I once read the following sermon titles: “What on Earth are You Doing for Heaven’s Sake?” and “What on Earth is Worth Going to Hell For?”  I did not hear or read the sermons but I think I can guess what the main ideas were.

I am asking, “What on Earth is going on?”

What is going on in my community? What is going on in my state? What is going on in this country? What is going on in media / movies / music? What is going on in the Church? Have we lost our minds? Have we lost all our scruples? Have we lost all morality? What happened to us? What on Earth is going on?

The time is now when people are angry, bitter, hated, and hating others. People no longer respect authority. We are disobedient not only to parents, but to teachers, law enforcement officers, government, and to God. Many go beyond disobedience and have become violent toward authority. What on Earth are we thinking? What is going on?

We scream for freedom to speak our minds, but are shocked when someone disagrees with us with as much fervor as we have for our beliefs. We want tolerance expressed toward our paradigm, but we withhold tolerance for the paradigm of others. What on Earth is going on?

What on Earth is going on?

I’ll tell you.  The same thing that has been going on for a long time – for a long – long – long time.  Go back and read the Gospel accounts. The Jews wanted tolerance from Rome, but were not tolerant of Christ and Christianity. Think about the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and the consequent Crusades when both religions tried to abolish the other with war. Think about Colonial America and the early years of The United States. Early settlers came seeking religious freedom, but often tried to force their religion on natives and other settlers even after our laws promised freedom of religion.

Thinking outside of religion; Consider western culture in the mid-twentieth century. There were race riots, anti-war protests, McCarthyism, and the list goes on. (The bonus video at the end of this post is “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. That song hit the charts the 50 years ago and is relevant again.)

Read back through world history and you will find that immorality ran rampant. All forms of sexual abuse, desires, and activities have been a part of every culture. So has theft, murder, avarice, dishonesty, chemical addiction, as well as every other vice

Now the question is what can I do? What is my responsibility as a child of God? At the very least we must do the following things:

1. Live for Christ. He is our life. – Col 3:1-4
2. Be an example to the world. – 1 Pet 2:11-12
3. Respect Authority. – 1 Pet 2:13-21
4. Do not live like the world around us. – Eph 5:11-12
5. Be compassionate when helping others see their sin. – Eph 4:15

-Scott

Bonus: