Question #26

What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?

This is hard for me to put into words, but I'll do my best.  I think the world at large believes you should do whatever makes you feel good, and that any inclination you might have is most likely natural and true to who you really are, genetically speaking.  Thus you should do it and be proud of yourself for that and not worry about what others think.

I think this is the biggest cop out for maintaining any kind of belief system other than the above statement, and a huge excuse to not have any integrity or personal accountability.  Instead of embracing a guideline or belief and struggling to hold on to it through thick and thin (which builds character, a testimony, and moral fiber), most people just take the free spirit route and just do what they want because ultimately that's what their body is telling them is most natural for them, thus it must be right.

This kind of thinking drives me crazy because it has led to a society that excuses whatever they do.  Our society has no sense of morality or values.  We eat what we want, do what we want, take advantage whenever we want, and have relationships with whomever we want.  We turn away from religion because there are too many rules that dictate what we can or cannot do.  We get frustrated with society rules/expectations and cry prejudice or racism because its not our way.  We get mad when people say they believe something different just because it may infringe on what we believe in, though it doesn't really affect us at all.  We get equally mad when we are not given what we think we are due;  we think we deserve certain things just for breathing or just for living a certain way, rather than actually earning them through hard work and strong character.  We live in a morally deplete society and it makes me sad.

This notion tells people, especially young people, that its okay to have sex when they want and with whomever they want.  It tells people smoking and drinking is just fine, and no one should look down on you for that.  It tells people that pornography is okay because sex is a natural drive for the human body and we shouldn't be ashamed of it.  It tells people they are entitled to certain things from our government without any hard work, regardless of how negatively it impacts others.  It tells people that wearing skimpy clothes or putting the body on display otherwise is okay.  It tells people that its not okay to abuse a dog--you'll get in major trouble for that--but it is okay to have an abortion because its your body and you can do with it what you want.  It tells people that having faith in anything makes you uneducated and childish.

Sigh. I could go on for hours, but I'll stop.

It's this notion that makes me the most scared to live in this world, because the fact that my kids will have values that they cling to will put them in the minority through their tough teenage years.  That's why it is becoming so important to me, as our kids get older, to teach them now to be strong valiant sons and daughters of God-unafraid to stand up for what they believe in despite what is going on around them.  I can't forsee this getting better, and if you ask Jared, he'll tell you this is why we will eventually move to the middle of nowhere and be totally self-reliant so we don't have to be around people with no values or morals.  We'll see where the future leads us, but for now, there's a lot of teaching going on to help our kids NOT fall into this popular notion that the world currently sees as good