Lost Touch with Reality Itself

Scripture: And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. Ephesians 4:17-19

Observation: As Paul instructs the Ephesians about how to behave, he especially tells them they are not to act as normal Greeks and Romans, who willingly sin simply because it is the norm for how all of society behaves. However, he is very pointed in how he describes that type of behavior. It isn't just sinful ... it is actually born out of just going along with godless popular norms. He describes this as empty headed and mindless. He says they have lost touch with reality and can't think straight. As a result, they give themselves over to sin and perversion without even thinking about it.

Application: I have been thinking for days about this, especially in light of our friend and her female partner, a turn of events we did not see coming. In all my thinking, I cannot believe how amazingly accurate and relevant these four sentences are in describing culture today.

The thinking of people is empty-headed and mindless. There are people who fall into new lifestyles without any thought, simply because it now seems 'normal' or even expected. They are not thinking through short- or long-term truths about the situation. Furthermore, there are others who likewise just accept such actions because they are conditioned to not be critical of such behavior.

All of this is because people have so removed themselves from God's ways and teachings that they now have no connection to the reality of God's created universe. They actively reject scientific fact - the known facts of all creation - because they see no relevance between "truth" and "their truth". In fact, if "truth" doesn't exist in the first place, of course there is no relevance and connection. As Paul says, disconnected from reality, they can't think straight anymore, and thus just let themselves go - just ride the popular wave - of sexual obsession and perversion.

I know my life isn't pure, and I have my own problems. However, I have an anchor point in my understanding that Yahweh - God almighty - is the creator of heaven and earth, and it is his truth that is the truth of the universe. When I sin, I am in the wrong and therefore in need of forgiveness found in Jesus. So many, many people today have walked so far away from any belief in God at all, that they don't even understand the concept of "wrong".

I no longer know what to pray about our society and culture. I can pray for individuals, but I don't know what to say about an entire culture that has lost touch with reality itself.

Prayer: Lord, you know the people in my heart. May they rediscover you, ideally soon but at least someday, and find your love, forgiveness, and truth. We are losing a generation, and I suspect we are heading to a new era with a completely new world dynamic as a result, as our nation itself is lost. You have done that before. I hope individuals can rediscover the reality found in you. Amen.