Scientific Laws of Nature vs. Natural Moral Laws

Some other moms and I took our daughters, who are entering middle school next week, away for the weekend as part of our Princess and the Kiss Bible study group.  The lessons we covered with them on submission and feelings seem so apropos for our culture today.

Vineyard view at the retreat

Feelings are volatile, ever changing, often deceptive, and beat us up like the rough ocean waves (James 1:6), while God's absolute truth never changes, always protects, and works for the greater good.   As we showed our girls the wisdom in making choices based on truth instead of feelings, we had to apologize for handing them a postmodern world in which illogical, unreasonable feelings are the ever changing standard instead of God's moral law which He has placed in the heart of every human being. 

Roasting marshmallows under a blue moon at our mother/daughter retreat

We live in the most technologically advanced society ever because we have respected the scientific laws of nature, yet by refusing to acknowledge fundamental natural moral laws embedded in the heart of every human being, we have regressed more morally than ever before in America. Scientific/technological breakthroughs always begin with a healthy respect for the laws of nature. The Wright Brothers never would have taken flight had they ignored the law of gravity. Any attempt at flight while ignoring gravity because it was inconvenient would have been disastrous. Men sent on space missions never would have safely re-entered earth's atmosphere had NASA ignored the fact that objects moving at high speeds entering the earth's atmosphere cause tremendous friction and heat. Understanding that the spacecraft would burn up upon entering the earth's atmosphere, NASA applied heat shields and calculated precise angles necessary for safe re-entry. 

Yet, after thousands of years of testing natural moral laws and learning that they are always for our protection, peace, and well-being, our culture has decided to ignore them. In our postmodern culture, feelings trump facts. Those who have chosen to ignore this moral law do what feels good instead of what we all know innately is right. When the fleeting good feelings fade, however, and peace seems further out of reach, the blame is placed on those who do not approve of such choices. Feelings insist that one can have both peace and whatever those feelings desire as soon as those choices receive 100% validation from every person, institution, and government body. Yet, peace apart from the natural moral law will never come. Government funding and social acceptance of Planned Parenthood's practice of tearing unborn babies apart or blasting them to bits, depending upon how much each of those parts is worth on the black market, does not make it right or change the fact that the aborted child is a sacred human life. Supreme court rulings and federal mandates do not change the fact that certain lifestyle choices are harmful physically, spiritually, and socially.

Whenever we ignore the common moral law or scientific laws of nature, harm follows. The truth isn't always convenient or desirable at the moment, but it is always for our greater good.  Whereas the culture constantly seeks validation for harmful lifestyle choices, those who surrender to God's truth need no outside validation whatsoever. They know who they are and whose they are and what anyone else thinks is irrelevant. Feelings come and go, but the truth is what really matters. When we anchor ourselves in God's truth, the wind and waves do not move or upset us. The truth is that each of us is loved lavishly by a good and gracious God who died to set us free from those desires that take us captive. If we submit to His truth, He will set us  free and give us peace that surpasses all understanding. (Philippians 4:7)

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:31-32)