by David Gibson<\/p>\n
When I started working in the college cafeteria, two things bothered me: the heat of the freshly washed dishes I stacked, and the high-decibel noise of the kitchen. Soon my hands adjusted to the heat, and my ears to the racket. I got used to it.<\/p>\n
As our society is daily bombarded with increasing profanity, violence, and sensual entertainment, have we become desensitized? Sins that were once deplored in our society are now not simply tolerated, but even promoted with abandon. What once shocked is now “the new norm.”<\/p>\n
“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? <\/em>
\nThey were not even ashamed at all;<\/em>
\nThey did not even know how to blush<\/em>” (Jeremiah 6:15).<\/blockquote>\nA blush-proof society is ripe for judgment.<\/p>\n
Little by Little<\/h2>\n
Gradual exposure by degrees is one of Satan’s most effective ploys (I Corinthians 15:33).<\/p>\n
For all his faults, at least Lot was “oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)<\/em>” (II Peter 2:7-8). Lot never acclimated to the society around him.<\/p>\n
Have we?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson When I started working in the college cafeteria, two things bothered me: the heat of the freshly washed dishes I stacked, and the high-decibel noise of the kitchen. Soon my hands adjusted to the heat, and my ears to the racket. I got used to it. Getting used to evil? As our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[617,1308,255],"class_list":["post-97705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-apostasy","tag-falling-away","tag-tolerance"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13225,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-was-the-person-who-asked-god-to-roll-back-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":97705,"position":0},"title":"Who was the person who asked God to roll back time?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who was the person who asked God to roll back time? Answer: King Hezekiah was ill and was told that he would die, but because he earnestly prayed to God, God sent the prophet Isaiah to him to tell him he would live. \"And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, \"What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86267,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lets-not-be-narrow\/","url_meta":{"origin":97705,"position":1},"title":"Let’s Not Be Narrow","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Roy E. Cogdill via Gospel Guardian, June 9, 1955 One of the most dreadful things many people can imagine is that they will be accused of \"narrow-mindedness\" in religion. That scares them to death; the very thought that they might be considered narrow drives them completely away from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43146,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-we-do-about-our-new-minister-who-is-teaching-strange-doctrine\/","url_meta":{"origin":97705,"position":2},"title":"What do we do about our new minister who is teaching strange doctrine?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I love my church family.\u00a0 I really do.\u00a0 About a year and a half ago, we employed a new minister.\u00a0 He is more a teacher than a preacher, but he has several degrees and has taught theology.\u00a0 My problem is, I am not comfortable with what he says. \u00a0Most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18111,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-degrees-of-rewards-and-punishment\/","url_meta":{"origin":97705,"position":3},"title":"Are there degrees of rewards and punishment?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are there degrees of\u00a0punishment\u00a0and\u00a0rewards after the judgment? In II Peter 2:20-21 Peter states, \"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96433,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-so-many-myths-of-gods-births-involve-stars\/","url_meta":{"origin":97705,"position":4},"title":"Why do so many myths of gods’ births involve stars?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why do stories of many gods' births have a star at their births, such as Krishna? Answer: Mankind has long toyed with the idea that the stars controlled events. Astrology is \"The study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies and their supposed influence on human affairs.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93994,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-bible-teach-degrees-of-misery-in-the-afterlife-for-the-unfaithful\/","url_meta":{"origin":97705,"position":5},"title":"Does the Bible Teach Degrees of Misery in the Afterlife for the Unfaithful?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Several passages strongly imply that judgment varies based on knowledge, responsibility, and the severity of one's actions. Perhaps it will torture all, in various degrees, to realize how close to salvation they had opportunities, but did not pursue or take advantage of. 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