In Greek mythology siren’s were female-like creatures who lived on a rocky island. Their beautiful songs were irresistible and lured sailors too close to the island where they would wreck and perish. Homer wrote about them is the Odyssey.
Today we have another sort of siren calling out to our people inviting them to believe the lie that we can live without responsibility. Those who believe this deception will shipwreck their lives.
The United States began her journey as a nation following the hard fought war of independence. Its political leaders hammered out a Constitution and Bill of Rights that depended upon its people being resolute in their will to keep it intact. Our founders knew that it would only last as long as its people feared God and embraced personal responsibility. Once its citizens figured out that they could vote into office those who would use the government treasury for their constituents’ benefit, all would be lost. Once its people abandoned moral integrity, everything would fall apart. That is where we are today.
When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, he gave them two basic responsibilities – to be fruitful and multiply and to work and tend the garden. (Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15) Having children is both pleasurable and painful. It carries with it the built in necessity of hard work to nurture, feed, protect, and train. Following God’s first command increases our responsibilities, but it also multiplies our joy and fulfillment. God’s blessings make us richer without adding any sorrow to our lives. There is no down side to embracing a life of responsibility. (Proverbs 10:22)
Today our government and conventional wisdom tell us that the planet is overpopulated, and we need to refrain from having more children. Does this sound like Satan to you? He is always trying to negate God’s clear commands. To make this possible, many forms of contraception are available, and, when that is not used or fails, abortion is held out as the ultimate solution. That reminds me of Hitler’s ultimate solution – the gas chambers. Isn’t interesting that Satan’s solutions always involve killing innocent people? The deception is that we can defy Gods command to multiply and enjoy the pleasures of sex without any responsibility. Embracing such outright deception will crash our lives upon the rocks.
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Proverbs 14:12 (NLT)
God meant sex to be enjoyed between a man and a woman who are committed to one another for life. Obviously sex was created to produce children. The associated pleasure is part of the inducement to bring new lives into the world, but the little ones carry with them their own pleasures, as every new parent discovers. Sure, children add to our work load, too, but over the long haul, the pleasures outweigh the negatives, especially if we attain to old age when adult children bring their own little ones into the world. The choice not to have children may provide an escape from the work of rearing them, but in the long run it has quite a bit of sorrow and loss attached to it.
Marriage was also instituted because God said it is not good for us to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) Married sex heightens our mutual love, enjoyment, and satisfaction with our spouses. Today, however, people often choose to “hook up” without any long-term commitment. This provides temporary pleasure but long-term pain. Experiencing old age is difficult enough with our life partner by our side. Alone it can be excruciating.
Violating God’s way of doing things always shipwrecks us. Doing things his way is always best and most satisfying.
Our government, for whatever reason, encourages people to embrace life without responsibility. During the covid lock down, we were given government checks not to work. Many seem to have come to the conclusion that a work free life is a good thing, but it is not. God instituted work in the beginning. A job well done brings us a lot of satisfaction. Laziness destroys. (Proverbs 18:9)
People also try to discard the responsibility of using our God given abilities, but that also is a dead end. God put abilities and potential in each of us that must be developed, if we are to experience life at its fullest. Modern society tells us that we do not even have to accept how God created us. We can even change our genders at will, pretending to be someone and something we are not, which is the height of deception and irresponsibility.
When we try not to be who we really are or try to be something we are not, it shipwrecks our lives.
Our government tells us that we can attend college without having to pay for it. We can break laws without suffering the consequences. We can even illegally enter the country and be rewarded for it. All of this is a deception. Borrowing money without paying it back is theft. Breaking the law invites God’s justice, even if man fails in this regard. Even though many seem to be getting away with murder, so to speak, a day of reckoning is certainly coming.
It is impossible to live irresponsibly without eventually paying the piper.
Perhaps you fell for the siren’s song and now have regrets. Is there anything we can do? The answer is “yes!” God provided a way for us to recover from shipwreck, but it requires us to adopt a whole new way of thinking.
When Jason piloted his ship called the Argo, he brought along a musician named Orpheus. When the ship got in range of the sirens, Orpheus sang loud enough to drown out their song.
God wants us to embrace the truth of the Bible to offset the lure of deception this world offers.
Once we surrender our lives to the Lord Jesus, we must let God’s Word transform how we think. This is our only safety.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Once we escape the deception of the world system, we should try to help others do the same. Sharing what Jesus did to set us free, the gospel, is the first thing. Next we should teach others to follow God’s ways, which lead to life, instead of the way of the world, which leads to sorrow and death. Politically we should vote for those whose positions most closely mirror God’s ways and against those who spread deception and rebellion against God. That is our responsibility.
