There was a time when most police cars were black and white. Some still are, but many now use other colors. The black and white design was no doubt chosen because it makes police cars easy to recognize. How much would a gray car stand out on the road?
Perhaps there is another reason for these colors. The law should be black and white. A police car is a symbol of the power to enforce that law.
The change of colors of police cars is not a matter of right and wrong. It is, however, a striking symbol of what has happened in our culture. We used to see moral issues in terms of black and white. As society changed, we started seeing gray. Now any color or any mixture of colors will do. Every man does what is right in his own eyes (Jud. 21:25).
Is murder wrong? Yes it is, and the Bible says that a murderer forfeits the right to live (Gen. 9:6). Our country used to be clear on that point. Now liberal lawyers have muddied the water so much that a man or woman can literally get away with murder. Is adultery wrong? God says it is (Heb. 13:4). Now so many people are guilty of it that few call it a sin. Is drinking wrong? The Bible says it is (Prov. 23:31; I Pet. 4:3), but the practice is so common that many Christians and even preachers will not condemn it.
Our moral situation, however, is worse than simply going from black and white to gray and then to an array of colors. The problem today is what Isaiah described: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” (Isa. 5:20). Today lying is good if it serves one’s purpose but telling the truth is bad if it makes a sinner feel guilty. Two sodomites adopting a child is love, but two godly parents disciplining a child is mean. Using profanity in public is accepted, but displaying the Ten Commandments is illegal. It is a horrible thing to kill a bald eagle, but it is a woman’s right to kill her unborn child. Another verse in Isaiah describes this moral lunacy well. The people had turned things upside down (Isa. 29:16). That is exactly what our generation has done. People see what they want to see.
The law of God is still black and white. It is not cloudy or gray. What has changed is not God’s Word but man’s heart. God is the same. His nature does not change (Mal. 3:6). The Scriptures cannot be annulled (John 10:35).
But don’t people know a police car when they see one? Of course they do. People also know more about the line between right and wrong than they would have you to think. They may not know as much as they should, but they know that some things are black and white. They may argue that the line between right and wrong is blurry, but let a thief steal half of what they own and murder a family member and the last thing they will say is that morals are relative.
Kerry
West End Church of Christ Bulletin for May 16, 2021
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