Where is the sense of shame today?

"And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens" (Ezra 9:5-6).

While in captivity a remnant of the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. During this time it was made known that they did not separate themselves from the nations around them and began to do the same sinful deeds as those nations. But Ezra the scribe fell down before God because for the sins of his people and was so ashamed that he did not even want to lift his face up to God. Where is that sense of shame today?

I know a Pastor, who on more than one occasion has had unmarried couples that call themselves Christians approach him for prayer. "Pray for us Pastor, we are having problems," The Pastor was led of God to ask, "Are you sleeping together?" “Yes, but we are planning to get married." Really, but you are not married yet, and you're having sex but you want me to pray for you because your having problems.” God isn’t going to hear that prayer anymore than he would hear the prayer of a bank robber asking for his heist to go well. "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil" (1 Peter 3:12). Where is the shame?

To keep from becoming desensitized by the world around us we must seek daily the renewal of our minds though the word of God. We must keep a short account of sins by confessing any and all sin immediately to God (1 John 1:9; Psalm 51). We must get our eyes off the filth of this world as gaze on the glories of God (2 Cor. 3:18; Hebrews 12:1-4). "One of the greatest of all evils is indifference toward all evil." O God, open our eyes to see sin's ugliness and have mercy on us.