It's an apt description of our society in the 21st Century. Who would have believed, even only a decade ago, that governments around the world would soon be teaching schoolchildren that you can choose your gender? Who would have imagined that a woman's sporting event could be won by a 6 foot 5 inch male! (identifying as a transgender woman. It happened recently in Montana, USA. You can click here to read the story.)
How did we get to the point where biological males are legally allowed into the girls' bathrooms, where education systems teach that gender is fluid and bring criminal proceedings against anyone who dares to say that there are only two genders? How could it become politically correct to fill in a government form (as happened to me recently) and be asked to tick whether you are male, female or "other" ?
Judges 17 vs 6 gives the answer: we have no king; we have rebelled against the wisdom, truth and authority of our Creator.
Such anarchy* leads to a self-deceptive syncretism.* So, in verse 3 of this chapter, we see Micah's mother dedicating silver coins "to the Lord"... and using them to make an idol. Later in the chapter we see Micah setting up a whole shrine of idols in his home, and then employing a young Levite to serve as his "priest." We see the Levite willingly receiving a salary to serve idols, even though his tribe had the sacred calling to minister to the Lord and live off the tithes and tabernacle offerings of those who worshipped the one true God. And at the end of the chapter, we see Micah so self-deceived that he believes, vs 12: "I know the Lord will bless me now because I have a Levite serving as my priest."
Sadly, this is not just an extreme Old Testament story that happened thousands of years ago. It's happening again today and it's similarly infecting and deceiving the people of God. One of the most tragic videos I've ever seen on YouTube is the story of a Texas mum in a Bible-believing church, raising her little boy to love Jesus... and to live life as a transgender girl. Check it out on YouTube: the video documentary (click here) is called: Kai Shappley - a trans girl growing up in Texas. It's heartbreaking to watch this mother, who obviously loves Jesus, believing that the most loving thing to do for her son is to dress him and raise him as a girl.
Gender theory infiltrating the church is perhaps one of the more extreme examples of moral syncretism that we face in the 21st Century, but it's by no means the only one. Perhaps even in your own church there are people who are in same-sex relationships or who see no inconsistency in worshipping God on a Sunday while living with their common law partner all week. There are churches who ordain homosexual priests or who encourage couples to abort their Downs syndrome babies... We claim to believe and live out Biblical truth, yet we embrace the morals and cultural norms of the society around us.
It's happening on our watch! Let's not ignore it or cluelessly embrace it, like the generation of God's people that we read of in Judges 17. Let's be a people with radical allegiance to the Lord and to His Word.
Anarchy = a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority.
Syncretism = the blending or amalgamation of different belief systems.
Interested in knowing a bit more about the origins of the gender ideology that has taken our world by storm in the 21st Century? Click on this picture to read an excellent article on the subject.
