Friday; December 27


          The other day I was listening to some good old fashioned blue grass gospel music and heard a song I had never heard before.  The song, “Broadminded” was recorded by the Louvin Brothers and decried how too many people have gotten soft on sin.  The song describes various vices that had become viewed as harmless, then reminds the listeners, “That word broadminded is spelled s-i-n.  I read in my Bible, they shall not enter in.  For Jesus will answer, ‘Depart, I never knew you.’  That word broadminded is spelled s-i-n.”.  I have found a couple of release dates for the record (one in 1953 and other in the 1990s) but no matter the date, it could be just as relevant today as at any time in history. 
          As I listened the song it conjured up a couple of conflicting emotions.  The first one was supportive of the thesis – too often, we view permissiveness as a license for licentiousness that must not be tolerated.  Too many evils have been excused by merely placing a progressive tag on them.  There is; however, another side and that is when we label things that are allowable as “sin” just because we don’t like them.  In our personal opinion they should be wrong, so we become overly judgmental.
          This song serves as the foundation for a good discussion – just what is sin?  Who gets to define it and are there some actions that might be defendable?  While there are times and places for discussion about changing morays, we must be careful to allow the Word of God to be the final word.  No, not everything we feel is wrong is ... however, we must not allow “societal preference” to overshadow “scriptural principles”.
          Let’s be willing to have a frank discussion about sin in the 21st Century.  As we do, let’s be willing to stand up for what is right and show tolerance where it is reasonable and appropriate.
          Think About It!

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