Friday, November 18, 2011

Penn State and Morality

As I write this article, the country is reeling over the news of one of the worst scandals to have ever hit college football. The scandal is so bad that a famous head football couch has stepped down from his position. I do not want to go into all the disgusting details surrounding the terrible events that happened at Penn State. For those who may not know about this incident, it involved a high ranking assistant couch raping young boys who were around 10-12 years of age. What made it worse is that many people knew about it yet did little or nothing to stop it.
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Today many are speculating about what went wrong at Penn State. Why did so many turn a blind eye? No doubt the success and popularity of the football program was a factor. Further the perpetrator, Sandusky, was running a program to “help” underprivileged boys. Of course what he was doing was hurting them more than helping them.
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Part of the problem is that not everyone in our country believes that what Sandusky was doing was wrong. There is actually an organization that is attempting to legalize the sort of behavior this coach had with minors as long as it is consensual. Fortunately most people are still appalled at such an idea, but how long before that changes. Just a few decades ago, most people were appalled at the idea of homosexuality, now it is simply considered an alternative lifestyle choice. How long before pedophilia falls into that same category?
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You may ask how I could even suggest such a thing. Proverbs 21:2 says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.” In other words, man can justify any sin in his own eyes, but God is the ultimate judge of what is right and wrong.
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Here is the problem. If we leave God out of the equation, who gets to decide what is right or wrong? Does the football coach get to decide because he is popular? Does Hollywood get to decide because they are able to use their influence to make deviant behavior acceptable and even popular? Does the government get to decide because political campaigns and politicians are influenced by the money given by pedophiles and homosexuals? Right and wrong should not be based on any of these factors. Instead it should be based on the moral absolutes of an unchanging God.
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No doubt college campuses have played a role in the changing moral ethic of our nation as well. Students are told that they need to accept the choices of others and promote those choices even if they believe those choices are wrong. At the same time those who believe in God and commit to following Him are mocked. Essentially there is tolerance for every deviant behavior, but no tolerance for Christ. Should we then be surprised that such sin would occur at a college campus like Penn State?
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Isaiah 2:20 says, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” It is time that we stop making excuses for evil and stand up for what is right. It is time that we stop trying to determine for ourselves what is right and wrong. It is time we stop letting other people tell us what is right an wrong. It is time we listen to God and let Him tell us what is right and wrong.

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