This Present
Evil Age
By Don Campbell
The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus "gave Himself for our
sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age". (Gal. 1:4). Some people
would argue that such evils as we have are not moral or spiritual, but psychological,
sociological, biological, and technological. More government money and more government
rules, more science and technology, more time, and more human effort will deliver us.
The works of the flesh, as listed by Paul, are as healthy as ever: "illicit sex,
perversion, promiscuity, idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts,
selfish ambition, conflict, factions, envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like
that" (Gal. 5-19-21, God's Word, Today's Bible Translation). But, each age
seems to have some evils of its own that are some sub-species or mutation of one of the
works of the flesh of which Paul warns.
One evil of our age is that of false values. Human worth in
our society is carefully reserved for those who meet certain rigid specifications, such as
beauty, intelligence, or financial power and success. The response made by the news media
and the United States government to the airplane crash that killed John F. Kennedy, Jr.,
his wife, and his sister-in-law highlights that truth. Mr. Kennedy seemed to be a very
nice young man, perhaps of higher moral standard than his father and uncles, but the
response to his death was out of proportion to his moral or political influence on the
nation and the world.
A second evil of our age is false hopes. We might call them
our golden calves. One golden calf to which we bow down and in which we put our trust is
Science and Technology. A second is human goodness. The two go hand in hand. If good
people don't control science and technology, science and technology can become tools in
the hands of evil people.
A third evil of our age is false goals. The goals of far too
many of us reach no farther than the cemetary. For some, the goal of life is to make all
they can and can all they make. For others, it is to make all they can and spend it on
whatever makes them feel good at the moment.
Paul says that there is only one way to escape this present evil age,
and that is to be delivered from it by Jesus Christ (Gal.1:3). He also wrote, "He has
delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of
His love" (Col. 1:13).
Do you need to make application for a transfer out of the kingdom of darkness?
Amen.