"It's Good To Be Bad," proclaims a bus-bench advertisement for The Alley, a Chicago store (on Clark and Belmont) which sells clothing, shoes and jewelry for people into the punk lifestyle. Think leather jackets, metal studs and the like. The image accompanying the ad shows a woman, down on her hands and knees (like an animal awaiting copulation), wearing a shiny black jumpsuit and an ugly hairdo reminiscent of what one might have expected to see on a guard in a Nazi concentration camp.
Not surprisingly, The Alley is endorsed, in Chicago, by an organization called the Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. This particular blog entry is not the place for me to give an in-depth explanation of the reasons for my opposition to the agenda of the substantial number of Americans who now embrace gay and lesbian lifestyles, but you can safely surmise that I believe that the gay agenda is immoral and irrational, as are the foundational beliefs which enable gays to promote their agenda. I will write more about that subject at a later time.
If you've read my profile in the sidebar of this blog, you already know that I am politically conservative, so you probably aren't surprised by my opposition to homosexuality. However, if you are one of the many liberals who seek to characterize political conservatives as wide-eyed, intolerant lunatics, you may be surprised to learn that I currently attend a Lutheran church (on Belmont, just east of Ashland and Lincoln) which is led by a pastor who clearly disagrees with me about that subject. I would be pleased if he and I could agree about everything. Yet, despite our differences of opinion about that matter, I am still able to fellowship with those who attend and lead that church. Treating them hatefully because I believe them to be wrong would serve no godly purpose, and might even obstruct the work of the Holy Spirit. I haven't yet discussed the subject of homosexuality with that pastor. However, in the future, I hope that I will be able to influence him to reconsider the wisdom of his endorsement (or, at the very least, his acceptance) of a licentious lifestyle which, in my view, is clearly condemned in scriptures such as Romans 1:26-27.
When people seek to justify the unjustifiable, they tend to make statements which are transparently nonsensical. For example, saying that it's good to be bad makes about as much sense as saying that up is down, or that black is white, or that the Devil is God. Words lose their meaning when people claim that they are synonyms for their antonyms.
In Isaiah 5:20, the Bible says this about such people: "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!" Now, when the Bible says "woe" to someone, that isn't something to take lightly. It's an old-fashioned way of saying, "Listen, buddy, God is seriously ticked off about your rejection of his wise advice, and if you don't change your ways, you're going to regret it."
Gay punks (and those who profit by selling products to them) aren't the only people to twist the meaning of words. The word "bad" has often been used as a compliment in the black community, particularly the segment of that community consisting of people who like to think of themselves as "cool" and "hip".
It seems that some people think it's incredibly clever to thumb one's nose at the Almighty. That's about as smart as playing chicken with an 18-wheel truck when you're riding on your bicycle. Perhaps, after such people have spent a few years frying in Hell, they'll come to realize that bad really is bad!
Not that I want to sound flippant about the prospect of anyone going to Hell. It would be wonderful if everyone could accept Christ as Savior, thereby escaping eternal damnation. However, the scriptures offer a reality check for the delusional people who argue that all roads lead to Heaven. Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." There's a reason why cheap, slutty women are called "easy", and it isn't just that it's easy for men to persuade them to have sex. It's also because they have chosen the easy way, not the right way.
It is common for liberals to accuse conservative Christians who believe in moral absolutes of being "narrow minded". We should take that as a compliment, for Jesus tells us that it is the narrow-minded who will inherit paradise. Godless people who lack humility and moral discernment will be destroyed. Don't cite your opinion polls, because the popular consensus is wrong. I didn't say that, Jesus did. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Him, if you dare!
Some people ask how a loving God could send anyone to Hell. I ask how a loving God could deny justice to those who have been victimized by people who have rejected God's plan for their lives.
Tell me this: If you discovered, upon arriving in Heaven, that your next-door neighbor throughout eternity would be an unrepentant Adolph Hitler or an unrepentant Jeffrey Dahmer, would you feel that Heaven was very heavenly? Or wouldn't that feel more like Hell?
God excludes people from Heaven, not because he hates them, but because he hates their capacity for ruining the perfect eternal heavenly kingdom he is preparing for those of us who have submitted to his will. God sends some people to Hell because they have arrogantly rejected his mercy, not because they are less than perfect. If perfection were the criterion for admission to Heaven, none but Christ could enter. (And that helps to explain why I can still find common ground with Christians who, in my opinion, are seriously wrong about some things.)
What about you? Do you call good "bad" and bad "good"? Are your ideas about right and wrong based on the latest opinion polls? Or have you submitted to the will of God? Let him forgive your transgressions so that you can be assured of a place in his heavenly, eternal kingdom.
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