American Morality - A Study in the Lesser of Two Evils

Evangelist Vance Havner told the story of a boy who brought home a watermelon he had stolen from his neighbor’s farm and proudly showed it to his parents. They knew he had stolen the watermelon but after looking it over for a moment all his parents had to say to their son was… “Don’t get any more of them because you don’t know what they have been sprayed with.”

The parents knowing the unseen poison on the watermelon might make their son sick or even worse could kill him gave him what seems like a concerned warning. They ignored the command of God, “thou shalt not steal” and the concomitant effects of stealing that result from ignoring that commandment. Could the boy get sick from stealing? I can hear a line from a beautiful traditional hymn “There is a Balm in Gilead, to heal the sin sick soul.” I can also hear the warning of God from Romans 6:23…”the wages of sin is death” The parents were concerned for the boys health but not for his future or the health of his soul.

In a recent episode of the popular TV show “Law and Order” an enraged father beat and killed a homosexual man who along with his homosexual partner had adopted his son. The mother a drug addict never told the father he had a son and after being removed from her custody the boy was placed in the home of the homosexual couple. Anyone who knows their bible is aware that killing a homosexual person is just as sinful as being a homosexual person.

In the end the man was tried and found guilty of murder and it would seem that alls well that ends well. Before the entire matter was disposed of the prosecutors gave a final argument that was based on the idea that it was the love of the homosexual couple that saved the boy from a terrible life without a home. Here is the choice; here is the lesser of two evils. One might ask first. is a home a destination for an entire life. Has the American dream become an end in itself or is there still something more?

The homosexual union was bestowed a sort of reverent dignity because of the couples willingness to do what others would not. The constant daily example of a perverted and sinful lifestyle is ignored for the fulfillment of the American dream. Today’s morality labors hard not just to ignore Gods commandments but to deny them and actively fight against them. Can good come from a sinful union? Jesus said it could not. “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Matthew 7:18. The lifestyle of the homosexual couple would do far more harm to a boy if he was taught to accept it than years of shuffling around in foster homes. The lesser of two evils won this bout. Not forgetting that “Law and Order” is after all only fiction it is the message that we are addressing here and not the program itself.

That men can become proficient in choosing between the lesser of two evils was known to the apostle James who said…”Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts.” James 2:4. How many parents today have boasted that even though there may not be much in their children’s behavior that is redeemable at least they don’t do drugs? This is the lesser of two evils magnified or perhaps even glorified. Where will it end? Is beating people up OK as long as we don’t kill them? Is robbery OK as long as we are not armed? Is stealing watermelons OK as long as we know they have not been sprayed with a toxic substance?

This is just one example of a dangerous trend in America that leaves our children with only the choice of the lesser of two evils. This is no choice at all.