Muted Addictions

 

  I was reading about a missionary who was working in another country, whose job was cleanup in a horribly contaminated swamp.  It was a hot day, and at one point a conversation was generated between a young man on the team and a newcomer.  The newcomer was commenting on how awful the task was, and wanted to know how the young man dealt with it.

His response: “At first it was just gross.  But as I got used to the smell and surroundings.  I was able to pick up even the most disgusting things. In a way, this rubbish around us is like the sin in my heart.”

As humans and even as a culture, we have become so accustomed to bad behavior around us, we no longer even cringe.   This behavior has the potential to cause sin in our hearts as our minds acclimate to what once was considered immoral, or at minimum inappropriate.  We may still complain about it, but do we turn away from it?  

One example might be seen on any television, which almost every family across the nation has in their home.  There was a time when bad language would not be tolerated, nor would sexual scenes, disrespect to a parent, policeman or other authority figure.  Yet I wonder if this has become a ‘muted or soft addiction?’

In today’s world, it’s so common place, we are surprised when we don’t see (or hear) it, even in commercials that continually interrupt the show we are watching!  Even during sports event, bad behavior isn’t only done, but expected—and on some levels encouraged!

By not taking action against the bad behavior, it lessens the impact on our personal lives.  Our conscience becomes dull to the conduct and we move on, until there comes a point when we aren’t bothered at all.  And to make matters worse, our children are so subjected to this lifestyle, and lack of noting a lack of non-removal of it in some form in our homes, it’s expected and has become ‘normal and acceptable.’

Rather than allowing this to continue wouldn’t we be better served --- and wouldn’t God be better served—if we took stock and took out the ‘contaminated trash’ that is sin in our lives? (I’m not suggesting all TV is bad!)  

These ‘soft sins’ can skew the way we approach our lives, as well. We become complacent and often those feelings we have as parents, transfer over into our children and those we call our friends.  What does this say about how we view God?  

Does God approve that we don’t ‘disapprove’ bad behavior---?  (And it goes way beyond bad TV.)  Does he want us to remain quiet and not remember the scripture which clearly describes a specific behavior as sin? (Galatians 5:19-21) We are not to be judgmental, yet we are supposed to gently teach others when we know that souls can be lost because of sin.  

Beating someone over the head or badgering a friend or condemning another is not what God wants.  But He does want us to live our lives in such a way that He will be glorified.  And this begs the question:  What do we glorify, when we allow sin to engulf our lives to the point of acclimation or complacency? 

Photo credit:  https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/dirty-swamp.html