Our restless, suicidal generation
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The ocean
is never still. Its tides rise and fall, its breakers crest and dissipate, and
its waves roll on and on until they crash against a rocky shore or roll up on a
sandy beach. Its waters collect and propel unto the world’s beaches all the
flotsam and jetsam of the ocean world: broken shells, shattered boats, bottles,
broken plastic spoons, splintered trees and cast-off Styrofoam. The more
agitated the ocean becomes, the more it stirs up the whole mix of broken shells
and mud that in calmer times settles to the ocean floor. After storms
shorelines are littered with mud and debris.
How appropriate that the prophet used this image to describe the condition of men and women who jettison God and His moral standards in their struggle to find their personal nirvana. “‘The wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. There is no peace,’ says my God. ‘for the wicked'”(Isaiah 57:20,21).
We cannot expect a tranquil mind if our lives are a graveyard of broken promises, shattered morals, and shady practices. Instead, nefarious schemes will occupy our minds. Thoughts of past dealings with others will provoke bitterness, anger and thoughts of revenge. Unless we have denied the voice of our consciences long enough to dull their injured cries, we will be fretful, restless, and unhappy.
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God has
given everyone a conscience imprinted with a set of moral principles. But the
more we listen to the siren song of our culture’s ‘new morality,’ the more our
innate sense of right and wrong will be blunted and distorted. Sadly, our
culture has jettisoned belief in absolute truth. Truth has become what is true
to me. But this does not jib with reality. Whatever we think, two plus two equal
four, not five. Nor can we suspend the law of gravity and jump from a building.
Nor can we deny spiritual the spiritual reality enshrined in the Ten Commandments
and the Sermon on the Mount. If deny real truth, the result will be: restlessness.
Inability to find peace of heart. Broken relationships. Emptiness. And
tragically, the epidemic of suicide we read about in our papers.
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Paul
writes, “My conscience is clear” (1 Cor. 4:4). Can you and I say
that? If not, the only remedy is to bow to Jesus Christ, confessing our moral
failures, and asking him to forgive us our sins and bring peace of heart. Jesus
promised, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid”(John 14:27).
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When we confess
our moral failures to Jesus Christ, He will forgive us and soothe our troubled hearts.
Then the Storm-Calmer will reside in our hearts to calm the storms that sweep
through our lives.
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(Let me know your
thoughts on this subject. Further articles, books, and stories at: http://www.countrywindow.ca Facebook:
Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ––
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