My husband has told me that I am gifted with discernment and have a fervor for making wrong things right.  He is not wrong.  I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember. I was gifted with discernment and blessed with a mother that equipped me with the knowledge of God and His righteousness. Taken together, it has expanded my interests in politics, education, discipleship and parenting….all areas in which discernment is crucial.  And, if there was one lesson I could impress upon others from what I’ve learned, it would be that – apart from God – nothing can be right. 

We live in a culture that is in rebellion against God with errant worldviews and a sense of false moralities.  What should be held sacred by most is now desecrated.  Things such as untraditional marriage and abortion are held equally to biblical marriage and life.  Discernment between right and wrong has faded. As a result, people are becoming more and more desensitized to evil and living in a state of confusion.  

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

I need to give credit where credit is due. Beginning with Adam and Eve, Satan has been hard at work offering these counterfeit truths to humanity. It has proven to be quite an effective tactic. He knows very well that apart for God, we are unable to distinguish right from wrong, confusing “evil as good, and good as evil” (Isaiah 5:20).  Sin disguised looks and feels appealing to our human senses and reasoning. But, sin bedazzled is still sin.  

As an adult in my forties, I’ve seen firsthand the fruit of righteousness. Oh, how sweet it is! Yet, I’ve also seen the train wreck of sin ignored in the lives of many. Sin ignored multiplies and creates a domino effect of destruction within our lives.  

The Book of Isaiah warns us of the consequences of disobedience and the impending judgement we should expect from God. Isaiah 5 begins with a parable about a farmer who builds a vineyard that produces sour grapes.  The farmer is later revealed to be God, the vineyard to be Israel, and the crop of sour fruit to be the sins of Israel – primarily drunkenness.  This same parable ends with the promise of a sure and complete judgement from God against Israel for their sins. “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:21). The imagery used here – God planting Israel in the land of promise where he would care for and protect them – makes it clear that, despite the Lord’s best efforts in caring and cultivating this vineyard, the vines went wild and yielded spoiled fruit. And, with sin comes judgement.   

Likewise, we can expect judgement from God when we engage in sin. So what’s the solution? Obedience to a biblical worldview. A biblical worldview is the ONLY answer to the confusion we see today over right and wrong.  Yes, I said ONLY. And no, I’m not referring to a progressive biblical worldview.  I’m referring to a traditional biblical worldview. It contains absolute moral truth through correct interpretation of the Word of God.  It is this and only this that can provide the guidance we need to live according to His plan.  

Apart from God, humanity has no moral compass.  Right and wrong become simply a function of personal opinion.  Billy Graham once said “Man without God is a contradiction, a paradox, a monstrosity. He sees evil as good and good as evil. That is why some people love evil and hate that which is good.”  I agree.