Mark 12:29-31 – 29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

In just a few days, we will see, “who’s been naughty and who’s been nice,” by presents we receive or if we get coal and switches in our stockings. That’s how the song goes: He’s making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.

Recently, there’s been a list that no one; certainly no public figure wants to be on — the list of people who have sexual abuse allegations against them. It seems like every few days a new name is added to the list. The list includes politicians from Democrats and Republicans, some religious leaders and of course, all the way to the music and entertainment industry from executives, newscasters and actors.

Our society is at a tipping point. A relativistic culture that accepts no absolute right or wrong has declared sexual abuse to be an absolute wrong. As we should. Now that we have decided on at least one objective moral standard, how can we reinforce it?

Let’s consider ancient wisdom that our culture has tragically rejected in recent generations. Imagine the difference in our culture if we recognized that there are absolutes of right and wrong. This is where we get the idea of “the golden rule.” Until we recognize what it means to love God with all of heart, soul, mind and strength, we aren’t equipped to be able to love our neighbor as ourselves.

For some it’s hard to love our neighbor. To do so means we have to forgive, get over our prejudices, and give up our critical nature. That’s hard to do on our own. We need to be open to the power of the God of love to be able to do so. Some people even have a hard time loving themselves. When sexual immorality becomes public, it affects far more than the perpetrator. Spouses and children will live with the stigma of the scandal, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

Even though God forgives all we confess to him (1 John 1:9), his grace does not remove all the consequences of sin. So, let’s be the change we wish to see in others. How? Use your influence for godliness. Stand up to the sexual abuses in our culture. Pray and work for moral awakening in our day. I am praying our culture is at a turning point. There would be no better Christmas gift for our culture today. May God bless you this Christmas.

REV. JOHN MOXLEY can be reached at Jmoxley1@juno.com.