It was noisy! He went to a KISS rock concert with some friends. The bass guitar and drums dominated the capacity of the speakers occasionally backing off just a bit for the lead guitar to blast through. The group was singing but the words were indecipherable. Between what was being amplified from the stage and the screams of the kids in the audience there was no discerning the song being sung. If this was the norm for live music, he preferred the radio!
Live bands have continued to increase the noise level over the years – it has become the norm. The noise level in other areas of life have been on the increase as well, especially around pornography. In the article, Porn in the Digital Age: New Research Reveals 10 Trends, Barna’s research essentially says the steady infiltration of pornography through all media has been on the increase so long that the new norm is immorality on high volume. This has resulted in a hypersexualized culture and is influencing moral choices! The research reveals: moral ambiguity among teens and young adults; confusion around what actually constitutes porn; only 31% of young adults see porn as somewhat bad or very bad for society; and, teens and young adults today rate ‘not recycling’ as more immoral than ‘viewing pornography’. Moral ambiguity is not to be tolerated in the home or the church.
Turn it down: “Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord.” – 2Kings 23:24. In Josiah’s day, the kingdom was inundated with altars in high places and the worship of Baal and Asherah. It was noisy! Then the book of the Law was read in the presence of the king. King Josiah tore his robes and it got real quiet. He could have simply told the high priest to put the book back in the temple and let the status quo continue. The kingdom seemed to be doing fine in the midst of its spiritual ambiguity. But that was not Josiah’s make-up. He proceeded to take action, to not tolerate the ambiguity but to reestablish God and His Law as the foundation for the kingdom. “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”– 2Kings 23:25. Calling all fathers to step up as modern day Josiahs in the midst of the moral ambiguity that exists today.
It took a few weeks but the young man recovered from his exposure to rock music and converted to Country & Western a short time later. God is great especially when we turn down the noise and tune in to Him.
Prayer guide: Lord, it is pretty noisy in this world. It has been that way a long time. Over and over throughout history You have shown grace to individuals, leaders and whole societies that have turned down the noise and tuned in to You and Your Word. Equip me as a man, husband and father to rebuke the ambiguity that reverberates across all media and distracts me from You. Strengthen me in the disciplines of prayer, scripture, worship and study to tune in to You to a new level every day, to be a modern day Josiah in my home, church and community. Amen.
A faithful father rebukes moral ambiguity and tunes in to God through Jesus the Christ.
