by E. Hubert Bruton
A good friend said once, “people are turning away from God and someday they will regret it.”
It also seems to me that everyday is less Godly here in the land of the free. Yet, I believe that while a growing number of people seldom think of our Divine Parent, God is with us always. Even the most fleeting moment of awareness of God can be a prayer. The thing that really concerns me is the lowering of moral values.
Hardly a day goes by without a program on television broadcasting subject matter which glorifies violence, base sexual behavior, and situations that seem to show how behavior has few consequences. Yet, the reality is that we have Planned Parenthood, abortion clinics, drug rehabilitation facilities, and a swelling inmate population in the country’s prisons.
Today the moral world is turned upside down. It is not like there never was immorality before now. The thing that brings me to great despair is the understanding that a low level of moral behavior is tolerated. We, as spiritually active beings, must awaken to follow a new dawning of exemplary behavior and show our young people the proper path for a moral life.
The world has been given scriptures to guide our earthly steps. Each Divine Guidance is a promise or covenant which tells us that when we live the goodly life we please God and uplift ourselves. Why then do people choose the wrong path? Everyone can be tempted to be immoral; the real question is, when it leads to pain and suffering, why do we choose to continue on the immoral path.
I use to say that it was a little like hitting one’s fingers with a hammer and then realizing that it feels so good to stop banging them. The other side of that analogy is that a carpenter has to always hold a nail thus runs the risk of hammering his finger over and over again. The real lesson of the skilled carpenter is that while there is danger all around him, by staying focused on the work he can safely get the job done, and by not hurting himself he can be an example to all the other young carpenters. Learning the pain of the hammer is a little like acquiring wisdom.
God has given each of us the blessing of reason, but wisdom is what we must learn for ourselves. God is always with us, loves us and brings us to a greater understanding of Himself even if we choose the rocky road. I like to think metaphorically of our Divine Parent as being as close as every spiritual cell of our soul’s DNA. Perhaps that is why the scriptures tell us of God’s love and willingness to forgive us. That forgiveness is always there, yet it seems to me that we have obligations if we are to receive the full measure. We must live the life; we must walk the walk; and we must talk the talk.
As spiritual beings can we do our part to uplift high morality? Can we as parents encourage the highest standard of behavior within the family? Can the body of the church be a moral light for the young souls? Is it possible for our spiritual leaders to be compassionate without yielding to temptation? I think the answer to these questions is, “yes.” Through prayer, devotion to scripture, and strengthening each other against the mass hysteria of moral decay we can reverse the trend. Let it all start in our heart.