Navigating Morality in an Age of Excess: Reflections from the Road
Hello friends, I again come to you after a week of extensive driving. What was originally planned to be a non-travel week turned into a last-minute trip to Las Cruces to take care of some stuff. This turned into a round trip of roughly eleven hours of driving, thus giving me plenty of time to indulge in all sorts of podcasts and audiobooks, which, as many will know, is something I greatly enjoy. Over recent weeks, I have found myself asking questions on the subject of morality. As we are living in an increasingly atomized and hedonistic culture, I can’t help but ask to what degree it is morally right for Christian leaders in politics to impose laws to legislate morality. This is a question I proposed to some friends during our Utah trip. This question turned into a lively debate, and there were many more opinions on this subject than I had first thought there would be.
Yesterday, we celebrated the 4th of July and the freedom won by the blood of thousands of young men. This freedom has made America one of the greatest nations ever to exist. Though we are not perfect, and we have undoubtedly made many mistakes in our short history, as many other nations have, we have sought to abide by a morality built upon the ideas of the Bible. Yet this freedom we have been blessed to enjoy is also a curse if individuals do not impose some form of self-governance upon themselves. In my view, this is the problem many of us face today, not only in America but the entire Western world.
During my travels over this last week, I listened to a book called “The Porn Myth” by Matt Fradd, a book that does an excellent job of debunking many of the false notions that exist within our porn-saturated culture. Porn is increasingly being seen as a problem, and many non-profits exist to combat it. I could write an entire piece on the subject of porn, but I want to approach this subject from a slightly different angle today. The truth is that porn preys on a natural desire that exists within all mammals. This material also preys specifically on men being more visually stimulated creatures. And so this has become a vice for many millions of young men. However, there is an increasing number of women who are also falling prey to it, and there are many pornographers who have begun creating content that is targeted toward female desires. The protection of pornography from being made illegal in the United States primarily stems from interpretations of the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Courts have consistently ruled that this protection extends to various forms of expression, including pornography, as long as it does not violate specific legal standards such as obscenity laws established by the Supreme Court in cases like Miller v. California (1973). These standards typically require that material must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value to be considered obscene and, therefore, outside of First Amendment protection. Thus, while the Constitution does not explicitly mention pornography, its protection under free speech laws has been upheld through judicial interpretation.
The Seven Deadly Sins
This leads me to the subject of “The seven deadly sins.” Though the Bible never defines these sins in this term, I think it is useful for the purpose of this writing today. These sins are as follows.
Pride: Pride is often associated with Lucifer's rebellion (Isaiah 14:12-15) and is condemned throughout the Bible (Proverbs 16:18, James 4:6).
Greed (Avarice): Jesus warns against the love of money (Matthew 6:24, Luke 12:15) and covetousness (Exodus 20:17).
Lust: Jesus speaks against lustful thoughts (Matthew 5:28) and adultery (Exodus 20:14).
Envy: Envy is condemned as a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) and is exemplified in the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-8).
Gluttony: Gluttony is warned against in Proverbs 23:20-21 and discussed in passages about self-control and temperance (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).
Wrath (Anger): The Bible cautions against wrath and anger (Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8) and advises on forgiveness and peace (Matthew 5:9).
Sloth (Acedia): While not explicitly named, the Bible promotes diligence (Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 12:24) and condemns laziness (Proverbs 20:4).
Here, we return to the term self-governance, which is a term of self-control. In my view, it is a willful submission of one’s personal autonomy. Self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit, yet it is often spoken of in very narrow terms. Self-control is also not a popular idea in the American mind as we have been trained to believe in the idea of ultimate freedom; this means that I should be free to do whatever I wish. This idea of ultimate freedom is a Luciferian idea. This idea is also the bedrock of the work of Alister Crowley, in his book called “The Book of The Law” Crowley writes.
“Do what thou wilt shall be the entirety of the law.”
In many ways, Americans and the Western world have adopted this hook-line and sinker, which has resulted in the cultural chaos within which we now live. We suffer physically as more and more people adopt gluttonous ideas, indulging their appetites and becoming physically obese. They indulge in the lust of the flesh, feeding whatever their appetite demands. They are ruled by their stomach and eyes rather than being masters of them. I found myself convicted as I used to watch shows that contained various forms of sexual material. Yet as I began to eliminate these, I realized that these gluttonous ideas of indulging every desire were everywhere, watching “How I Met Your Mother” or “Friends.” I saw that each of these shows promoted ideas of gluttony. Prudence and self-control did not exist anywhere in these stories.
As I realized the reality of this, I began to cut out more and more television, and I began to be unable to watch anything without seeing an underlying message. I began to see everything as some form of “training.” I have since come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as neutral media. Everything we watch has an objective; everything we watch feeds certain ideas into our minds, thus cultivating our appetites. Media is also something that desensitizes us. I first became aware of how desensitized I had become to something like “gore” when I watched one of the Halloween movies a while back. In this scene, Michael Myers murders a group of firefighters with a pick axe. Watching it, I found myself disturbed by what I was watching; I also found myself somewhat confused as years before this, I would have regularly watched horror movies with zero effect. Yet, as I meditated on this, I realized that the fact that I was disturbed by this scene was good. I should be disturbed by someone violently murdering people.
Since then, I have been increasingly sensitive to horror movies, and I believe this is a good thing. Horror movies often depict many scenes of evil that should disturb us, and if they do not, I think it is worth pondering why. I found a similar result when I used to watch “Game of Thrones,” a series filled with explicit sexual and nude material. Here, too, watching this show, I found that I didn’t flinch at the material I saw on the screen; it was normal for the show, after all. Yet, as I committed to not allowing myself to watch such material, I found I again became sensitive to it, and through this, I found the conviction of the spirit return.
Our world today does not believe in prudence and self-control. Instead, it preys on the human creature's base appetites. Prudence and self-control are key virtues that, if not actively developed, leave us increasingly susceptible to these seven deadly sins. Only by God's grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit can we hope to stand firm in these things. These ideas have pushed me to evaluate my life personally and have convicted me to put my Instagram on the maximal content restriction; it has convicted me of limiting how much time I am allowed to spend on media platforms. In closing, I want to reflect on how we oppose these vices and these sins according to the guidelines given to us by the Bible.
Virtues to Oppose Vice
Humility (Opposes Pride):
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." - Philippians 2:3
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." - James 4:10
Generosity (Opposes Greed/Avarice):
"Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." - 1 Timothy 6:18
"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." - 2 Corinthians 9:7
Chastity (Opposes Lust):
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body." - 1 Corinthians 6:18
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." - Colossians 3:5
Contentment (Opposes Envy):
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" - Hebrews 13:5
"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." - Proverbs 14:30
Temperance (Opposes Gluttony):
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23
Patience (Opposes Wrath/Anger):
"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." - James 1:19
"A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel." - Proverbs 15:18
Diligence (OpposesSloth/Acedia):
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." - Colossians 3:23
"Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth." - Proverbs 10:4
There is much more I could say on each of these ideas, but I will refrain for today to avoid extending the length of this post beyond where it is already.
