"I Am Ashamed"
by
Dennis
Tucker
Israel
and
Judah
were punished for their sins against God by being taken as captives. After a
period of captivity, a remnant of Jews returned back to
Canaan
. Ezra was one of the key men in the early part of restoring
Israel
. Here is a small portion of what Ezra said, "O my God: I am ashamed
and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen
higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens" (Ezra
9:6). He goes on, mentions the attitude their fathers had and how they
forsook the law of God, and ends with these words, "Here we are
before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of
this!" (Ezra 9:15)
Was everybody evil in
Israel
? No, but the nation as a whole was sinful. Today, I realize there are righteous
people. However, I am ashamed of my generation.
I am ashamed, because we are
a selfish generation. We were born during a time of prosperity. Our parents gave
us the very best they could afford and we came to expect the very best. We took
and as a generation never said thank you. We then expect our children to give in
to our needs, or at least, not be a burden to us. We expected our parents to
feed and cloth our children, the schools to teach our children morality, and
television to entertain them.
I am ashamed, because we then
took those very blessings to "invent" evil just like the people in Romans
1:30. My generation has always had the party mentality. In college, my
friends were spending their parents’ money to buy alcohol, drugs, pornography,
and sex. This generation has no shame, in fact, seems to delight in its sins.
I am ashamed, because we had rather believe a lie than the truth. The older
generation expected its leaders to be truthful and honest. We were taught that
George Washington never told a lie, yet we expect our leaders to lie to us. We
have lost the ability to be outraged. For nine months, a President lied to his
wife, his daughter, his cabinet, his lawyers, and his followers. My generation
made crude jokes about Bill and Monica and then acted as if nothing mattered.
I am ashamed, because we excuse sin. We look around and say, "Everybody
does it!" Yes, and everybody was evil in
Israel
and
Judah
. God still punished them. God warns us not to follow a crowd to do evil, Exodus
23:2. Besides, not everybody is sinning. Not everybody cheats on their spouse,
or their taxes, or in school. But my generation seems to think it acceptable.
I am ashamed, because we accept homosexuality, adultery, and fornication. It
used to be if a man was divorced, he did not have a political future. We now
have homosexuals in congress. Roughly half of my generation decided to just
"live" with someone. We did not need a piece of paper to make us
happy. So we acted like animals and had babies out of wedlock. My generation is
now determined to allow homosexual marriages and demand everybody accept it as
being normal. We have removed the ancient landmarks and are now adrift in a sea
of situation ethics.
I am ashamed, because we are not outraged about abortions. We have been told the
woman has a right to choose and the fetus has no rights. We can see life in a
rock from Mars, but can not see a life in the womb. My generation will vote for
a political party because of the party label and not think about Your Word. We
have made a distinction between what is private and what is public behavior.
King David learned that his adultery with Bathsheba was not private, but sinful.
It is my hope this generation will grow up. We will read Your Word and realize
that homosexuality is not an alternative lifestyle, but sin. Abortion is murder,
lying is something to keep us out of heaven, and the love of money is the root
of all sorts of evil.
I am ashamed of some fellow Christians. My generation has not studied their
Bible as they should. We have not learned to rightly divide Your Word. Some
Christians have not taught their children to place God first. They have allowed
their children to go to dances, wear immodest clothing, swear, and do whatever
their friends are doing. We have not learned to practice hospitality to
strangers and each other. We have not been concerned about the souls of our
neighbors. Instead of developing into elders, deacons and Bible teachers, we
have relied on the older generation to keep us going.
I am ashamed of my own
shortcomings in serving You.
It is my hope You will give us
time to see our faults and repent. We can still instill Your Word in our hearts
and in the hearts of our children. We can be a light to those around us and the
salt of the earth. You are gracious, 0 Lord, and I hope we will keep Your Word.
(Editor’s
Note: The above article was written, shortly after the “Monica Lewinsky
Affair.” The trend toward immoral behavior, situation ethics, and selfishness
as accelerated and not declined. The more I think about it the more I think my
generation owes the next generation an apology.)
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