In our world today, we live in a culture that glorifies objects and material goods. We are bombarded everywhere we go with ads for things we MUST have. They tell us we need them to be “cool” or “hip” or stuff like that. Not only are the ads like that, but the music we listen to and the movies we watch are the same way. They proclaim that we need objects to make us happy. While there is nothing wrong with being rich, or having fancy possessions, there IS something wrong with letting it be the focus of our lives.

The Bible is pretty clear about letting possessions take the place of God. In Exodus 20:3-5, it states that we aren’t to have gods before God. While we may not think of a possession as a god or an idol in that sense, if we let it take the place of God, has it not become an idol? If we would rather spend our time using an object, rather than the time worshipping God, would that not fit the description of an idol?

Jesus spoke about possessions as well, in Matthew 6:19, He tells us not to store up treasures on Earth, but rather in Heaven. Objects will decay, wear out, and break, but our treasures in Heaven will not. Would you rather have something on Earth that will eventually be destroyed, or something in Heaven that will last eternally? Now, Jesus wasn’t saying that we shouldn’t have material possessions, but more that our focus should be on Heaven, and not on Earth.

While in the short term, possessions may seem better than God, in the long term, we’re better off with God. The treasures we store with Him will not fade or decay.

Today is Father’s Day in the US. On this day, we’re supposed to give gifts to our dads, hang out with them, and do things with them. It’s good to pay our dad’s respect, but not just on this day of the year. Rather, we should do it every day. In our culture, dads are generally the brunt of the jokes in movies and in TV. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about fathers.

A good place to start would be the 10 Commandments. Exodus 20:12 states that we should honor our fathers and our mothers, and that if we do, we will have a long life. Honor is a lot more than just obeying our fathers on the outside.  It’s a combination of respect and obedience. We’re not to obey just on the outside, but on the inside as well. If our heart is not right, the action is useless.

Proverbs has a lot to say about how we are to treat our fathers as well. Proverbs 4:1 states that we are listen to the instruction of our fathers. Even though we might not agree with them, or see from their point of view, they have more life experience and thus, more wisdom than we do. Their counsel should not be tossed aside.

Just because the media claims that fathers are silly, and something to be mocked, do not mean that we have to go along with what they say. Rather, we should go along with what God has said about them. We should treat our fathers with respect, honor, and love all year round, not just on one special day of the year.

We live in a world where people won’t admit to an absolute truth because they’re afraid of “offending someone”, or because they were taught the idea of “What is true for me isn’t necessarily true for you”. There are countless examples of this throughout our media, our school systems, and almost every social environment in America.

Children are taught that beliefs other than Christianity are perfectly fine because truth and morality are just a matter of perspective. To show you how absurd the “Relative Morality” train of thought is, let’s take a look at this example:

You get home to find your neighbor walking out with your new High-Definition Flatscreen TV. You ask him “what he thinks he’s doing”, and he responds that “he’s taking your TV”. You tell him that “it’s wrong, and he can’t do that.” However, he replies that “He sees nothing wrong with it, so he’s going to take it”.

While this is an extreme example, it does follow the logic of how people who believe in no absolute truth think. Do you see what nonsense relative morality is?! If “right and wrong” is decided by man, then he can do whatever he wants because “He think it’s okay”. This train of thought allows for abortion, sexual impurity, anger, rage, theft and all sorts of evil.

God tells us very clearly that “right and wrong” applies to everyone, not just people who find it convenient to agree with it at the current moment.

Next time you meet someone who believes in no absolute truth, sit him (or her) down and ask them how they can justify that logic. Then explain to him the truth of Christianity. (Feel free to customize the hi-def TV example to your own situation. I just happen to like hi-def screens )