Isaiah the prophet described this better than anyone I’ve ever seen.
Preaching to the people of Jerusalem, he described the shameful acts of the people on the streets of the city (Isaiah 5:8-23, this passage shows those acts which displease God).
“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! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! (Isaiah 5:20-23).
Isaiah described people who ignored the counsel of God and lived according to their own understanding.
Jerusalem in Isaiah’s day was that kind of place. Those who spoke truth were judged to be evil; those who did evil were exalted.
It was the same in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. When our Lord cast out demons, the religious leaders accused Him of doing so by the power of Satan! What a preposterous idea. Couldn’t they see the silliness of what they were saying?
Jesus pointed out the truth. Satan doesn’t cast out Satan. It’s an absurdity. Yet, they couldn’t see it.
It seems to be the same on the streets of America today.
Last week two brothers–twins–lost a contract for a reality show for HGTV because of their “evil.” What was it?
They were men of faith who practiced what they believed. They oppose abortion and believe in natural marriage. What had they done? David Benham supported a North Carolina constitutional amendment that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. He also had protested outside an abortion clinic.
David Benham said: “Our show had nothing to do with any of the things that are now the controversy. But I also understand that HGTV when they called us and shut the show down, they said they had to make a business decision.”
What made the network seek them in the first place? “We let them know that we love Jesus, that we love people and we love real estate and we are good at what we do. And they saw there was no hatred inside of us, for any people, any individual, any human being, and they knew we would be a great fit for the network.”
We can’t do everything, but we can be those who follow the ways of God and do His will. We can be people who love justice, do righteousness, and walk humbly with our God. We can be people who trust in the Lord and who do not lean on our own understanding. We can acknowledge God.
Let us not call evil good or good evil. Let us not judge God or His Word, but, rather, let us allow God to judge us.
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4 Responses
It amazes me how time and history will repeat itself. We are seeing this again just as Isaiah and Jesus did. Thank you Father God for allowing me to walk with You and for revealing Your wisdom to me.
You are right on track! Living in a time where evil is so perverse, is difficult. Seeing the fulfillment of prophesy during our lifetime is not a pleasant experience . Waylon I wish more pastors were following God’s Word and sharing HIS message.
Blessings
Beatings, murder, rape, cruelties and sin of every kind are aired under the guise of entertainment. The message displayed before hand, “for mature audiences only”.
Christian programming is preceded by the message “does not reflect the views of this network”.
This ought to tell us something every time we push the on button.
May God bless these brothers enormously in their lives and work.
Thank you Pastor for your article. I discovered this disturbing act this morning and am just so sad to see so many luke-warm Christians just accept this behavior as the status quo. Thank you for communicating the truth that so many need to hear. God bless.