Black Ice and Snowmen

This is a little bit old school.  I remember listening to this as a child and not completely understanding.  As an adult, I get it.  You don't need to listen to the whole song (or rant maybe...) to get my point.  The chorus simply states, "We need God in America again...the only hope for our country is Him." 

Psalms 36:1-2
1 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes. 
2 For it flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.

When I first read those verses, these were the thoughts I wrote down: "No fear of God?  That is exactly what is wrong with our country."  It struck me further as I wrote down quote after quote from the commentaries - "...while he goes on in sin, he thinks he does wisely and well for himself, and either does not see or will not own the evil and danger of his wicked; he calls evil good and good evil" (Henry).  That's our country, right!?!  


But as I continued my study, as I wrote my concluding thoughts - God convicted me and I realized the harsh reality - No fear of God?  That is exactly what is wrong with me.

Yep, you heard that right.  I don't fear God...or at least I don't fear Him enough.   

Sin is that patch of black ice you don't see coming.  You step on it and slip...but instead of being able to get right back up you fumble around a bit, slip again, and eventually end up snow balling down the hill.  Eventually you stand back up and you no longer recognize the snow as snow - you're a snowman (or a sinner) and you don't even see it!  Your eyes, the windows to your soul, are dark like coal.  And your nose has grown to the size of a carrot from the lies you've told yourself and others that you are doing "right" and "good."  

Once we have sinned, we justify it to make it seem right.  We didn't actually sin.  It might seem like it but the circumstances say otherwise.  

Getting drunk is fine - I'm not hurting anyone.  And besides, it brings out the real me, which is what God wants right?  For me to be authentic?

It's alright that we live together.  At least we're committed to one another.  And I have to know if I'm going to be able to live with him/her the rest of my life before I say "I do."  God wouldn't want me to say those words and not mean them.

Divorce is the norm these days.  We both deserve to be happy.  God wants us to be happy.  It wasn't fair to the kids for us to be fighting all of the time.

It was only a silly little lie.  It doesn't matter.  No one will get hurt.  And everybody loves a good story.  After all, Jesus told stories all the time!

It's okay to look at other women.  I only looked through the window, I didn't open the door!  God created women to be beautiful and I'm just admiring His creation.

I could go on and on.  We all know someone who justifies their sin, let's be honest, we've all done it!  And once the justification starts, it is extremely hard to stop.  As noted before, there is quite the snowball effect.

But why do we think justifying our sin makes it okay?  Because instead of putting God before us, we put Him on the back burner - out of sight, out of mind.  We choose to pretend He doesn't care.  We don't fear Him.   

If I truly feared God, I would still be kind to the person who just cut me off in traffic and nearly wrecked my car.  I wouldn't yell or wave my hand or scowl (and I certainly wouldn't shout a string of expletives or show them my middle finger).  If I truly feared God, I wouldn't treat my husband or family with disrespect...even when I've had one of the worst days of my life.  If I truly feared God I wouldn't speak poorly of anyone.  

If you remember, I started this post out by talking about how our country as a whole needs to fear God.  But if we as individuals, as so-called Christians, do not fear God, how is our nation ever supposed to do the same?

If we want to see a change in our nation, it has to start with us!  Don't put God on the back-burner.  There ARE consequences for our actions, whether we choose to believe so or not.  God should be at the forefront of our lives so that we love Him and fear Him and serve Him with our all.  I challenge you today to truly fear God.  Don't step on the black ice we know as sin or you'll end up a snowman with coal for eyes and a carrot nose.  Yes, we need God in America again, but we need God in us again.  I need God in me again.