Greetings,
The “frog in the water” analogy is well-known to most of us. It is a picturesque myth highlighting the fact that many simply don’t see the change happening around them. The analogy rings true because it makes a point that we can see in everyday life. The human mind has an inclination toward lawlessness and the resultant moral behavior – “… by nature children of wrath …” (Ephesians 2:3). This natural inclination means the mind will adjust to accommodate the lowering of standards. This is known as “creeping normalcy”. This term indicates that when something — usually something objectionable — is brought about slowly or gradually, people are more likely to accept it as “normal”.
As an example, let’s look at some recent data produced by the General Social Survey (GSS) of the University of Chicago on the subject of Public Attitudes Toward Pre-Marital Sex. From the mid 1970’s to the present, the percentage of those who felt that pre-marital sex was not wrong moved from 28% to 60% – that is a 32% increase. On the other hand, those who believed that pre-marital sex is wrong shifted from 72% to 40% – a decrease of 32%. Those who believed it to be morally wrong decreased, while those who think it is not wrong increased. What is regarded as normal gradually changed. The same shifting patterns can be seen in many moral issues – what used to be unacceptable is now often “acceptable” in our society.
Do we have any “creeping normalcy” in our lives? It is the reality of human nature and we must not think we are immune from the power that pushes the acceptance of “… the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind …” (Ephesians 2:3). Recently the press ridiculed the Vice President of the United States when it became known that he would not dine alone with a woman who was not his wife. I wonder how many young people in God’s Church shared the secular view? The Church has had rules of conduct along the same lines. In Ambassador College a single male and a single female were not to be in a room alone. Ministers were not to visit with a woman on her own – one reason ministers often visited in pairs. Are these old fashioned, antiquated rules that are outdated? Or safe guidelines to uphold moral standards and to avoid even the appearance of evil?
The apostle Paul encourages God’s people to resist the gradual slide away from a strong moral position. “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we should let them slip” (Hebrews 2:1). The word “slip” in Hebrew means to leak away. This compares our minds to a leaky vessel where, in this case, the contents slowly run out of our heads. Is God’s truth, which so forcefully set standards in our minds when it was first reveled to us, still strong and firm in our lives? Or are some of the immoral practices around us not such a big deal these days? Maybe we need to pay attention to the apostle Peter when he says, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your minds by way of a reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior” (2 Peter 3:1-2). If we are not constantly paying attention to God’s Word and the standards it sets out for us, it is possible that “creeping normalcy” could cause vital standards of morality to “leak away”. As one commentary said it, “Inattentive hearers will soon be forgetful hearers.”
It would be good to do a reality check in our own personal lives to see if what we consider to be normal is indeed normal and right when compared with the Word of God.
Warm regards,
Brian Orchard
