The shift in moral thinking and behavior began slowly but soon it was picking up speed. Two early indicators of the change as seen in the 80’s were the bumper sticker urging, “If it feels good, do it!” and the song lyrics stating “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.” As the prevailing system of thought shifted from “Modern” to “Post-Modern” the lines between right and wrong became more and more blurred until now for many people there are no lines at all. One at a time, the original ten commandments have been chipped away until the tablets of stone are blank.

“There is nothing that is always right and nothing that is always wrong.” “The culture in which you are living determines what is right and wrong. So, if your culture sees nothing wrong with killing and eating your enemies, then it becomes right for all the people in your culture.” These are two statements I heard in about 1990 from otherwise very capable university professors. This view of ethics legitimized the behavior that has morphed into promiscuous sex of all sorts, severe drug and alcohol problems, looting of stores, brazen shoplifting, rioting in the streets, and random senseless killings. While acknowledging some legitimate need for abortion, we can add the raucous demand for the unlimited right to sacrifice unborn children on the altar of self. Once the boundaries become arbitrary, they soon disappear.

Part of the problem is that professing Christians have also been shaped by this thinking. We’re not in the lead in the behavior change, but we often are following close behind. While churches are doing a better job of extending mercy to all sinners, we must not lose our sense of right and wrong. Acceptance of the saving message of the gospel begins with repentance. But if we humans get to set the boundaries and we declare that all accountability is circumstantial then there is no need to repent and there is no sin.

We’re not beyond hope. People still respect the speed limit (most of the time) and most of us have not thrown any rocks through store windows. But the slide into anarchy must be stopped. And it can only be stopped by people who hold to an eternal value system given to us by God.

Our creator knows how we function and what we need. Laws and concepts emanating from him always are designed to enable us to function at our best. Any time we move away from those principles, we will encounter various degrees of difficulty. Our task as people of the kingdom of God is first to live by God’s expectations of us and then to teach and encourage others to do the same.