A High Price

Daily Reading: Leviticus 20

Scripture Focus: I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech. (Leviticus 20.3)

Devotional Thought: I was interested in seeing the response of the media to the passing of Hugh Heffner, founder of Playboy. He was an icon in the sexual revolution, heralded by progressives as good and right. But, what would they do with his treatment of women as sex objects? Feminists cannot accept that. As I expected, many outlets did not know exactly how to handle it. God, however, is not ambivalent about it. God sees the horror unleashed on the children of America and the world, and he sets his face against it.

In ancient days, children “given to Molech” were newborns thrown in the fire to be sacrificed to the pagan deity in hopes of prosperity and fertility.

Hugh Heffner has said that what he was most proud of in his life is the normalizing of promiscuity, the acceptance of sex outside of marriage. In saying that, I wonder if he gave any thought to the

• thousands of children who would become victims of sex trafficking and child pornography in this day of sexual immorality.

• millions of children who would be born to unwed mothers and subsequently left in poverty so that he could have his free sex and personal prosperity.

• millions more children whose lives would be taken before they would ever see the light of day.

A high price has been paid as America – in her thirst for unrestrained sex – has thrown her children to Molech.

Prayer: Father, on behalf of the millions of lives snuffed out through abortion and the millions of children raised in material and spiritual poverty, we do repent and beg your mercy on America. Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 21 But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. 23 I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat. 25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads. (Psalms 109:21-25)