| Bullet Blocker is an American company specializing in products intended for self-protection. They offer bulletproof clothing, backpacks, briefcases, and other items. Unsurprisingly, their sales of backpacks have soared after the shooting in Parkland, Florida.In other news, Switzerland has made it illegal to boil a live lobster. The Swiss say this method of killing lobsters is cruel since the crustaceans can sense pain. Authorities recommend electrocution or sedating the lobster by dipping it into saltwater and then thrusting a knife into its brain.
The new law also gives domestic pets further protections. For instance, dogs can no longer be punished for barking.
Consider that abortion is legal in Switzerland and is covered by the country’s mandatory health insurance. While their abortion rate is less than half that of the US, one in five women in Switzerland will have an abortion at some point in their lives.
Any pregnancy in Switzerland can be aborted before twelve weeks. After this time, a woman can have an abortion if her doctor believes her “physical integrity” is threatened or she will face “profound distress” should the pregnancy be allowed to continue to term.
Neurologists report that at twenty weeks, unborn babies probably feel pain more intensely than adults. Babies born at twenty-one weeks can survive. The good news is that most Americans want abortions to be banned after twenty weeks; the tragic news is that they aren’t.
And in Switzerland, the government has acted in response to the pain of lobsters but has left its abortion laws intact.
“Learn how to discern the truth”
Janet Denison has written a blog for Christian Parenting discussing the Disney show, Andi Mack. The program was voted 2017’s Top Rated Show for tween girls. LGBTQ proponents are applauding its portrayal of a boy who realized he was attracted to the same boy a girl had a crush on.
Janet notes that in 1970, 29 percent of American adults believed premarital sex was acceptable behavior. By 2012, such acceptance had grown to almost 60 percent. She concludes: “As parents, you need to help your kids learn how to discern the truth, and the lies that are represented as truth, in television programming. The popularity of shows like Andi Mack matters to our culture, and especially to our kids.”
I encourage you to read Janet’s article and her insights for parents. In helping us “discern the truth,” I’d like to focus on a principle that is profoundly countercultural today.
“Everything exists for the glory of God”
“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
In A Faith and Culture Devotional, theologian Sam Storms contributes an article titled “A Christian Theory of Everything.” Here is that “theory”: “Everything exists for the glory of God. Everything-from quarks to quasars, from butterflies to brain cells-was created and is sustained so that you and I might delight in the display of divine glory.”
How does this fact relate to us? Dr. Storms continues:
“Only humans are fashioned in the image of God. We are the only species that establishes schools and conducts research and preserves archives of information. We alone have been granted remarkable capacities to reason and reflect, deduce and conclude. We alone can glorify God by rejoicing in the beauty of his creative handiwork and relishing the splendor of his self-revelation in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ” (his italics).
When you consume culture in any of its forms, ask yourself: “Does this glorify God?”
Does abortion glorify the God who creates life at conception (Psalm 139:13-16)? Does homosexual activity glorify the God who creates humans as “male and female” and intends marriage to be the union of one man and one woman (Matthew 19:4-5)?
Does pornography glorify the God who made sex for marriage (Hebrews 13:4)? Does euthanasia glorify the God who forbids murder (Exodus 20:13) and numbers our days (Job 14:5)?
Imagine the difference in our lives if we developed the reflex of asking before everything we say and do, “Will this glorify God?” Imagine the impact on our culture if every Christian lived exclusively for the glory of God.
“The person who fears God”
Living for the glory of God will not bulletproof our bodies. We will still be susceptible to the natural laws of this fallen planet and the sins of fallen people.
But living for the glory of God will bulletproof our souls. It will keep us from grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) and lead us into abundant life in Christ (John 10:10).
So, here’s the question: Will you ask the Holy Spirit to help you live for the glory of God today?
Scripture promises: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). The Spirit “helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26) and produces “fruit” that glorifies our Father (Galatians 5:22-23).
Jerry Bridges: “The person who fears God seeks to live all of life to the glory of God.” Will you fear God today? |
