“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20 NIV1984).The prophet spoke of severe judgment that would come to the rebellious Israelites for their sinful behavior. They were doing what was right in their own eyes.
Celebrating wrong and condemning right is nothing new. It has continued right up to our own time. We are in a cultural war. Our world is morally corrupt and headed for destruction just as Judah was. What the Bible declares as evil has been renamed in softer, less offensive terms. Here are examples of how truth is turned into lies and good into evil:
• Addiction is called a “disease” or mental illness, enabling people to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.
• Abortion is called “healthcare” or a woman’s “reproductive right.”
• Gender identity is based on how one self-identifies, totally rejecting God’s design of male and female.
• Marriage equality erases God’s design for marital union between one man and one woman. Instead, it promotes same-sex unions and living together before marriage as nothing shameful.
• Schools are trying to take away parental rights, believing parents should not be notified of what is being taught and shown in the classroom. Children are told not to discuss with parents any courses relating to gender identity and all forms of sexual perversion.
• Keeping biological men out of women’s sports has brought on a cultural war, that demands equality for transwomen.
Moral corruption doesn’t happen overnight. It is gradual. Vulgarity and inappropriate sexual behavior on television and movies were once considered sinful. However, attitudes have changed. It isn’t a big deal anymore; it has been normalized. Protesters and rioters protect criminals and oppose authority. Solomon wrote this centuries ago, but it is certainly applicable now: “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent — the Lord detests them both” (Prov. 17:15).
We shouldn’t be shocked at what goes on around us. It is normal behavior for an ungodly world. Paul’s description of depraved minds reads like a modern-day newspaper. “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Rom. 1:29-32). “The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men” (Psalm 12:8).
Christians must make a stand against evil. We will be mocked and labeled intolerant, but we must remember what Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).It should be an honor to be associated with Jesus.
In addressing sin in anyone’s life, we are to be gentle and respectful. Paul tells us how to minister to those who reject Christ: “Bless those that curse you… Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. Do not take revenge… but leave room for God’s wrath… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:14-21).
To love good and hate evil is to have an ongoing relationship with Christ through daily Bible reading, prayer, regular worship with other believers, and a staunch refusal to compromise our beliefs.
