Can I Fix What’s Broken? Part 1: Evil Rationalized

Background Passage: Isaiah 5:8-6:7; Romans 3:9-26
Today’s Focal Passage: Isaiah 5:20-23

20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight. 22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, who are fearless at mixing beer, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.

2 + 2 = 5

George Orwell’s classic Nineteen Eighty-Four used the phrase “two plus two equals five” to make us wonder whether absolute truth can actually exist or if lies themselves are truth simply because the majority of people believe them.

1984 is long past. My favorite TV shows were Kids Incorporated and The Cosby Show. I got to see Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in theaters. Hard to believe that much time has passed. I spent the fall of 1984 in 1st grade learning that 2+2=4. I am quite certain that if I ever put the number five down for that math problem, I would have gotten it wrong. To the equation 2+2, there is one right answer!

The evil one has an agenda. He uses popular culture and promotes a false sense of tolerance to make us lower our guard and question whether the worldly way can be as wrong as biblical wisdom would have us believe. His techniques are nothing short of propaganda. He would have us live in a world and be a people who call evil behavior good, or at least acceptable. He would have us so accustomed to darkness that light bothers our senses. He would have us think ourselves wise and clever in our own opinion. He would have us be heroes at self-indulgence and more concerned with ourselves than injustice in the world.

To the tactics of the evil one and those of us who buy the lie, the prophet Isaiah says, “Woe!” That is the cry of God’s kingdom when God’s people begin to waiver between right and wrong, truth and lies.

We live in a world where all kinds of evil can be rationalized. The problem is that trusting God and His truth is the only rational thing worth believing. Everything else is a lie and lies are harmful. Woe to us when we exchange the truth of God for the lies of the world; godly living for ungodly beliefs.

o What are the evil actions and attitudes that you have rationalized in your own life?
o What are the lies the evil one is using to capture your attention and the attentions of your children?
o Make a list of those today and develop action plans for helping your family trust in God’s truth. It may not be the popular answer, but it’s the right one. 2+2 is indeed 4 even if you’re the only one out there who believes it.