More than likely you’ve heard the expression “The best and the brightest”! It is typically applied to those individuals that meet the standards of and satisfy the desires of government and industry leaders. It refers to their ability to grasp complex ideas, to interpret them, to apply them and to utilize them to full advantage for those who employ the “best and the brightest”. Those who employ them, are not always the best and the brightest, and usually are not very honorable either.

The best and the brightest are inclined to receive the best job offers – generally before they graduate from their senior year in college or grad school for those who pursue post graduate work. The offers come with an implicit understanding that for the embarrassingly high wages they receive, they will ask no penetrating questions, and will do what they are hired to do.

That in and of itself may not be all bad. The bad comes in when the best and the brightest are lacking in character, moral fiber and integrity. Then they are malleable and may be used for nefarious purposes. If, for the benefit of a paycheck, you are willing to turn a blind eye to evil, unethical behavior, dishonest gain, wicked endeavors etc., then you are compromised. Once compromised, you cannot go back! You are stuck, and can continue to be used for those nefarious purposes (subtle black mail).

At that point, your conscience, as Scripture says, has been “seared”. As such you are no longer able to discern what is the right thing to do – only the expedient thing to do. Get the job done and get the paycheck no matter who gets hurt! This should explain why, otherwise nice and prestigious people do wicked things.

Of course, the oft overlooked factor is that these best and brightest, like cream float to the top, and as such they are held in high esteem by the media, leaders and resultingly the general public. These people end up being corporate executives, university presidents, university chairs, media moguls, government heads etc. Over time, as more and more of the best and the brightest are promoted into these positions, the more our world becomes a cesspool of wickedness, and deceit. Indeed, they are more like scum that floats on the surface of a pond and keeps the light and life out!

For those of you over the age of 40, ask, if as a kid, you would ever have thought that homosexuals would parade in the streets of major cities nearly naked simulating, or in some instances actually publicly performing sex acts? Would you have thought that homosexual marriage would have been a reality? Would you have thought homosexuals would be able to adopt children? Would you have thought homosexuals would lead “mainstream” churches (Episcopal)? Would you have thought in your very own elementary school that hard core pornography would be not only available in the library, but actually taught in the classroom? Would you have thought a homosexual would become President of the United States (Obama)? Would you have thought the largest company in the world (Apple) would be led by an openly proclaimed homosexual (Tim Cook)? Probably not – unless you are a homosexual. For those of you much under the age of 40, you have my sympathy!

The above people would be, in most cases, considered the best and the brightest, but certainly, not the most highly moral. So, does morality play a part in an orderly and civilized society which can prosper and be at peace? You will have to make that decision, but history from the Bible and elsewhere would reveal that a failure to uphold a high standard of morality will lead to civic and/or national decline (i.e. Sodom and Gomorrah or ancient Israel).

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