outfits that most of the girls were wearing. I mean, what parents would let an eighth-grader dress in; skimpy clothes with six-inch stiletto heels in a skirt that I would expect to see a 21year old wearing at a meat-market dance club.
This type of dress was not isolated to just one girl, it was evident that my daughter was in the minority of conservative dress because most were wearing clothes, or should I say a lack of clothes, which I found embarrassing to look at. My daughter then told me that some kids were “grinding” at the dance and doing other disgusting dance moves with each other. Not just boys to girls, but girls to girls. I asked if the chaperons stopped them and she said, “No.”
Come on people!
This makes me think of the acceptable filth that society says is normal for people now.
My kids were watching TV the other day, on a kid’s network channel. I thought I would sit for a moment and spend some quality time with them and watched some dumb teen show on this kid’s network channel. All of a sudden, two girls were making out! I was dumbfounded. My daughter said they do it all the time on the show. I asked her what she thought of it and she said it was disgusting, but otherwise she liked the show.
It wasn’t even isolated to that show. She said most of the teen shows that she watches have gays and lesbians and other inappropriate relationships (student and teachers) that portray that type of behavior as “normal” in society, which, for unbelievers is normal. To me, it seems that every show on now has some type of immoral theme to it. That’s why I don’t watch much TV anymore. I’m about ready to cancel cable.
Let me say that I’m glad my wife and I are saved and that my younger children know about Jesus and hopefully will follow our example. We didn’t raise our older kids as Christians since their birth, because my wife and I have been saved for only a few years. But we try to be good examples of God’s love and talk to them about Jesus. (Can you see their eyes rolling now?)
The two youngest recognize the filth of society and are more receptive when we talk about God. The two almost-adult teenagers, well, they are pretty worldly since we missed the opportunity to have Christ in their lives when they were younger. All we can do is set the example, surround our house with reminders of Christ, and most important, we pray for them a lot.
For the unbeliever, the filth and evil of society is normal and an acceptable part of their daily lives. But it is not normal. Once one becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, they will begin to notice how worldly the world outside of Christianity is. Those things that once seemed normal will seem disgusting. Those things that society is saying is moral will be noticed as immoral (gay marriage, abortion, etc.).
Adversity is always against us. The filth and evil is so pervasive in the world that I sometimes feel like I’m drowning in it. The world makes it so easy to sin because society has made sinful living a facet of society, part of our every day lives. Accepting what society has offered in filth and evil is an attempt by Satan to separate us from Jesus and our walk with Him.
Watching a TV show with gays and lesbians or the push for gay marriage is a way that Satan uses to try to separate us from Christ, convincing us that gay living is normal and acceptable. You know what? There are a lot of Christians who believe this is okay, even though the Bible is clearly against this type of behavior. Lust, as portrayed in advertisements and TV shows, is yet another way Satan works to separate us from Jesus and our walk with Him.
By inundating us with lustful visual scenes, seeds are planted to make us accept this unwholesome behavior. I could go on and on, but the gist is that Satan uses his power to introduce filth and evil into the world and also try to persuade Christians to stop our walk with Jesus.
Remember, Satan’s mission is to kill, steal, and destroy. He wants us to stray from Christ. And even more so, he wants unbelievers to never consider a relationship with Jesus by convincing them that what Christ stands for is “not fun” and is against what society deems as “normal.” Satan tries to make believers a bazaar fringe-group of society.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).
Even though the world is trouble and we are faced with these troubles of filth and evil so prevalent in society, we can be assured that Christ has overcome the world and if we are with Christ─true followers─of Jesus, we will still face trouble but will overcome the temptations of the world just as Christ did. When He lives in your heart and the Holy Spirit leads you in your walk with Christ, we can be assured that even though we live in a world of evil and filth, we will be okay.
Unbelievers, take heed of where you stand with Jesus. Jesus saves and sets-us-apart from the world. Accept Christ as your Savior and His words will be a saving grace for you. You will look at the world so much more differently than you do now as an unbeliever. What society says is moral and okay is completely opposite of how Jesus wants you to live and exist. He wants you to live in His love and peace, free from the ills of this world and the fall of society and its morals.
God loves you so much. He loves each and every one of us so much that He gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for sin, for your sins. To have eternity with Christ in heaven you must choose to believe and live for Jesus. Just knowing who Jesus is and what He stands for is not enough, for even demons know who Jesus is.
You must embrace Him fully and be willing to give-up the world to follow Him. You must give-up your worldly ways and actions, turn from what society is saying is moral and normal and hold tight to the teachings and guidance put forth in the Bible.
Once you accept Christ and delve into His Word and read articles, books, and such about Jesus, you will realize how depraved the society we live in really is and how far it is from what Jesus wants for us. Don’t choose Jesus and you will continue to participate in a world full of depravity and lies and moral decay with an ultimate destination of, hell. It’s a choice: Heaven through Jesus, or hell through continual living in the world without Christ as your Savior.
Living for Jesus will not make you a perfect person in this world at this time. We all make mistakes and will sin, but we ask for forgiveness and it is granted by grace. By accepting Jesus, your sins will be forgiven and your name will be written in the book of life and in heaven you will be perfect. You will live forever in eternal bliss with our Lord Jesus. By accepting Christ as your savior you will also be given the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will be your guide while here on earth, guiding you to stay on that straight and narrow path that leads to heaven.
Once the Holy Spirit begins to work in your life, you will see the world differently. You will see the filth and moral decay as it really is: Evil at work. The Holy Spirit will guide you to Jesus always and will impress upon you the things not of this world but on things of Christ and heaven.
The Holy Spirit will also change your heart. You will be filled with an unspeakable amount of love and compassion not only for Jesus but also for those you care for and love. You will want to do the things that Jesus has planned for you as His child and follower: To live for Him and become His disciple to bring others to Him in ways that He has planned for you.
Your life will change when you accept Jesus. Your eyes will be opened up to the depravity of the world and you will discover as you walk with Jesus, that you previous life before Him was full or worldly ways and evil. You will be amazed at the new life you have that is full of love and life that world could never fulfill in you and your heart.
God Bless
John Lysaught