“Who moved the muffler?!!!”
Confusion, tension, and tyranny abounds! Daily, and without exaggeration, we are straying deeper into chaos, depravity, and darkness. America is drifting increasingly farther and faster away from God. Bluntly stated, as a nation we are rapidly transitioning from godliness into godlessness, i.e., less and less God.
Why is this? Well, it’s not that complicated. In Genesis 3:22 God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil.” Dr. Ravi Zacharias said that one interpretation of this passage is now that man has become like God, man must now act like God, and man (from within himself) must determine good from evil. Think about that.
Years ago, I served a combat tour as a Marine in the deserts of Kuwait. Imagine featureless terrain, rolling dunes of brown sand, sparse vegetation, a few rocks here and there, and gray sky. I did not have GPS, but I still had to drive a Humvee for an hour from our military tactical position just to get on a primary road that ran north-south. Obviously, there were no road signs, so while traveling this main road, it was practically impossible to know where and when to turn to get back to our forward-edge encampments. The best we could do was calculate our speed, time, and distance and then “S.W.A.G.” it (Scientific Wild A$$ Guess). At some point, somebody, somewhere, found an old used muffler with a rusty exhaust pipe. They used several large rocks to prop it up alongside the main road. It was stationary, so the word quickly spread, “When you see the muffler, go ten more minutes and turn left,” or, “If you see the muffler, you went too for.” That old rusty muffler became a ‘fixed point of reference’ and with it came direction and reliability. It could be depended on to guide us… AS LONG AS NOBODY MOVED IT!!!
What would happen if someone ignorantly or maliciously moved the muffler? Chaos and confusion would ensue. Likewise, when we began to remove God ”” our “fixed point of reference” ”” from our lives, we became increasingly lost and confused. As such, mankind is left with the dilemma of having to determine what’s right and wrong on his own, using his own fallible, limited wisdom. For true answers, guidance, and direction we need a fixed point of reference from which to navigate, like the North Star. Also understand that a fixed point of reference must have at least three things. 1) It requires humility from me. 2) It has to be separate from me. And, 3) It can’t move.
Today, as we continue to abandon the True fixed point of reference (Christ), we cannot define a fixed moral standard. Truth and morality is relative. Everyone has their own measuring stick for determining right from wrong, therefore nothing is wrong with anything, and everything is permissible. The Bible reminds us that there was a time when “there was no king in Israel, therefore every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6) Imagine that.
In the absence of God, man must become god. Non-Believers frequently argue with me about this, so I simply ask them, “Who makes the rules in your life?” Without hesitation or thought they blurt out, “I do.” I tell them, “Sounds like you’re trying to be god.” Understand clearly, that once God is removed from an individual, a home, a community, a state, a nation, who makes the rules? Man has to. And, the scary part is that it’s always the man with the most power ”” physical, intellectual, financial, political, etc.
Don’t ever forget that Christ gave the world the truth (John 18:37) and Christians have received that truth. And, the thing about truth is that it’s true whether you BELIEVE it or not, KNOW it or not, and LIKE it or not. Truth (God/Christ) does not change just because you don’t believe it, know it, or like it. Truth just is! That’s why, when Moses asked, “Whom shall I say sent me,” God said, “I AM that I AM.” (Exodus 3:12-13) And the truth is that everyone needs salvation through Jesus Christ, else they pay for their own sins. Now, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel ”” the Truth ”” to every creature! ”” Jesus (Mark 16:15)