While traveling recently, I was seated on a flight next to some very talkative ladies, who were particularly loud in their conversation. I was not eavesdropping on their conversation, as it might be perceived, for it was impossible for those in the seats and rows around them to not follow along in their high-volume chat.
These two ladies had just met as they were taking their seats. Their initial “get-to-know-each-other” exchange was especially alarming and eye-opening. The lady in the window seat said, “My daughter is pregnant with her first, and I’m going to be there for the birth.” From the middle seat, the second lady asked, “Is she a human?” “Yes,” came the hesitant response, “she is.” And then the second question, “Is she going with natural birth or are they delivering through your daughter’s ear?” Stunned, the voice from the window seat replied, “Um, it’s going to be a natural birth.”
Can you imagine hearing such a strange conversation? Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news: That was not the real conversation. The bad news: The real conversation was just as bad. I chose to illustrate with this fictionalized version first to highlight the absurdity of the actual questions that were asked. Although, in our day and age, what were once bizarre questions (like the ones in the fictional version) are now as ordinary as flying on a plane.
In their actual “getting-to-know-each-other” exchange, the lady in the window seat said, “My daughter is pregnant with her first.” The lady in the middle seat asked, “Is she married?” [STOP! Think about that question!] The mother replied, “Yes, she’s married!” And then, question number two. Are you ready? “To a man?” Stunned, the voice from the window seat replied, “Yes, to a man!”
It used to be that asking these questions—“Is your pregnant daughter married? To a man?”—would be like asking—“Is she human? Will the baby be born through her ear?” Absurd! Bizarre! Unheard of! But today, they are as common as getting peanuts or pretzels on an airplane.
How do you think God sees the condition of our society? We are not left to wonder. Romans chapter 1 describes a culture that “exchanged the truth of God for the lie” (by making up their own laws) and “exchanged the natural use for what is against nature” (by practicing homosexuality) (1:25-26). As a result, “God gave them up,” to do whatever they wanted to do and to suffer the consequences (1:24, 26, 28). Today, has God given America up to their own lusts?
Brethren, it’s time for us to see things (and hear things) as God does! Ungodliness must always rattle us!