Today’s Reading: Judges 17; Judges 18; Psalm 89; 2 Corinthians 3
Scripture: Judges 17:1-2
1 Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it."
Then his mother said, "The LORD bless you, my son!"
Observation: This is the beginning of a very bizarre story. What I notice is that this mother is proud of her son for coming clean about stealing her money. There is no thought about the fact that he has bad character, being a thief who steals from his own mother, only that he admitted to stealing.
Application: I think it is a mark of a depraved culture where people take things that are shameful, or should be shameful, and elevate them as if they are good. And by that measure, we live in a depraved culture. Today, the lifestyles that are celebrated, the sins that are paraded, the bizarre that is normalized is remarkable. Just consider all the focus and frenzy about the recent death of a former centerfold model and the glamorizing of her sad and abused life as something worthy of celebration. Or the parades in various cities in which homosexuals demonstrate their pride in themselves and their practices in grotesque and unrestrained revelry. The mocking of purity, modesty, and virtue is another indication of the fallen society in which we live.
The bottom line is that we must not identify with this culture of sensuality and permissiveness. It is our duty to portray a distinctive holiness and purity that stands in sharp contrast to the popular culture.
Prayer: Lord help us to be beacons of purity in this dark world. May Your people portray your nobility through the way we live.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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