Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

Many of us are very aware of the dishonesty and selfishness in our societies. We understand that most politicians are self-serving, and many businesses barely attempt to hide their exploitation of workers. That’s the way it is. What can we do about it?

When we live in a world where unchecked sin and selfishness causes harm, choosing integrity at every turn is exhausting. It would be much easier to turn a blind eye to the people getting stepped on so that you can make a few extra dollars. Perhaps we’re doing what we really know to be wrong.  It can get so discouraging that we even stop questioning whether there is something that we can do about what’s wrong.

Thousands of years ago, Paul confronted the followers of Jesus who lived in Rome.  Roman society was pompous, depraved, indulgent, and prideful. The Christians lived and moved in this society and were not immune to sin. But Paul encouraged them, writing, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Take some time today to examine whether you are feeding the sins of the society you move in. Then take heart that what we have lost, Jesus restores. But this doesn’t happen magically, it happens through sacrifice – both Jesus’ sacrifice and by turning away from our sins. We can use the Bible book of Romans as a guidebook for choosing integrity in a corrupt society.

 

Resource reading: Romans 5:1-11