Answers
By BGEA Admin • December 1, 2023 • Topics: Morality, Sin
Q:
My work revolves around making conclusions about many things based on data, surveys, and statistics. It’s staggering to see the billions of dollars Americans spend in the pursuit of happiness, a constitutional guarantee, so we believe. At the same time, the majority of people seem depressed and unhappy; it’s no wonder when the news is filled with violence and every imaginable evil. It seems there is a happiness deficit while evil overflows.
A:
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
People often look for shortcuts to happiness. The lust for immediate pleasure prompts us to think of evil as good. In our desire to get what we want, we justify calling evil good. The prophet records God’s Word on this matter saying, “Woe to those who call evil good” (Isaiah 5:20).
We have changed our moral code to fit our behavior instead of changing our behavior to harmonize with God’s moral code. Nothing is “fixed” today. We are not on solid ground; millions of people today shift from one side to the other. They are like misguided missiles filled with energy and ambition, yet talking about being stressed and tired. Why is this? Peer pressure from society is one of the answers. The undue emphasis on violence, sex, and the debunking of the home from the world of entertainment, has led many astray. And the church must also take some responsibility for not specifically preaching against these strongholds.
People are morally and spiritually drifting aimlessly, without compass or guide. A few pastors even contemplate that they may need to go back to the beginning and explain to people what sin really is. We do not need a Savior because of what sins we have committed; we need a Savior because we are sinners. God calls on all people to repent and turn from sin. “Whoever confesses and forsakes [sin] will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)
