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January 7, 2012

Pleasure Culture: Lust, Greed, Pride. A House Built on Sand.

But we know this, that in the last days perilous times will come; For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, without self-control, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
             2 Timothy 3:  1-4

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to hteir own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.


             2 Timothy 4: 3-4

“Jersey Shore” is less a reality show than a cartoonlike comedy that magnifies the vulgarity and bravado of a particularly colorful ethnic stereotype. The new location doesn’t provide the cast with a change of scenery; it gives the gang a fresh spot for “Big Brother” isolation in which to hook up, squabble, fight and drink, in slightly different configurations. Florence does provide plenty of material for gaffes. In a taxi one of the guys wants to know how to tell the driver to go fast. Another suggests he say, “Ciao.”
---NY Times

Deena drops a major bomb on JWoww at the club when she reveals she had unprotected sex right before the trip.
 --Hollywood Life


Culture of Pleasure

It's everywhere you go anymore. Lust, greed, pride.  American culture that once surrounded the TV, as a family, to watch Leave it To Beaver or the Andy Griffith Show has been all but buried in its grave.  Sex is worshiped, selfishness treated as virtue, and wealth treated as success on the TV show Jersey Shore, a tale of a dozen teenagers engaging in adultery and lavish living while serving as models of living for 10 million nightly teenage viewers.  Does anyone even know of C.S. Lewis or heard of the four cardinal virtues; prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude?  Or even the greatest three theological virtues, faith, hope, and love?  


The clock is ticking on humanity, with God preparing his two edged sword to come against all those who do evil and by doing so, cleanse mankind of sin and suffering.  We live in a fallen world, but how much difficult does it seem to remain pure, focused, or holy these days?  Our culture seeks to be entertained.  It's not that entertainment in itself is evil.  It is just that entertainment, like the gladiator shows in the days of the Romans, has become perverted and narcissistic.  A good illustration could be found in the meaning of love which has changed from;


Old Love: What one is willing to give up for it
New Love: The most exciting state of the ego.

Entertainment, like Love, is being changed.  We love to receive, we no longer love to give.  We are infatuated with pleasure.  Like the reality show we love to watch, we seek to maximize our time spent in front of the television instead in front of each other.  Is it any wonder that only 50% of adults are married? and of those marriage, almost 50% end in divorce?


We have lost many battles in our culture, from the days of love, sex, and rock and roll of the 70's onward.  We still stand though as the last bastion of hope in a world full of decadence and decay.  When America's salt loses its flavor it will be 

"good for nothing and thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."
---Matthew 5:13



Stand Firm, those who remain, and be of good cheer for the Lord who has promised is faithful and will come back to redeem those who held their ground.  Do not be memorized with the wealth and vanity of pleasure that is found in this world, but memorize God's Truth and seek to live a life worthy of the calling of which you are called.

"Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the Elder ship.  Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all."

              1 Timothy 4: 14-15

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