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 Our
printer, Bob Craig, has a number of gum machines, which people
steal, break, and try to cheat. Bob often must take one apart to
remove "slugs" that have been used instead of coins.
When making one such repair he found the machine had been
cheated with a religious medallion, inscribed: "Thou shalt
not covet thy neighbor's goods."
A
lady of our acquaintance gave a hungry begging woman four quarts
of home-canned peaches. That afternoon her husband came home
from the office with — the peaches. He had bought them from a
poor woman who had nothing left to sell but some peaches she had
picked and canned.
It
is difficult in this amoral, or immoral society, to avoid a
cynicism that is harmful to a benevolent spirit. Even when we
accept self-sacrifice in order to serve others, a certain
caution is necessary (2 Thes. 3: 10). Sad to say, some brethren
use world conditions as their excuse for unfaithfulness — as
if adding another sinner to the pot would help matters.
One
brother learned that another brother was stealing funds from the
company for which he worked. So the first man "quit the
church" saying the dishonest man was to
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blame. Who else was being dishonest in
such a case? It hurts me to learn of church members who have
been less than blameless in their business and social relations;
and all the more when I realize the adverse effect this will
have on the cause of Christ (2 Sam. 12:14; Rom. 2:21-29). But am
I better than they if my God-allegiance can be nullified by
another's weakness??
Have
we become "Christians" only because our peers
considered it the "right" thing to do:' because an
earlier society endorsed "religion"? If so, we will
not long endure in the present social conditions. Some even use
statistics on homosexuality, adultery, child abuse, etc., to
excuse their own conduct. Such statistics only prove we live in
a rotten society. We sometimes hear, "If I am going to Hell
for this I may as well do other things I want to do." That
let the cat out of the bag. Those who believe in God, and
judgment, and eternal punishment — I mean really believe
— are saying, "I had better quit the first sin,
straighten up, and pray the Lord to forgive me."
If
this world's sin can be a legitimate excuse for sin on our part,
why did we leave the world in the first place? Or did we??
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