Word for Wednesday
Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ. Ephesians 4:19,20
Do you remember that line in your marriage vows that said ‘As long as you both shall live’? It seems today that that line in the vows has been replaced with ‘As long as ye both shall love’. Couples who get married these days (and most don’t even do that), they do so with the attitude that if things don’t work out, they can toss the marriage aside like last season’s sports coat or dress, and go on to another one. This lack of commitment in this most important of institutions is all part of the attitude of sexual impurity that has swept through society. The age you and I are living in is marked by rank immorality that goes far beyond what we could have imagined 50 or 60 years ago. With such slogans as ‘If it feels good, do it’, and ‘Anything goes’, there are no limits these days to the unbridled rush to explore the depths of depravity. There is a word for this depraved attitude; the word is lasciviousness. We don’t use that word much these days. And as Christians, we should know as little about it as possible. We have learned something better.
Our text actually explains what lasciviousness is: all uncleanness with greediness. This is what the world learns. They learn about the uncleanness in the attitudes and language all around us. The media are filled with messages promoting pornography, near-pornography, immoral behaviour, filthy talk and jokes, and lust-provoking images. The savage promotion of such deviant behaviour as homosexuality is rushing forward to the extent that some are even pushing to ‘normalize’ the sexual abuse of children. Oh, it’s very easy to learn to be lascivious these days. And it is made all the more pervasive because of the selfish attitude we see all around us. Everyone is ‘entitled’, we are told, to have whatever they want, and that includes whatever immorality strikes our fancy. Parents who display this greediness in their own lives teach it by example to their children. How do we as Christians avoid falling into this filthy mess? By learning Christ!
Notice that our text does not refer to learning about Christ. The world does some of that. There are plenty of books and movies about Jesus’ life and teachings. Some of them might even be worthwhile. But that’s not what our Lord wants us to learn; He wants us to learn Him. Just as sheep in a flock learn to follow and appreciate the care of their shepherd, so the Lord Jesus wants us to get to know Him personally and deeply. He wants us to feed on His Word so that we can become more like Him and follow Him more closely. He wants us to fellowship with His people so we can worship and serve Him more effectively.
Let the world give itself over to lasciviousness. But let us give ourselves over to learning Christ. -Jim MacIntosh