{"id":61183,"date":"2023-06-07T14:58:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T19:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=61183"},"modified":"2023-06-07T14:58:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T19:58:33","slug":"our-mixed-up-topsy-turvy-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-mixed-up-topsy-turvy-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Mixed-Up, Topsy-Turvy Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by Dennis Abernathy<\/p>\n<p>Our society can be described as running toward chaos. I am 77 years old, and today&#8217;s society is not the culture I grew up in. We are seeing more and more what the apostle Paul describes as &#8220;<em>perilous times<\/em>&#8221; (II Timothy 3:1-5). Today&#8217;s society is described in Isaiah 5. People were greedy, drinking had become a way of life, and enslaved to sin, they confused moral distinctions, to the extent that they could not discern between true and false values. They &#8220;<em>called evil good, put darkness for light, and light for darkness, put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter<\/em>&#8220;(Isaiah 5:20). Today, drinking is equated with a good time, sexual immorality is considered the gratification of a natural and normal urge, and rebellion against authority is looked upon as normal and right. More and more people are self-deceived and trust in their own fallible wisdom, believing they are &#8220;<em>wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight<\/em>&#8221; (Isaiah 5:21). Justice is perverted, and more often than not, the wicked go free, while the innocent are punished (Isaiah 5:23). More and more people can be described as &#8220;<em>Doing that which is right in their own eyes<\/em>&#8221; (Judges 17:6; 21: 25). Lawlessness and chaos reign. We are seeing this, not only in government but also in private lives and religion.<\/p>\n<p>Why are we heading in the direction we are heading? I believe at the core of immorality is unbelief in God and His Word, and the belief that man is wise enough to &#8220;<em>direct his own steps<\/em>&#8221; (Jeremiah 10: 23). Modern philosophy, driven by rejection of God and His Word, only has the gratification of self as the standard to guide men. What we are witnessing is described for us in Romans 1:21, and it is not a pretty picture. People are becoming &#8220;<em>futile<\/em> (confused)<em> in their thinking and their foolish hearts are darkened and professing to be wise, they are rather becoming fools.<\/em>&#8221; More and more we are becoming a society and culture where people&#8217;s desires, ambitions, and personal satisfaction is taking precedence, and a coming judgment of God is seemingly forgotten by a vast majority of people.<\/p>\n<p>My plea is for people to wake up to righteousness, and come to their senses.<\/p>\n<p>Think on these things.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Dennis Abernathy Our society can be described as running toward chaos. I am 77 years old, and today&#8217;s society is not the culture I grew up in. We are seeing more and more what the apostle Paul describes as &#8220;perilous times&#8221; (II Timothy 3:1-5). Today&#8217;s society is described in Isaiah 5. People were greedy,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-61183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-morality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55463,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/changing-the-label-makes-sin-more-dangerous\/","url_meta":{"origin":61183,"position":0},"title":"Changing the Label Makes Sin More Dangerous","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown One of America's great needs is to recognize sin for what it is. We are too prone to explain it away, or to soften its horrors. Wilbur Chapman tells of a distinguished minister who preached on sin, and one of the leading members came to talk to him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/11\/poison.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":34208,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sexting-is-now-called-normal-dating-behavior\/","url_meta":{"origin":61183,"position":1},"title":"Sexting Is Now Called &#8220;Normal Dating Behavior&#8221;","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Source:\u00a0Matt Roush, \"UM Study: Sexting May Be Normal Dating Behavior For Internet\u00a0Generation,\" CBS Detroit, 24 July 2012. Source:\u00a0Deborah Gordon-Messer, et al, \"Sexting Among Young Adults,\" Journal of Adolescent Health, 24 July 2012. \"For young adults today who were weaned on iPods and the Internet, the practice of \"sexting,\" or sending\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/episcopals-approve-transgender-clergy\/","url_meta":{"origin":61183,"position":2},"title":"Episcopals Approve Transgender Clergy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: \"Episcopal bishops approve blessing for same-sex unions,\" Associated Press, Omaha World-Herald, 10 July 2012. \"In a separate vote Monday, the full convention approved new anti-discrimination language for transgender clergy candidates and church members. Some dioceses already ordain transgender people or elect them to positions of parish leadership. But advocates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36434,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/intolerance-of-contrary-views\/","url_meta":{"origin":61183,"position":3},"title":"Intolerance of Contrary Views","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: The Tribune Washington Bureau, \"Pastor drops out of inauguration,\" Omaha World-Herald, 11 January 2013. The President invited a man to give a benediction at his inauguration, but when it was discovered that the man had stated in lessons back in the 1990s that homosexuality was contrary to the teachings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happened\/","url_meta":{"origin":61183,"position":4},"title":"What Happened?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores It used to be that we called things by what they were: What used to be called lazy is now called \"finding myself.\" What used to be called modest is now called \"old fashioned.\" What used to be called indecent is now called \"adult.\" What used to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29279,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-this-world-coming-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":61183,"position":5},"title":"What Is This World Coming To?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Thornhill We are now in the year 2021 and many are fearful of what the future holds for us. We wonder, \"What is this world coming to?\" To us older Christians it is certainly disturbing to see the present \"status quo\" (the mess our nation is in). As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Clock-195x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}