A Great Decline
During the last year, Western society has suffered the worst moral decline since the 1980's. What's worse, it seems like no one's paying this any attention. This is a grave mistake. We should be alert and alarmed—much of our future, and the world's, depends on it.
The speed and severity of the corruption has been the most startling thing I've witnessed during my 32 years on this planet.
Proof is in the pudding
Now, before you write me off as a pessimistic alarmist who only believes the worst of the world, please indulge me.
Here is a list of just some of the disastrous events that have transpired over the last 12 months, and some that are imminent:
- Same-sex marriage became legal in America.
- Australia will likely copy the US decision in the year ahead.
- Transgender and gender neutral bathrooms are beginning to be introduced across the world.
- It was discovered that the US abortion agency 'Planned Parenthood' has been found guilty of selling body parts of unborn babies.
- A new restaurant is about to open in London which will allow its diners to eat naked. The Bunyadi already has a wait list of 32,000 people.
- Australia now has a women's fashion retailer (Honey Birdette) whose assistants wear bras while they serve its customers.
A crisis of culture
As alarming as these events may be, the change in modern mainstream cultural trends are equally so. Seismic shifts have occurred in the moral landscape of the entertainment and fashion industries and the workforce.
TV and movies now frequently contain blatant and shocking sinfulness, and people are eating it up.
The globally popular 'Game of Thrones' TV show regularly contains nudity, infidelity, drunkenness, and acts which would stun Sodom and Gomorrah. Even its 'good' characters revel and glory in their wicked acts and lifestyles. Shows like 'Dexter' and 'House of Cards' also typify this trend.
'Dating Naked' now regularly appears on Australian TV screens, as do shows about gossip, slander and vanity. Crime programs and shows which promote homosexual lifestyles and partnerships also abound, and in family timeslots.
What was once thought taboo and even unthinkable ten years ago now has free rein on our television screens.
Evil heroes
The movie industry hasn't escaped this pervasive moral free-fall either. 'Good' characters are becoming progressively more evil. Protagonists in films like Deadpool and Suicide Squad become involved in criminal activities themselves, even while going about stopping the 'bad' guys.
Filmmakers now seem to revel in portraying its 'heroes' as those who themselves reflect the corruption they seek to overcome. This leaves audiences questioning their ideas of right and wrong. The enemy is again succeeding in making the forbidden fruit of sin look pure and appetising.
The fashion industry is suffering its own morality crisis. Fashion retailers, designers and celebrities wear clothing that barely covers private body parts. It seems that nakedness—ah, sorry—'minimalism'—is now the new thing.
Workforce idolatry
The workforce is experiencing a subtler, yet no less harmful transformation. People are working harder and longer hours than they've ever done before. Last year in Australia, full-time employees worked up to $71.2 billion in unpaid overtime hours.
A spiritual relationship with God and adequate rest is being sacrificed on the altar of 'success', greed, pride and fear. This has turned work and competition into an idolatrous golden cow.
The world's morality is being sabotaged, and we need to be alert and alarmed in order to stand against it.
If we aren't alert to this great moral decline, we've likely already begun to participate in and accept it. Sin is like leaven—subtle and unseen to the natural eye. This is why Jesus told us to 'watch', to ensure we keep our garments unspotted by the world.
If we are not alarmed at this great decline, we've probably begun to wander from the truth and the heart of God. God is against sin and angry at it, and if we aren't, we're on the wrong side of things.
Standing at the crossroad
An alertness and alarm is necessary in order to get us to stand and act against this deluge of wickedness. We must pray for our nation and the world itself because if the current corruption continues to spread, sin will not be the only problem we face.
The consequence of sin is death, and if the current trend continues, the very laws and systems of our society will begin to breakdown and ultimately fail. This will lead to the ultimate catastrophe—the judgment of God. God will not sit idly by and watch the world destroy itself, and he will always have a quarrel with Sodom and Gomorrah type societies.
We have come to a great historical crossroad. We must therefore be lights in this ever-darkening world, those who reject and abhor sin, and intercede in prayer. There is still hope for this planet, but it is shrinking rapidly. We must be alert, alarmed, and those who act. As the Irish politician Edmund Burke once said, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'
Tim has lived on the Gold Coast in Queensland for most of his life. He has a BA in Journalism and Writing, a Graduate Diploma of Education and an Associate of Theology degree, and has taught in Christian Education for just less than six years. He enjoys writing, bodyboarding and watching movies.
Tim Price's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/tim-price.html