by Pastor Rich Carlson

As we continue to follow the story of the book of Acts, Paul is in Athens. The Athenians of the time were a people inundated with idols. Paul even found an idol there with the inscription, "To an unknown god." Luke tells us that this "greatly distressed" Paul. I stopped right there, only two sentences into my reading for the day, and thought about the last time I encountered the aspects of my world that run counter to the teachings of Scripture. Was I "greatly distressed"?

One of my greatest concerns is how easily I can become calloused to sin that surrounds me, desensitized to the evil that tempts me, inoculated against the immorality that bombards me—to the point where I don’t even let it bother me. I want to have a sensitive heart—a heart that hurts when I see the devil at work destroying God’s children, me included!

"Systematic desensitization" is a term we study in abnormal psychology. This principle, used carefully, can help a person gradually deal with an irrational fear or anxiety. But this comes with a spiritual lesson as well. Satan can "systematically desensitize" you and me to the purity of God and the treachery of sin. He does this by bombarding us with little distractions, minor adjustments, small compromises in what we see, hear, and expose ourselves to. If we’re not on guard, we can end up calling evil good (and good—condescendingly—old fashioned).

My greatest fear is not so much that I will do evil, but that I will quit calling it evil, and continue down a road of ignorant compromise as I allow that evil to desensitize me to sin—and by default desensitize me to God’s purity and holiness. I want a heart like Paul’s that was "greatly distressed" by evil.

Once he had grappled with the sinfulness of sin, Paul had an instant direction in speaking to the people of Athens: He reasoned in the synagogue and in the marketplaces with the Jews, Greeks, and new believers about the gospel—about Jesus and the resurrection.

Notice this: After he was "greatly distressed," he responded—but not with condemnation or judgementalism. He didn’t harass them or preach hellfire and brimstone. He reasoned with them.

Acts 17:21 gives us an interesting insight into the Athenian way of life: They "spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas" (NIV). New ideas can be great, providing I navigate my way through them with a firm rudder that keeps me from drifting with every new wave of ideas, customs, teachings, or fads. The Athenians apparently lacked that rudder. Perhaps they were systematically desensitized by their idols.

Paul reasoned on Mars Hill, just down the hill a bit from the acropolis, and his reasoning was centered on the pure and simple gospel of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the only reliable navigation aid. In Him, said Paul, we "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). He provides confidence, direction, purpose, and power to move ahead intentionally for Him. Theere can be no counterfeit, no substitute, no compromise, if I want Christianity to be real.

I can try all the new fads and philosophies, I can experiment with the latest spiritual trends, but if I don’t start with Him, I will be confused and distracted. I must focus on Him as the sole motivator for my life decisions.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. “God Is Faithful” is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.