Starting Point of Reference
by Terry Wane Benton
If I start with the premise or foundational belief that there is no Creator and Judge, then my outlook would lead me to believe that we got here by accident and that morals are just what we want them to be. Nothing absolute, and no accountability to anyone higher than ourselves. Sodom and Gomorrah wanted their morals to be that way. They were not wrong if their premise was correct. But if you start with the premise of "In God we trust," then your moral outlook is that we should be thankful to God and follow the morals He has revealed for us. You can see how people and society decline when you have the Sodom and Gomorrah outlook (Romans 1:20-28). When you learn that your starting point of reference was wrong, then, like the Corinthians, you repent and change your moral direction (I Corinthians 6:8-10). "Such were some of you." They got their starting point of reference right, and their moral sense of right and wrong changed.
You can't just pick a foundation. The two foundations are either godless or built on trust in God. One of those views is wrong and will result in godless immorality and, in the end, the eternal loss of good and well-being. It results in eternal misery (Romans 2:4-11). Why do people ruin their lives with drugs and alcohol? They have chosen a godless foundation. Why are pornography, fornication, homosexuality, transgenderism, and pedophilia such ruinous problems today? People want to follow lust over God. Lust grows, controls, and drives into more and more moral depravity. On the other hand, getting the starting point of reference corrected results in a better direction and a better result here and forever. When the Corinthians corrected their starting point of reference (trust in God), they made the wiser choice to redirect their lives according to the morals that come from God's holiness. We want to be holy as He is Holy.
What is your basic belief? What is at the core of your moral conscience? Is it faith in God? Or, is it all about pleasing your own desires, no matter how depraved they get? Your starting premise determines your life here, and that determines your eternal reward. Be wise about that!
