Daily Devotional for Friday July 14, 2006

Brad and Angelina, the Glorification of Adultery

(1 Corinthians 6:9; Ephesians 5:3; Malachi 2:16)

Brad and Angelina--the glorification of adultery, fornication, and making a mockery of God's Holy Institution of Marriage and the family! I wish today's Devotional was only about a couple of movie stars living their lives in complete and total rebellion to God and His Word. It is not a new Hollywood story. A married actor is off shooting a movie with a gorgeous actress. They have a wild affair during the making of the movie. The actor dumps his actress wife for the other actress who gets pregnant with his child. It is a common and reoccurring tragedy that has been playing out in the pages of the gossip rags since Hollywood came into existence. Sadly, it is also a common and reoccurring tragedy in the lives of real people who aren't famous that we deal with every day here at Liveprayer.

While the sins of famous people end up being broadcast to the world, they commit the very same sins people the world will never know about are committing every day. I used Brad and Angelina in the title today since most who are reading these words know who they are. However, I have dozens of other names I also could have used, JUST FROM THE EMAILS WE RECEIVED AT LIVEPRAYER TODAY! These are people who are committing the exact same sins that these two Hollywood stars are. Adultery, fornication, divorce, making a mockery of God's Holy Institution of Marriage, perverting God's plan for the family, just to name a few. Sin is not exclusive to the famous, but something we ALL struggle with.

When stories like this one with Brad and Angelina come out, I always take time to pray for those involved. First for their salvation. The reality is they will die one day like we all will, and like everyone, they too will stand before God. The Bible says that if they die without Christ in their heart they will be lost for all eternity. How sad. All of their fame, all of their fortune, won't help them or make any difference at that moment. God tells us that it is His desire NONE be lost, that ALL come to repentance. That means Brad and Angelina too. The same Jesus who died for my sins, the same Jesus who died for your sins, is the very same Jesus who died for their sins. So I pray for them to come to a place in their life where they will humble themselves before the Lord, confess and repent of their sins, and accept Christ into their hearts and lives by faith.

Also, when sad stories like this come out I am neither shocked nor surprised. What do you expect from people who have chosen to live their lives apart from Christ and in rebellion to God's Word? Why would you expect people who reject Christ to live lives that honored Him? They have given themselves over to the lusts of their flesh and we see the consequences of their carnal lives. What troubles me much more are those people who I deal with each day here at Liveprayer who claim to know the Lord and love Him, yet are living their lives no different than lost souls like Brad and Angelina. We all sin, we all fall short of God's glory, but those who know the Lord have to rise above their sin and live lives pleasing and acceptable to Him!

The biggest problem with these sad tragedies like Brad and Angelina is the fact that their sins are not condemned but glorified! In just the brief 48 years I have been alive, I have seen sins like adultery, fornication, divorce go from being despised and scorned, to lauded and exalted! Our culture went from condemning sin and speaking against it, to accepting sin and actually applauding it! We are no longer horrified by man's sin, we actually celebrate it! Sin has gone from being something men were ashamed of to now being something men are proud of. Woe unto us that minimize what God calls rebellion and separates us from His Holy presence!!!

Let me tell you the reality that ISN'T being broadcast about sin, and that is the very real damaged and destroyed lives of very real people as a result of man's rebellion to God. As I have shared with you in the past, sin costs my friend, it costs much! I don't care if you are a famous Hollywood actor or an anonymous goat herder in a third world country, sin costs! There are consequences when we sin. Brad Pitt and his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston are both dealing with the pain and heartache caused by his adultery, and will have that pain and the scars of divorce for the rest of their lives.

Pitt and Angelina Jolie will deal with the consequences of their sin for the rest of their lives whether they stay together, or most likely move on to someone else in the future. Of course, caught in the middle of all of this sin are the innocent children who grow up with their lives forever affected by the uncertainty and instability of these sinful relationships.

As sins like adultery, fornication, divorce, the perversion of God's Holy Institution of Marriage and the Family are glorified and promoted as acceptable choices, more and more adults, young and old, choose to commit these sins in their own life without any thoughts of the consequences their sinful choices will have. They don't learn until it is too late how greatly their sins have harmed them, in some cases even destroyed their life. Even worse, their sins have also harmed and often destroyed the lives of others as well. It is too bad that sin is promoted as acceptable and glorified as something wonderful, yet you are never told about the pain, hurt, and destruction it causes.

I love you and care about you so much. I am asking you to take a few moments today to pray for Brad and Angelina. Pray that they open their hearts to Christ's love for them and surrender their lives to Him. All of their fame and money will be meaningless the moment they die and are standing before God. In that instant only Christ will matter, and unless they come to know Him by faith, God will cast them into everlasting darkness for all eternity. So please, pray for their salvation today.

Also, please pray for those you may know today who are living their lives in rebellion to God and His Word. People who have chosen to reject Christ and live according to the lusts of their flesh. They need to know that their sinful choices carry consequences and there is a huge price to pay when we make the choice to sin. So much of the heartache and pain of life is avoidable if people will simply follow the Lord and live according to the Truth of His Word. As I tell you often, our way never works, God's way ALWAYS works! So pray for those people you know who are living in rebellion to God and His Word, that they will humble themselves and surrender their hearts and lives to Him.

Sadly, people in our society idolize those who are in the movies, on TV, have the God-given ability to play sports at the highest levels. There is nothing wrong with appreciating the gifts and talents of a sports star or an entertainer, but the only one we should idolize is the only one who lived this life without sin...and that is Jesus! Rather than idolizing men and women of flesh and blood and glorifying their sins, let us idolize the One who gave His flesh and blood as payment of our sins. On the day you die, God is not going to ask you if you know who Brad or Angelina is, only if you know who Jesus is!!!