There is a huge morals issue in the US / world today. Most of us acknowledge this concept without realizing how deeply into society the issue digs.

Morals - do they exist? Is there a base against which to measure the concept of morals? In the world today the answer sounds oddly differently from a description derived from the Bible.

Morals today are situational in the sense that each person decides generally on what his morals are, what their foundation is, and when and how to apply them, or change them. There are no firm foundations, such as found in the Bible. In other words, there are no "thou shalt nots." The only exception to this are those actions formed by criminal or civil laws. These are not viewed as morals by many people; rather they are just laws to either be followed or for which there are consequences to face. In a given situation many people will decide to take their chances on the consequences, figuring that they can negotiate an acceptable penalty once they arrive in the legal system.

They are probably right.

Paul tells us that in the final days of mankind, people will fall farther and farther away from God.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV)¹ But know this, that in the past days perilous times will come: ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴ traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Lovers of themselves, boasters, proud, lovers of pleasure -- this is some list. One of the traits not listed by Paul is the concept of lying. In order to focus on oneself, being boastful and proud, one must frequently resort to lying. We all tend to lie on occassion. Usually these lies are what we sometimes call "white lies." They are an answer or response designed to avoid a fight, to avoid embarassing someone, or designed to save us from a lengthy explanation. We view them as an expedient.

God, on the other hand, says lying is wrong.

Deuteronomy 5:20 (NKJV)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

In other words, thou shalt not lie. In fact this is one of the distinctions between mankind and God. God not only does not lie, He cannot lie.

Titus 1:2 (NKJV)
in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,

This makes for a big difference between mankind and God. So when Paul writes about men turning away from God in the last days, Paul would expect that mankind will lie more and more.

What brings this up was one of the lead news stories on last nights CBS late local news. For those in the world who want to have an affair and fool their spouse, or want to go to the ballgame on company time, there is a new web service which will create an alibi for you. You can pay them by the incident, hire them for the month, or perpetually. They can provide emails or phone calls or much more. They have a virtual hotel, a virtual conference , a virtual whatever you need to convince spouse or boss or parents that you were somewhere other than your actual location.

The website home page brags about the publicity it has received, particularly from Fox and CBS. The news story I watch presents the website as performing a "good," dare I use the word "vital," service. Vital might be too strong of a description for the words of the news story, but the attitude of the reporters suggested they thought this was a cool and needed service.

So, are we in the last days? Do people have morals? It is a sad time when not only does a person lie about an event, but that person may also use the services of someone who willing offers to assist in a lie.

Doesn't God call all of this sin?

Jim A