The Tormented Soul

I stepped out my door as the brisk morning air met me in the

darkness just before dawn. The many trees in our front yard
serve an umbrella of sorts, whereby even the light emitted by
distant stars goes unseen. A couple of squirrels scurried up the
large pecan nearest the drive as birds whispered the soft songs
of daybreak. This particular morning the neighborhood was quite
and still with nothing out of the ordinary as best as I could
remember (it had been awhile since I took inventory). I found my
way to the old park bench stationed on the porch where I would
spend the next hour just sipping my coffee and taking in the
beauty of God’s creation. I wondered how many times before had
this scene escaped past me as I hurried to work or some other
activity.
We live hurried lives. What once took hours now happens in
moments. That quickened pace has bled over into every area of
our living. Our food comes from express lanes in fast food
restaurants where distorted voices from speaker cones protect
the identity of those who distort our orders. Our television
programs are “TiVoed” and later ran in their condensed
commercial-free formats so we can see twice as many “quality”
programs in half as much time. Cell phones have made
communication instantaneous and without constraint (wonder what
our children would do if they had to revert back to the old land
lines with the curly cords). And oh those text messages with the
abbreviated words who could live without “FOMCLOL” or
“H8TBU”? The internet added a unique twist in the light speed
knowledge movement; I can check my email box and the news
from around the world without ever leaving my chair. We have
even hastened our spiritual lives, as I recently saw one church in
Mesquite has a guaranteed thirty minute Sunday morning service;
ten minutes of worship, five minutes announcements, ten minute
sermon, and five minutes of prayer. Yet even in all the rush of
this life we still have trouble finding time to accomplish the
things that matter most.
As I sat on the porch watching the bright red cardinal strut
across the hedge, it occurred to me that I had been somehow
sucked into the vortex of a hectic lifestyle. It was a gradual
transference not an abrupt change that brought on this fast
pace. I don’t recall a sudden jump in speed-o-meter of life. I
could remember times even during the last year when I grew
anxious of waiting for something that literally takes milliseconds
compared to what once it did, and in that remembrance I am
frustrated. When did it all become too fast for me to be
satisfied? Moreover why did it become too fast for me to be
satisfied? The answer, surprising as it was, seemed to be that I
had settled too close to the rest of the world. No longer was my
freedom mine, now I was just trying to keep up with a pace that
was set by those around me. As ridiculous as it sounds even in the
stillness of the morning my mind was racing to the next event of
the day. I was no longer enjoying the moment, I was only anxious
for what lay ahead.
A screaming alarm broke through the silence of my thoughts. I
could feel in the depths of my soul the brakes being applied as I
made the conscious decision to wait. I determined to slow my
thoughts and focus on a single moment rather than cram for the
entire day. I must admit it seemed as if I were living in rebellion
against all of humanity. Never had the air smelled so fresh, the
grass seemed so green, the birds sounded so sweet as they did in
that moment. Time stood still and all the cares of the day faded
into the background of the freshness of freedom.
I am always enthralled at how we slowly but completely
compromise our freedoms to the waves of those known as the
majority. It’s as if black holes of negative influence disarm us
with hypnotic trances that disregard intellect and morality. Many
of us even loose sight of our first love as we follow the Pied Piper
of social discord. I know that I am stating the obvious here but
we as Christian peoples have settled too close to the enemy’s
camp. Like a boxer who has grown punch drunk we have dropped
our guard and lost all ability to defend and stand our ground. You
may think that I have overstated the seriousness of this problem
but the fact is “Christians” are near equal with the secular world
in some the most deplorable sections of morality.
The trend is blatantly obvious as certain churches have not only
voted to allow practicing homosexuals into their rank and file but
are even propagating the sin with advertising it as righteousness.
I know I run the risk of being called a homophobe or worse, but
homosexuality is a sin it doesn’t stop becoming a sin just because
we bend the truth. Believe me when I say homosexuality is not
even the beginning point of the conversation as the Christian
world is adopting immoral aspects. Take divorce for instance, it
should be recognized that God explicitly says “I hate divorce” but
right now in any number of churches there are couples making the
decision to end their marital covenant sighting such problems as
irreconcilable differences. Divorce is sin. The church consoles
those involved, it prays for both parties and offers support
where it can, but seldom if ever does anyone in the church stand
up and scream “no!” When it comes to divorce we are guilty of
choosing sides’ husband or wife but we fail to choose God’s. I
wonder how many marriages would have been saved if the church
had the backbone to fight tooth and nail to prevent such instead
of standing idly by? The same goes for a plethora of other sins
that for whatever reason go ignored and accepted rather than
confronted. I recently went to a church that sat a time aside for
a tobacco break; I was shocked as the pastor gathered with
several members in stabbing a wad of tobacco in their mouths at
back door. Whatever happened to the understanding the body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit, it is not to be contaminated by the
pollutants of this world. Yes, I know I’m being a real stickler
about living to the Word of God, but the world doesn’t need a
church to stand with them in its sin; it needs a church that will
stand with them against their sin. I’m not advocating hate except
hate of sin. We need to love homosexuals but hate the sin of
homosexuality, we need to love divorcees but hate the sin of
divorce, and we need to love alcoholics but hate the sin of
alcoholism. I’m not saying it’s easy just that it’s mandated. There
are tough choices in the lives to which we minister but what is
ministry that agrees to continue on a path of destruction? Love
covers a multitude of sins but real love doesn’t turn a blind eye to
the harmful wrongs done within the body. There is accountability
one to another when love is displayed most fully.
Lot had made the choice of living near Sodom his choice was made
based on the beauty of the land. He knew his flocks and herds
would be well fed as this bastion of beautiful land beckoned him.
Second Peter two, verses seven and eight describe Lot as a
righteous man who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless
men. It goes on to describe the inmost workings of the heart of a
righteous man. For living among them day after day he was
tormented (vexed) in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he
saw and heard. Lot’s soul was tormented as he lived among the
sinners it wasn’t captivated, diluted, and compromised it was
tormented. In other words it hurt him to the core of his being
that men were ignoring the things of God.
Oh that the Christian body would so hunger and thirst for
righteousness that our very souls would be tormented by what we
see and hear taking place in this nation. Oh that conviction would
fall and once again we would be able to blush of embarrassment at
the folly of this age. Oh that our hearts be revived and stirred so
that we mourn the lost souls of compromise and complacency.
Forgive us our God for our every sin and shameful act, stay your
mighty hand of judgment that we might have time to repent and
be saved. Let us love as you have loved with a willingness to stand
with the sinner, against the sin.