Judges 17:6 (ESV)
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did
what was right in his own eyes.
I read this devotion from Josh McDowell and wanted to share
it.
"Welcome to the latest episode of Current Culture! My
name is Geraldo Winfrey-Raphael, and I'm your host. Today we're talking to
ordinary people about morals and values and whose version of right and wrong is
... well, right... or wrong. Our first guest is Ike, a high school
student."
Geraldo nods seriously into the camera, then turns and
thrusts a microphone toward a teenage boy dressed in black. Geraldo tries to
keep up with Ike's purposeful stride as they walk across the school quad.
"You look like an intelligent high school
student," Geraldo says. "How do you choose between right and
wrong?"
Ike stops walking and looks straight into the camera.
"Right and wrong?" the student says. "There
is no 'right' and 'wrong'! Read your Nietzsche, man! Get a grip on Machiavelli!
Those words are nothing but the wishful thinking of a society too weak to face
the prospect of a godless world and the lack of moral absolutes! That's what
Nietzsche said, man! Look it up!"
Ike begins walking again. Geraldo starts jogging to keep up
with the young man. Finally, Ike stops abruptly in front of a bike rack, an
expression of shock on his face.
"Is something wrong?" Geraldo says. "Are you
all right?"
"My bike! It's gone! Somebody stole my bike!"
Ike throws his arms in the air and begins pacing in front
of the bike rack. "Oh, dude, this is wrong! This is totally wrong!"
"But I thought Nietzsche said ..."
"Aw, shut up, man! Like, Nietzsche never had a Trek
950 with titanium hubs and alloy rims and all kinds of really cool stuff! Oh,
this is so wrong!" Another student approaches, then stops.
"I thought your mom drove you to school this
morning," the other student says. Ike suddenly stops his pacing and looks
at the camera. "Oh," he says. "Yeah. That's right." He
shrugs. "Cool."
Ike and his friend walk away. Geraldo faces the camera,
then draws a single finger across his throat in a slicing motion.
In the above script, Ike quoted Nietzsche and
Machiavelli. These were two philosophers who said that there is no such thing
as right and wrong. Their writings had a significant influence on Adolph Hitler
and other dictators of the twentieth century. Do you think that Ike really
believed what he said about right and wrong? Why or why not? What do you
believe about right and wrong?
Dear Lord, we admit that sometimes we act like there's no
such thing as right and wrong. But we don't want to do what's right in my own
eyes; we want to do what's right in Your eyes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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