MOVING THE MARKERS

In our world today it seems that not much remains the same and in most cases change is looked upon as a good thing by folks. For the most part I agree, who would want to live in a boring world where there was never any change?
Change however, is not always pleasant, nor welcome, even though sometimes unavoidable. There are some cases however where we should simply have the good sense to leave things alone, not to try and change or modernize them to suit our world. Our prayer and our goal should and must be to let God lead us in our lives and trust him to guide us in the right ways. A couple of thousand years ago these words were recorded for us: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12, NIV)

Much of our world deals with life the way the following little story does: "An older woman recently returned from her hometown and told a friend they'd spruced up the churchyard cemetery since her last visit several years past."Lots of new greenery," she said. "And families are together now."

"All together?" her friend asked, puzzled.

"Well," the first replied, "years ago they never much worried where they buried someone because everyone was a neighbor anyhow. They'd just dig a grave wherever it seemed to balance things. But they've redone it so people are with their children and grandchildren, instead of scattered."
The friend was aghast. "You mean they exhumed all those people and reburied them?"
"Oh my, no," was the reply. "We just shifted the Grave Stones and markers."

Our world deals with life's difficulties, its likes and dislikes; its wants and wishes far too often by changing the markers rather than changing their lives or their desires. Much of our world has decided that what they want is more important than, what some call, "the outdated Word of God".

A new problem? No not at all and at times, religious leaders, preachers and teachers are among the worst to do this. Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 23: 1-5, "Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach, they crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden. Everything they do is for show." (NLT) Jesus is saying that they moved the markers to suit themselves!

Today we see many examples of the world in general (as well as some of the religious world) changing the markers to suit themselves. Television programs and movies which would have at one time been banned and shunned and only seen in some illegal back room is now piped right into your home. Practices such as Homosexuality and Promiscuity are glorified and those who would condemn them are themselves condemned. Our society is being corrupted and many who are "official interpreters", can't see that they have moved the markers and our world's Ethics, Morality and Spiritual purity are being destroyed.

Do you want to know where the markers are supposed to be? Then go straight to the source, God's Word. He never changes and the markers are easily found by those who are willing to look! Jesus said of his disciples one time in Mathew 8:18, "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember?" (NIV) Another translation puts it this way, "You have eyes, can't you see? You have ears, can't you hear?' Don't you remember anything at all?" (NLT). How about you? How do you "See, hear and remember" concerning God's Word?