I am not really good with plants. I can't even recognize the difference between plants and weeds very well. Many times, I have "weed-whacked" down perfectly good plants, while leaving weeds that I thought were real plants, standing. However, I have heard about a problem that afflicts some potted plants. It's called "root rot." The roots get rotten, the plant gets sick, and often the plant dies. Sometimes it's from watering the potted plant too much, which causes the excess water to set up "water mold" and ultimately root rot.

I think we have root rot in our country. The roots of our faith are being watered down and the church is sick. A new study by the "Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life" illustrates how the core lifestyles of many Christians are eroding.

Tolerance and love are great; however, these cannot be purchased at the expense of truth and character. We must be grounded and rooted in God's Word and seek after both His character and compassion. There are a lot of philosophies and opinions floating around about spiritual things. The Bible, however, must be the anchor that holds us in this stormy sea. My opinions about sexuality, abortion, and morality are not really important. What really matters is what the One who made us all says about these things in His Word. This is true even if our values become unpopular in contemporary culture. God's truth is still the truth.

Have you ever had a friend or loved one tell you about someone selling them something that sounded too good to be true? That has happened to me several times. I have to say, "I hate to tell you this, but what they told you is not true." If we really love someone, we will tell them the truth if someone is going to cheat them out of what is theirs. The same is true about spiritual truth. We need to help them see God's truth from the Word, even if they have been told something else.

In the very first psalm in the Bible, the psalmist reminds us of this great truth:

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psalm 1:1-6 NKJV).

The same is true of spiritual truth.
Let's nourish the roots of our faith, and not over water them with what will lead to root rot.