“And he [Jesus] said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”” (Mark 7:20–23, ESV)
In the 1940’s, schools most often dealt with students for the following offenses: running in the halls, chewing gum, and talking in class, class pranks. Recently, teachers were asked what kinds of offenses they must deal with. The list included stealing, rape, alcohol use, drug use, teen pregnancy, and suicide. It’s a whole different world out there. “Former Education Secretary William Bennett argued, "If we turn the economy around, have full employment, live in cities of alabaster and gold, and this is what our children are doing to each other, then we still will have failed them.’” (“Family Policy”, June, 1993, pp. 5-6).
There is a famous saying that “home is where the heart is”. This saying is meant to bring a warm feeling to a person’s thoughts with memories of a loving upbringing and tender loving care. Sadly, as moral decay grows throughout the world, more and more children do not experience loving thoughts of home. With disintegrating family structures and the loss of values being taught in schools, young people grow up in a world that is full of insecurities. You don’t know if your parent’s marriage will last. You don’t know who to trust. You don’t know when social media will post unflattering pictures of you. Values around marriage, sexuality, right and wrong are changing with the political and social winds. What was popular in culture five years ago has changed. What was considered bad is now good. What was good is now bad. All this uncertainty has taken its toll, encouraged by the loss of values and the disintegration of the faithful family.
The human heart is now pressed to be more worldly. Social media influencers denigrate things like the Ten Commandments. TV shows suggest a majority of priests are pedophiles. Celebrities sell their soul and self-worth to make millions. Even manipulating an election is fair game. With this social moral decay, your heart will be affected. It will have to fend off sinful thoughts. It will have to wade through social norms to find the real truth of the matter. It will have trouble figuring out who God is or what Jesus truly said. Even Bibles are being watered down for public consumption. The more the world descends into sinfulness, the more difficult it will be for your heart to deal with the consequences.
In our scripture for today, Jesus dealt with issues of the heart. He wanted His followers to know that there is a connection between what is in the heart and how a person lives. A sinful heart will cause sinful reactions in the person’s life. Jesus taught that a sinful heart overflowing with “evil thoughts” will inevitably produce such things as “sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21,22). It is only a matter of time. When Satan turns a heart sinful, first will come the “evil thoughts”. Then, those evil thoughts will produce sinful actions. BUT, its not just the human heart that produces evil thoughts and then sin, moral decay in social media and political life and in entertainment will do the same.
Decades ago, a gay lifestyle or an abusive lifestyle was hushed up in Hollywood. Now, we have other things coming out of Hollywood that openly display the moral decay. Corey Feldman proclaimed in an article speaking about his own abuse, “Hollywood has a problem with pedophilia (the sexual love of children).” (from an article in irishtimes.com, February 10, 2020). Then there is the Jeffrey Epstein scandal showing that powerful people held young people and even children captive on an island for the rich and powerful to sexually abuse. In a recent poll of parents in the United Kingdom, more than 85% of parents complained that social media was damaging their children in some way. Half of those parents said that social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok “hindered or undermined a young person’s character or moral development”. Essentially, this poll proved that moral decline in the world damages the heart (especially in young people) and results in moral debasement.
Just when you think that the problem is with “the world”, let’s look at Christianity. Moral decline has damaged the hearts and souls of the faithful there as well. At a “Community Impact Seminar” put on by Focus on the Family, it was reported that “Two-fifths of self-identified Christians say do anything you want, just don't hurt anyone.” 40% of Christians at that event believed that it was OK to “do anything” that did not harm another person. This, to me, is evidence that even the Christian heart is being damaged by moral decay and the invasion of worldly ideas. Sinful public thoughts have now invaded the consciousness of the formerly faithful church.
In the 1940’s a professor from my own alma mater seminary called homosexuality a sin. In the 1980’s professors from that same seminary repudiated that belief. In 1794, the Methodist “Book of Discipline” taught many aspects of living a holy life. Every four years, that book has been revised and changed. During the time of slavery, southern Methodist churches adapted their “Book of Discipline” to allow for slavery. During recent times, some have advocated that the “Book of Discipline” should be revised to accept transgender pastors and rid itself of the “old theology” of quaint notions like marriage and divorce.
I am not advocating that all traditional ways are good ways, nor advocating that reexamining modern ideas in light of the Bible is wrong. I am simply stating that when there is moral decline, it will affect not only your heart but the heart of your world. When evil thoughts permeate your mind or the political and social arenas, sinful lifestyles will take hold. Sinful people will be lauded. Sinful acts will inevitably destroy lives.
As Jesus stated in our scripture for today, it all starts with evil thoughts. These evil thoughts then result in sinful actions. These evil thoughts and sinful actions can easily spread through public life, infecting and poisoning every part of our world. So, for today, do some self-evaluation. Are there any evil thoughts that have been popping into your mind? Are there any worldly attitudes that have poisoned your values or corrupted your heart?
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8, ESV)
There is a famous saying that “home is where the heart is”. This saying is meant to bring a warm feeling to a person’s thoughts with memories of a loving upbringing and tender loving care. Sadly, as moral decay grows throughout the world, more and more children do not experience loving thoughts of home. With disintegrating family structures and the loss of values being taught in schools, young people grow up in a world that is full of insecurities. You don’t know if your parent’s marriage will last. You don’t know who to trust. You don’t know when social media will post unflattering pictures of you. Values around marriage, sexuality, right and wrong are changing with the political and social winds. What was popular in culture five years ago has changed. What was considered bad is now good. What was good is now bad. All this uncertainty has taken its toll, encouraged by the loss of values and the disintegration of the faithful family.
The human heart is now pressed to be more worldly. Social media influencers denigrate things like the Ten Commandments. TV shows suggest a majority of priests are pedophiles. Celebrities sell their soul and self-worth to make millions. Even manipulating an election is fair game. With this social moral decay, your heart will be affected. It will have to fend off sinful thoughts. It will have to wade through social norms to find the real truth of the matter. It will have trouble figuring out who God is or what Jesus truly said. Even Bibles are being watered down for public consumption. The more the world descends into sinfulness, the more difficult it will be for your heart to deal with the consequences.
In our scripture for today, Jesus dealt with issues of the heart. He wanted His followers to know that there is a connection between what is in the heart and how a person lives. A sinful heart will cause sinful reactions in the person’s life. Jesus taught that a sinful heart overflowing with “evil thoughts” will inevitably produce such things as “sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21,22). It is only a matter of time. When Satan turns a heart sinful, first will come the “evil thoughts”. Then, those evil thoughts will produce sinful actions. BUT, its not just the human heart that produces evil thoughts and then sin, moral decay in social media and political life and in entertainment will do the same.
Decades ago, a gay lifestyle or an abusive lifestyle was hushed up in Hollywood. Now, we have other things coming out of Hollywood that openly display the moral decay. Corey Feldman proclaimed in an article speaking about his own abuse, “Hollywood has a problem with pedophilia (the sexual love of children).” (from an article in irishtimes.com, February 10, 2020). Then there is the Jeffrey Epstein scandal showing that powerful people held young people and even children captive on an island for the rich and powerful to sexually abuse. In a recent poll of parents in the United Kingdom, more than 85% of parents complained that social media was damaging their children in some way. Half of those parents said that social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok “hindered or undermined a young person’s character or moral development”. Essentially, this poll proved that moral decline in the world damages the heart (especially in young people) and results in moral debasement.
Just when you think that the problem is with “the world”, let’s look at Christianity. Moral decline has damaged the hearts and souls of the faithful there as well. At a “Community Impact Seminar” put on by Focus on the Family, it was reported that “Two-fifths of self-identified Christians say do anything you want, just don't hurt anyone.” 40% of Christians at that event believed that it was OK to “do anything” that did not harm another person. This, to me, is evidence that even the Christian heart is being damaged by moral decay and the invasion of worldly ideas. Sinful public thoughts have now invaded the consciousness of the formerly faithful church.
In the 1940’s a professor from my own alma mater seminary called homosexuality a sin. In the 1980’s professors from that same seminary repudiated that belief. In 1794, the Methodist “Book of Discipline” taught many aspects of living a holy life. Every four years, that book has been revised and changed. During the time of slavery, southern Methodist churches adapted their “Book of Discipline” to allow for slavery. During recent times, some have advocated that the “Book of Discipline” should be revised to accept transgender pastors and rid itself of the “old theology” of quaint notions like marriage and divorce.
I am not advocating that all traditional ways are good ways, nor advocating that reexamining modern ideas in light of the Bible is wrong. I am simply stating that when there is moral decline, it will affect not only your heart but the heart of your world. When evil thoughts permeate your mind or the political and social arenas, sinful lifestyles will take hold. Sinful people will be lauded. Sinful acts will inevitably destroy lives.
As Jesus stated in our scripture for today, it all starts with evil thoughts. These evil thoughts then result in sinful actions. These evil thoughts and sinful actions can easily spread through public life, infecting and poisoning every part of our world. So, for today, do some self-evaluation. Are there any evil thoughts that have been popping into your mind? Are there any worldly attitudes that have poisoned your values or corrupted your heart?
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8, ESV)