The Foolish Immorality of Sean Penn

If you were given the opportunity to meet with a vicious criminal, a drug dealing murderer responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, a recent prison escapee who was a fugitive from justice and who had recently escaped from prison, what would you do?

If you are Sean Penn, you covertly accept the invitation and evade detection in order to meet with the man. You pose for pictures shaking his hand and write a story for a national magazine. You then give the criminal the final edit of the story so he can be sure he is portrayed in a favorable light.

And, because you are Sean Penn, you can be certain that you will face no criminal charges and will suffer no damage to your reputation or future acting opportunities as a result of your arrogance. In the western world, rules and laws are for the little people, not for celebrities.

As I read the story of Mr. Penn’s interview with the Mexican drug lord El Chapo I wondered how we arrived at such a place in our society. I am not so naïve as to expect perfection from famous people but I did expect them to possess some form of a moral compass, to care at least a little about being at least a little bit truthful or nice. I did not think that even the most low-life of celebrities would be supportive ofthe mass murdering head of adrug cartel.

I guess I was foolishly optimistic. I should have known that a man who had been fawned over for his entire adult life and whose talent gave him access to world leaders and power brokers would think he was entitled to meet with anyone he wanted for any reason at any time. Sean Penn was curious as to how a man like El Chapo came to be and his curiosity was all that mattered. Curiosity was more important than justice and fairness or right and wrong.

As I read about Penn and El Chapo the thought occurred to me that we may have cultivated a generation of Sean Penns. Many young people I meet are driven by personal desire more than they are by a moral code. There is no sense of duty to society as a whole orto anyone else individually. This is why so many in the current generation feel comfortable building up massive debt they do not plan to repay, using illegal drugs without regard for the law or future physical harm, orlying in order to get a job they want or a sexual partner they desire. Wanting something is what matters and when something is wanted there is no need to consider if it is right or wrong.

This type of thinking is the natural outcome of the post-modern thinking that dominates the modern world, a philosophy that denies the existence of absolute truth or a transcendent moral code. When we throw away external standards, when every person decides for themselves what is right and wrong, it should not surprise us if we are surrounded by fools like Sean Penn.

While there is nothing I can do to impact Mr. Penn's thinking, I am not hopeless. I have raised children who know the difference between right and wrong and I do all I can to remind others that absolute truth exists, that there is a God and that He has communicated His moral code to mankind. (I have even written a book about it!) The lie of post modernism needs to be exposed, countered and attacked. When truth is lost, only foolishness remains.

- Bart

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Photo by Seher Sikandar for rehes creative licensed through creative commons 

Authenticity and Transparency are Overrated

I do not understand modern Christian values. When it comes to what is acceptable in the church I feel like a moral Rip Van Winkle, as if I fell asleep twenty years ago and have awakened to a whole new way of doing things.

The church I grew up in valued character, godliness and (gasp) holiness. People were supposed to do the right things, believe the right things and say the right things. We were wretched sinners and we knew it, but our goal was to be less wretched with each passing day. We worked to be different, to be better. Foul language was foul, revealing clothes were inappropriate, and crudeness was crude. No one talked about “being true to yourself” because ourselves were sinful and not worth being true too.

Everything has changed.

I listened recently to the podcast of a prominent Christian teacher. In the podcast he and a friend were talking about the struggles and challenges they had faced in their lives. They shared stories of loss and suffering that were real. In the midst of these stories their values were revealed. They spoke of other Christians with an air of condescension, castigating those who responded to their struggles with what they considered clichéd and shallow platitudes. They implied that these people were less Christian and less loving. They did not consider those well-meaning but misspeaking people simply mistaken, they considered them wrong and hurtful and deserving of being called out.

Profanity was also a part of the podcast. Proudly and without apology the pastor and his friend used language that was unprofessional and crude. It was clear that they had no problem using this language and that they thought it was silly for anyone to take offense. What was also clear was that they had no aspirations to improve the content of their speech. The social mores and standards followed by people like me were to them artificial and outdated and not worth following.

How could this happen? How could people who purport to be spiritual leaders be so lacking in grace and honor?

The answer is found in the comments people posted about the podcast. In the comments the speakers were repeatedly praised for being “transparent” and “authentic.” Transparency and authenticity seem to have become the most important values in "modern" churches. Because we are all sinners what is most important is not dealing with our sin but accepting our sinfulness. Because we all struggle what matters is sharing your failings, not recounting victories. Because Jesus accepts us as we are what is important is loving ourselves as we are.

As warm and affirming as this sounds, it is not what God desires. While God understands our brokenness and our sinfulness, He did not send His Son to die so we could remain in our fallen condition. Jesus died that we might have new life, not that we feel comfortable in our old lives.

It seems some have cast aside those passages of scripture that call us to be better, that call us to aspire to be more like Jesus not only in love and kindness but also in words and character. I believe that we need to remember that God calls us to be better than we are. As Paul wrote to his disciple Timothy-

“Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Tim 4:12-13

The God who calls his people to “Be Holy, for I am Holy” wants his people to break free from the world’s practices and desires, to be well-rounded people of faith who, in every area of their lives, strive for the excellence displayed in Jesus. The apostle Paul said it well in another of his letters-

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice." Phil 4:8-9 NIV

Authenticity and transparency are of no value in and of themselves. There is no praise due those who are authentically crude and transparently selfish. We need to pursue lives that are authentically and transparently good, pure, just, holy, loving and godly. We need to be better.

-          Bart

Thanks for reading. Coming in a few days is the second Amazing Childbirth Story, a series of posts leading up to the birth of Christ. You can be sure not to miss posts by subscribing to the blog (posts will arrive in your inbox). Please share the blog with others by clicking on one of the social media icons below. 

 

 

Ungrateful Students and a Thankful Syrian

Some Thanksgiving thoughts-

Campus protests are erupting across the country. In response to perceived racial injustices students have disrupted football games, libraries, lectures, and every conceivable aspect of academic life. Administrators have struggled with how to respond, with most deciding to meet as many of the demands as possible and in so doing validating the claims of the aggrieved.

The outside world, of which most of us are a part, is less supportive. Columns and blog posts mock the students, calling them spoiled, entitled and ignorant. These criticisms overlook what I think is at the heart of their dissatisfaction and at the heart of many of the problems we face today.

They aren’t thankful.

We live in the richest nation the world has ever seen, with blessings and benefits that previous generations would have viewed as impossible fantasies. Most young people hold in their hands smart phones that have hundreds of times more computing power than that which powered the space shuttles, that can take and store photographs without film, and from which they can teleconference with anyone around the world. Today’s students have boundless educational opportunities, most of them subsidized by fellow citizens. They live in dorms that are luxurious, with movie theaters, restaurants and work out centers.

In spite of all of the blessings, they are dissatisfied and angry. There is no sense of gratitude, no consideration of their privilege. People their age in all corners of the globe battle poverty, disease and oppression on a daily basis and can only dream of what these young Americans possess but American students are mindless of the plight of others. Lacking any sense of gratitude, they protest over silly slights.

We as a society would do well to remind ourselves and our families of how blessed we are. A person living at the “poverty line” in the United States, $11,770 a year for an individual, is in the top 15% of income earners worldwide. The poorest Americans are wealthy compared to the rest of the world!

Perhaps it is time to change our focus. How different would our lives and conversations be if we stopped focusing on the things that we do not have and instead focused on what we do have? We who have been surrounded by plenty all of our lives can easily lose sight of the blessings we have received.

I spoke yesterday with a man from Syria. He left there many years ago. Today he works behind the parts counter at a Kia dealership. It is not a high paying job by American standards, but he spoke of the incredible blessing of living in the best nation in the world. He considered himself to be rich. He was grateful and content and it showed in his face.

I want to be more like him.

Happy Thanksgiving.

-          Bart

Pizza, Porn and Making a Stand

It was supposed to be a pizza party. It soon became a porn party. The members of the high school basketball team went to the local pizza parlor to hang out after a game. After a while the conversation took an unexpected turn. Several players took out their smart phones and brought up pornographic images. They laughed and joked and thought it was funny. For the one Christian member of the team it was anything but. It was awkward, and it was wrong. He called his parents and got an early ride home

When I heard this story I was heartbroken. I felt terrible for the young man who had been placed in such a difficult circumstance and I grieved over the lack of shame displayed by his team members. One thought repeated in my mind, “How did our society end up like this?”

There was a time when right and wrong were clearly defined. Not everyone chose to do the right thing but just about everybody knew what the right thing was. Wrong things included lying, cheating, foul language, underage drinking and alcohol use, and sex before marriage. Good things included respecting your elders, politeness, honesty and morality. Somewhere along the line these definitions were abandoned. Wrongness now only applies to such things as violent crime and political incorrectness and goodness is defined as whatever one wants as long as it does not directly hurt someone else.

How did this happen? It is the natural consequence of moral relativism. When right and wrong are no longer universal absolutes but are instead based on individual perceptions, moral decline is inevitable. Human nature leads people to think highly of themselves, so it is natural that people will define good as “what I do” and bad as “what someone else does” when given the opportunity. When good is determined solely by our personal desires there will be no need to rein our desires in.

When our nation embraced the moral relativism of humanism and  turned from its Judeo-Christian roots it also turned away from the well-defined moral code that guided our nation since its inception. Absent the boundaries of a clear moral code, immorality is boundless. Pizza parties become porn parties.

In such a world not only will immorality increase, morality will be attacked. Those who declare immoral behavior to be wrong will face accusations of intolerance, bigotry and of being judgmental. In such a context people of faith will endure difficult times.

When I deal with individuals who are caught up in an immorality I have learned that a simple question can bring clarity. My favorite question when I talk to someone caught in a moral failing is- "Is that the best you can do?" I challenge people to set goals of excellence for themselves, to strive to do their best, not to the minimum, in every area of their lives. I tell people that my goal in life is to be the best man, husband and father I can be, and that when confronted with a choice about a behavior I have trained myself to ask how the activity in question can help me be the best. 

I could go out and get drunk, but I want to do better than that, to have a clear mind and to remain in control.

I could look at pornography but I want to be better than that, to value my wife and allow her to be confident and secure in the knowledge that she is my ideal.

I could lie, I could cheat, but I want to be better, I want to be someone who is trustworthy, respected and believed.

The reason I want to give me best? Because God gave His Best for me.

-          Bart

Thanks for reading, take the time to be your best today. If you know anyone who may be encouraged by this post, consider clicking the share button and letting them know. Comments and questions are welcome. You can subscribe to the blog (click the button) to have future posts delivered to your inbox, or you can follow me on twitter @bartbarrettmd.