When the bible describes a crooked and perverse nation, it is easy to apply that description to our own time. Out text describes how to live in such a corrupt environment. Socially and politically we live in a world where it is hard to be shocked or surprised. Statistically, we know that church attendance is on the decline. People are turning away from God and seeking their answers in another place. On the eve of our country's elections, we can find ourselves fearful of what the future will hold. We must remember however, that whomever is in control of the government, God is in control of the world. The world in which we live is in great darkness. If we look only to the world, we do not see any reason for hope or relief. Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, described a way to live for God even in the worst of times. The things that he describes to the first century turch, can be applied to our times today. Simply put, a child of God has to live differently than the world. We are to live defined by different principles and purposes. Paul begins by addressing an attitude problem. He says to do things without murmuring and disputing. We must not let the times affect our attitude. We must not let the world’s attitude to make us a complainer or a whiner. Secondly Paul admonishes us to not live by the same set of rules that the world lives by. The world will always change and adapt it’s rules to accommodate whatever is the prevailing attitude of the day. This moral relativism is contrary to God’s absolutes. God’s rules have not changed, and neither can our observation of those rules. We must live in a way that the world can never discredit God because of our actions. Paul reminds us that we must recognize a crooked and perverse world for what it is. We cannot make excuses for sin or try to try to justify it. We must go back to God’s word and never try to mix the light and the dark. We have to reflect the values of His world and not this world. The things that Paul described to the early church are still relevant to us today and are a pattern for life in a perverse world.