Faithless Folly

November 2

(Psalm 119:155-159 NIV) “Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees. {156} Your compassion is great, O Lord; preserve my life according to your laws. {157} Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes. {158} I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word. {159} See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O Lord, according to your love.”

(Romans 1:28-32 NIV) “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. {29} They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, {30} slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; {31} they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. {32} Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

Yesterday we read that God is near -- today we read that “salvation is far from the wicked”. Are both statements true? Yes! God loves us, but man’s depravity blocks that love. When a culture does not seek God, faithless generations rise up and the knowledge of God wanes. This causes a death spiral of aberrant behavior, contaminating entire nations. People become hostile to God and begin to consistently ignore His precepts. Greed, gossip, arrogance, boasting, slander, and even murder, are normalized. As our hearts grow harder, our lives become senseless, our behaviors become ruthless, and our religion becomes faithless. When we refuse to believe God… when we keep the Lord at a distance… when we squander our lives in unbelief… we move dangerously close to the event horizon of the black hole of godless eternity. Turn back while there is still time! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day