Scripture: Psalm 106:34-36 (ESV)
Culture Snares
"They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them."
The Psalmist gives an overarching view of the history of Israel, from leaving Egypt to entering the Promised Land. The Lord commanded that they should destroy all the inhabitants of the land, but they failed to do so and mixed cultures. They adopted the idols of Canaan and started to worship as they did with horrible sinful acts. They would sacrifice their children to these idols by throwing their first born into the mouth of a furnace, believing they would somehow be blessed for doing so. The innocent's blood poured out over the land.
When culture demands me to compromise in areas of my faith, it becomes a snare that limits the freedom I can have in Christ. Maybe culture isn't asking me to sacrifice my children to a statue of a god. Yet, look again, hundreds of thousands of children die by the will of their parents every year due to abortion. If we were abhorred at these ancient people for killing their own children, what about today? It's genocide.
We must unlearn what culture has deemed acceptable, and free ourselves from the snares we hold onto as normal. God's word gives us true insight and exposes culture's snares. He has mapped out the best way to live in this life and the next.
"Lord Jesus, please free me from any snares that make me stumble. I know true freedom is found in the Name of Jesus. Amen."
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