It’s that time of year when being grateful rises to the top of our priority list --for most of us, that is.
Sadly, some people are simply ungrateful, and proudly so. When we see the deep division in our culture, the mob mentality consuming many people, an absence of gratitude – to other humans and more importantly, to God – - appears to be a huge stumbling block.
And actually, ingratitude forms a core ingredient of the “LGBT” community, the pro-abortion movement and the left in general. It contrasts sharply with the path along which we are led as Christians. Where does the unrepentant heart go if we allow it? In Scripture we know that human hearts are “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). But when we let the Lord into our lives, radical and positive transformation takes place.
Among homosexuals and the gender rebellious, parents and genetic heritage are often held in contempt. Heterosexuals are nicknamed “breeders” among these enlightened sexual rebels. But it doesn’t end there. In a bigger sense, there’s a ready dismissiveness of American exceptionalism, western civilization, and the peaceful affluence – a rarity in history-- we enjoy here in the U.S.A.
Sexual sin tends to be a driver of worldview. What I desire comes first, then follows an ideology that permits it, but sexual “freedom” is only the beginning. Mistreatment of other humans follows quickly, with self-destruction right behind. This is a total inversion of a Judeo-Christian ethic, where God’s revealed truth is paramount, and my human preferences are then measured and molded based on my trust in His will.
Substantially because of the contempt of those with outlaw sexual inclinations, the wonderful historical experiment of America is crumbling, as our Judeo-Christian foundation erodes. Disaster looms and sexual sin is a big reason.
America today is largely trading our heritage, steeped in legal and cultural deference to God as Creator, for a bowl of pottage, as Esau did in the famous Bible story. Those who are distant from God reject, dismiss, distort and finally, seek to destroy the marvelous created beings reflecting the wondrous design of our Lord Jesus.
In pregnancy, what develops within a woman’s uterus is not “her body” but a separate human, and failure to acknowledge this brings a whole range of subsequent tragedies.
What an amazing process God allows us to join, if we allow it. Yet are we teaching this to our children? An appreciation for human creation as a blessing and miracle needs to be part of every child’s early education so that when adolescent sexual temptation kicks in, this moral truth can override the power of premature desire.
But children raised on a “choice” agenda learn the example of young women giving thanks….. to Planned Parenthood. Here’s a recent post on a Planned Parenthood site: “I love Planned Parenthood. When I first started having sex I didn't want my parents to know - ever - but I wanted to be safe about it. Without Planned Parenthood I would not have been able to do that….Thank you so much for the service… it made a huge difference in my life!--- Anonymous.”
Yes, thank you, Planned Parenthood for making it easy for this woman to propel down a road of sin and feel comfortable doing so.
Then there are women who are “grateful” for their abortions, as on the abominable site, “Shout Your Abortion.” What we can be grateful for is that, if a person makes this tragic mistake and truly repents, God is merciful and will forgive that woman, that man, and heal them.
But in that womb is a human child, and no defiant masquerade changes that fact. God breathes each of us into life in the first place, and we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139). If we are blessed enough to be His vessels for the creation of other new lives, it’s an incredible privilege, not a burden.
Planned Parenthood is in the burden business, however. They don’t relieve a woman of a burden, but give her a new, terribly heavy one. The life of a human being can never be dismissed.
Pro-abortion allies do not stand alone with their hard hearts. Homosexuals and gender rebels are quite often dismissive of God’s blessings, and there’s a foundational reason. They’re embracing what is contrary to God’s creation, His wondrous design of them as male or female, made to unite with a person of the opposite sex. It’s not an accident that homosexual behavior as well as trying to change one’s gender usually brings a lifetime of social, health, moral and spiritual complications.
The Internet is replete with homosexual/transgender hostility toward parents, those who lovingly provided a home, allowance, support, and often college tuition, not to mention the child’s genetic heritage—and receive derision and scorn in return from sexually sinful or gender-deviant children.
The tears of these parents could fill a cathedral. God knows their pain.
Our current culture applauds the person who “comes out” of the closet, no matter what betrayals result from the pursuit of sinful desires. Recently, I was deeply grieved when a young minister we knew as he grew up declared his homosexual preference very publicly. But it was also stunning to watch those who claim identity as believers gush with applause for his “courage.” This is not courage, but rebellion, indulgence and pride.
Those who embrace homosexual sin or gender rebellion are declaring that God never created them—they create themselves. There’s also no gratitude for the cleansing from sin that they could embrace-- the free gift of salvation through Christ. But repentance is annoying to those who anoint themselves and practice self-forgiveness.
We must pray that more of these people heed God’s call on their lives through hearts that melt in tenderness and gratitude for His unappreciated hand in their lives all along, and also for the parents and grandparents who gave them life and love.
It’s time for fewer church potlucks and more actions of salt and light in our desperate culture, with Christians (including pastors) taking visible stands against the legalization of sin, degradation and death. These movements grow bolder and more defiant, ready to deprive believers of freedom to speak and worship. And will churches remain silent then? They may not, but it may be too late.
And gratitude will be replaced by something else—mourning.
Let’s not let it come to that, friends. Let’s take action in grateful response to God’s blessings, no matter what the rest of the country does.
