America faces an ethical crisis! Washington, DC has more than the usual amount of politicos on the take these days. News report this morning report that Tom DeLay, once the most powerful legislator in the Congress, will resign under pressure for alleged corruption. A rich lobbyist named Jack Abramoff has spread the wealth in the city to members of both parties. Former executives of Enron, Comcast, WorldCom, and Tyco - major corporations - have been charged with misuse and abuse of position and funds in their companies. Some elements of the military have disgraced themselves with abuse of prisoners in Iraq.
Is all this 'just business as usual' nothing really new? In a sense, yes. Sin is nothing new! From Adam, we've inherited a nature that resists God and good, and despite our highest intentions, we all fail too often. I join with Paul often in bemoaning the gap between my actions and my intentions. In Romans 7, he writes -For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. "
That said, I am convinced that our nation, as a whole, has lost her moral compass! For far too many people right and wrong is more about 'getting caught,' than being guided by absolute principle. Many of us have re-interpreted the Ten Commandments to be the Ten Recommendations! Being sexually pure, staying honest when tempted by a sweet insider deal, treating others with dignity are not seen as universally binding and morally right choices by many of us. Instead we regard those as ideals, but will readily discard them if presented an opportunity to 'bend the rules' without being caught.
So what's the answer? The common response to malfeasance is to write more rules, or to stiffen the penalties for offenders. This is what our society has done. But is it working? I'll let you decide after I tell you that more than 2,000,000 of us are currently in prison! As a percentage of population, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world! We all know that despite the proliferation of policies at the places where we work- policies that attempt to tell us how to relate to people of other religions and races, to define relationships between the sexes, and to establish boundaries for all kinds of behavior; things still go wrong! Yes, Paul nailed the problem - "Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me everytime."
The only real and lasting answer is for a transformation of heart and mind by the power of the Spirit of God. The conscience, battered and broken and weakened, needs to be healed by the touch of God. In Romans, chapters 7 and 8, Paul continues from despair to hope -- "I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved.
Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death."
This is truly what Christians celebrate at this wonderful time of the year. The new life that is much bally-hooed isn't about flowers blooming or rabbit populations proliferating! It is the emergence of a new spirit in us, one that loves God's ways, that triumphs over selfishness and sensuality. The Bible says that by the Power of the Spirit we live new, raised like Christ, to overcome the world, and thus become people who live with integrity in the beauty of true holiness.
Here's a promise to ponder. As you meditate on this Word- ask yourself,
"Is the beauty of real holiness evident in my life? Do I love God's ways and demonstrate the life of Christ in my thoughts, words, and actions?"
"Here is the new agreement that I, the Lord, will make with the people of Israel: “I will write my laws on their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people. “No longer will they have to teach one another to obey me. I, the Lord, promise that all of them will obey me..." (Jeremiah 31:33-34, CEV)
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