These Days - The Fall of Nations - Pt 4

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:20-24 ESV).

There are a few of those “old sayings” that have stuck with us through the years. One of them seems to have been well rooted in our culture. We have often heard it said that “You can’t take it with you.” Evidently one individual might disagree with that based on the photo include with today’s thought! Another has been, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Amazingly we have seen that replaced by “Work hard, but play harder.” The first half of that saying (working hard) is pretty good advice; however, there is a very subtle danger in it. There is an inherent potential for imbalance that working hard also permits one to “play” harder. Today, one of the great dangers facing our culture is that this “work hard and play harder” philosophy has left us with little time for what Jesus describes as “laying up treasures in heaven.” We have become a nation of pleasure seekers and immediate gratification. The Romans were masters of extreme pleasure-seeking. They entertained themselves with gladiators and gambled on who would live or die. They enjoyed the sight of Christians, Jews and other enemies of the state being eaten alive by wild animals shipped from exotic regions. Residents were proud of their lavish villas, imported cuisine and fine attire. They thrilled themselves with plays, bathhouses, indoor pools and drunken parties held in the honor of Bacchus, the false god of wine and sensual pleasures. Similarly, we have entertained ourselves with mindless “reality” television programs driven by deception and gratuitous behaviors. The best marketing ploys play on our weakness by touting materialism as the sign of real success. The only outcome of such a culture is a destiny of failure. This phenomenon has been given a diagnosis in the world of psychology as it has affected more and more of our children, “low life satisfaction.” Well, whatever diagnostic name it is given, I am convinced that our rabid pursuit of more has brought us to a position where our children feel trapped and without hope. Perhaps we shouldn’t really be surprised when some of these children turned to violence as an expression of their frustration and confusion. Of course, I am not saying this is the singular reason for such radical behavior; however, I do believe that we could do much more to help our children achieve better balance in life with a foundation of Godly principles rooted in the relationship we have through Christ. It begins with us. We must model the right “master” in our lives. Let’s take a breath, pause for a slower and simpler lifestyle trusting in the provision of God. Our children will be better for it!