Jump Start # 804

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

Long ago, God saw that there were people in His nation that that abandoned Him. They were doing things their way and they were determined to influence others to go along with them. There is a series of woes strung together in Isaiah five that shows that God is aware of what these people were doing and that He was going to bring doom upon them. Whenever God declares, “Woe,” you can be certain that someone is in big trouble.

Our passage today, over 2500 years old, is fitting for our times. Look at the beer commercials on TV. Everyone is laughing, dancing, having a great time. Fun, fun, fun. They don’t show the guy throwing up because he was so drunk. They don’t show the guy pulled over for drunk driving. They don’t show the kids running from daddy because he’s dunk and abusive again. Good and evil have been switched. Light has been exchanged for darkness.

It’s not just beer commercials, it’s the thinking of society when God has been removed. There is no moral compass. Right and wrong become fuzzy. There is no standard. There is no voice calling for reason and righteousness. Wild and dumb ideas surface and take hold of people.

Look at any major college campus today. Students on the weekend act as if they have zero brains in their heads. Professors push liberal ideology that has not been proven and squash all thoughts that God exists. Young minds are twisted into thinking that dark is light, wrong is right. They leave those schools and become influencers themselves. More and more accept the idea that wrong is right and dark is light. A generation lives without any moral compass or godly reason.

Isaiah’s woes have become America’s problem. The substituting of wrong for right opens the door for the pleasures of sin. There is more to that. It breeds selfishness. It tramples hope, peace and joy. Depression, divorce, addictions, loneliness and emptiness fill vacant lives that are surrounded by stuff but have no purpose or meaning. And then the greatest fear of all, these lives some day come to a crashing halt. Death comes. Death always comes. What then. The fun, fun, fun is gone. The smiles that the beer brought are gone. The liberal teaching of the universities are realized, they have never believed in life after death and especially God. Now what? What a pitiful life. What an empty experience. What a defeated way. What fear takes hold of them. They want to believe but they don’t know what to believe. Empty, shallow existence is the greatest woe of all.

Is it any wonder that the prophet pronounced, “Woe.” It is woe. It’s not wonderful. It’s not getting better and better. It’s not a life to be envied or followed. It’s shallow. It’s superficial. It’s like the chocolate Easter bunny in stores. They look nice on the outside, but once you take a bite, you realize that they are hollow. There’s nothing on the inside. Woe is such a life. Woe is the destiny of such lives. Woe.

What’s the answer? What will change these things? What is the hope? The answer is back to God. It’s the only answer. Some have been tricked by churches who have given into this shallow and superficial way. They are convinced that people will not come unless you give them what they want. So worship has turned from being pointed toward God to pleasing a crowd that is just vaguely interested in God. Take away the rock and roll in churches. Shut down the coffee shops in churches. Do away with the plays and the concert atmosphere and do so old fashion Bible preaching and see what happens. Attendance will drop dramatically. Why? Shallow, superficial people are interested only in fun. Don’t talk about sin. Don’t mention temptation. Do away with accountability. Allow members to drink like the world does. Allow members to ignore God’s word. Change the focus from Heaven to here. Churches will do your taxes, walk your dog, wash your car, give you a cup of coffee, make you laugh, make you dance, but fail to tell you what will save you and keep you righteous. Has light and darkness been switched, even by churches? Has wrong been substituted for right?

The answer has always been the same, back to God. Back to God’s word. Back to God’s way.  Darkness needs to be exposed for what it is—darkness. Light needs to be shone. Light needs to be visible so all can see. Good needs to be upheld. Evil needs to be denounced. Call evil evil. Call darkness darkness. Show people what is right. Stand behind God. Stand with God. Those that mock goodness, woe to you. Those that substitute God’s ways for Satan’s way, woe to you. Those who hide behind elitism and arrogance, woe to you.

Back to God. Back to God’s ways. Back to righteousness, hope, love, joy and Heaven. Back. That is way! The way forward is back to God. Are you willing to go God’s way?

Roger