The New Normal
There’s a new weeknight television program in America on NBC. It’s titled The New Normal; and after only six weeks on the air, it is already being described by some TV critics as the “best comedy of the season.”
The network describes it this way: “These days, families come in all forms—single dads, double moms, sperm donors, egg donors, one-night-stand donors. … It’s 2012 and anything goes. Bryan and David are a Los Angeles couple, and they have it all. Well, almost. … There is one thing that this couple is missing: A BABY.” And so they begin looking for a surrogate to provide their child!
While it’s not my intention to comment on the lifestyle choices of those involved in this new TV show (that’s another subject entirely!), it’s the title of the show that I want to focus on—The New Normal.
The title of the show is actually a metaphor, a metaphor that applies to many areas of our culture today!
So what does the term “normal” really mean? Many people—when they anxiously ask, “What is normal?”—are wanting to know what is “expected,” what is “right,” what is “okay.” Many people—when they are told, “Oh, that’s normal”—are actually reassured!
The word is defined, in terms of behavior, as “conforming to common behavior in society.” But “normal” changes when societal standards change! So “normal” isn’t a constant—it’s actually a moving target!
And the most critical areas of life are those that have affected and changed who we are.
What is “the new normal” for the institution of marriage today? What is “the new normal” for sexual relationships outside of marriage? What was defined as “normal” 20 years ago is, in many cases, considered by some to be “way out of the mainstream” today!
And some would claim that all of this is progress! But the question we should ask ourselves is, “Is it really a good thing?”
Do you know where “the new normal” will take you, your children and your family? How will their world be changed when they are grown? Is “the new normal” an enlightened truth about loving people and “tolerance,” or are people confusing care and tolerance for new definitions of what is right and wrong?
God’s Word—the Bible—foretold of a time in the near future referred to as “the last days” when a new normal would emerge. The apostle Paul wrote to the Church when he said, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, … blasphemers, … unholy, … without natural affection, … despisers of those that are good, … lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.”
And the prophet Isaiah, when discussing the changing morality on earth at the time of the end, stated, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”
There’s no doubt that “the new normal” is not just a sit-com on network television. It’s actually a term that defines the changing world we live in. It is the sobering reality of humanity determining its own definitions of right and wrong apart from God.
For Life, Hope & Truth, I’m Doug Horchak.
