When I reflect on this I think of our society that wants something for nothing. So many people today want a life of ease with cheap products and are even willing to amass a debt that they will most likely never be able to pay off in their lifetime just to chase after their hearts unquenchable desires.
Part of this situation can be blamed on society but you also have to accept the fact that each person as an adult is responsible for their own decisions. Unfortunately our younger generations are not being equipped with teaching that helps them to make wise choices and evidently, the older generation hasn't learned either.
I looked at the reality of people and the choices they make and unfortunately the truth of the matter that I see is not attractive! People left to their own devices will choose the easiest way, causing our society to degenerate year by year, generation by generation. There are a "few" people of integrity and they will make choices reflecting a respect of themselves and for others, but they are "few".
Even when each generation tries to teach morals and decent living the next generation will take the laxer side and stretch it out even further. There are many people on the more liberal side of society that believe that people are really "good" and that they only make bad choices and do bad things when they are not allowed to be their "good selves". I disagree with this philosophy and say that people are naturally bad and will continue on a long slide into darkness unless their actions and choices are interrupted by an encounter of a spiritual nature.
Of a spiritual nature meaning recognizing that they are more than just a physical being. they are a spiritual being with a body. Once a person recognizes the truth of this situation then they realize that they are not free to just live life in their body and not expect to have repercussions. In other words, if they live like there is no tomorrow then they have yet to understand that they have a spirit that will not stop living just because their flesh body dies.
As a person becomes aware of their spirit being living beyond their flesh then they start to realize that their decisions will have a ripple effect and start to want to learn more about the things that are currently at their fingertips. The new TV, new car, new electronic device, the latest style in shoes that they had to have!
It is very hard for a person that has become a slave to their lifestyle of ease (no strenuous work) and material possessions to turn from the addiction of flashing their plastic charge card to buy whatever their latest whim or desire might be demanding to be satisfied.
Recently my husband and I were sharing some scripture reading, Psalm 12 to be specific and this verse (24) stood out to me. As we went through our business and were out in society for the next few days I watched people and thought how true this scripture is and the American people are the ones that have become lazy and are becoming slaves.
We as Americans have no concept of the freedom that our ancestors lived in. They may not have had all of the luxuries that we currently thing we have to have just to get through our day, such as a cellphone...but believe it or not, they did and so could we. I do believe that our lives would be better if we did not have so much "stuff".
I am guilty of having too much stuff and I struggle with it. My "stuff" isn't the latest gizmo, but it is sentimental things that I have attached memories too. Even those I need to cut back on and simplify to improve my quality of life, but at least they aren't causing me debt!
This is a rambling statement of what I have observed and some things that weigh heavily on my heart.
- We as a people have become fat and lazy, wanting only our ease and comfort. (Even to the point of electing candidates that promise to give us more benefits from the government coffer
- We are in debt and we are happy to be there. We are selling ourselves into slavery to the highest bidder, even if it's a store that has convinced us we have to have whatever the item of the month is. Or a credit card that gives us the benefit of buying things that we really can't afford!
- We are neglecting our families, I see couples and parents that pay more attention to the cellphone in their hands than to the people (children and spouses) that should be receiving all of the current attention. (How many people will wonder why their spouse wants a divorce? or Why their children have grown up to have no connection to them? and it will easily be tracked back to the quality time that was lost while they were busy texting a friend that wasn't even really important in the big picture of their lives?!) How sad to see a young mother with her children at a playground and she never even looks up at them, she is too busy focusing on her cellphone. She wanted these children and now she can't be bothered to watch them when they need her attention, it's not just mothers...fathers are just as guilty. We have become too concerned with our own self-pleasure to be distracted by responsibilities or the needs of others that we are responsible for. Not to mention couples that started their paths with eyes only for each other and now they sit together physically, but their eyes are glued to a cellphone or television and won't make any effort to connect with the person they had hoped to spend the rest of their lives!
- We are losing all respect for ourselves and each other. Why would people be seen in public the way they are and why are they so rude to the people around them?
From these observations, I have to believe that people are not inherently good because if they were, divorce rates, abortion rates would improve, not grow at such an alarming rate. Without a spiritual awareness, society is lost. The society that tries to live simply as "good" physical beings will sink to a base level of self-fulfillment, not rise to a self-sacrificing level where they focus on the well being of all.
I do know the answer to this problem, but in our society, there are few that want to know the solution. A person has to hit bottom and realize that they don't have all of the answers in themselves. Unfortunately, there are many people that are still floating along, they can feel the waves picking up in their lives but they have not felt the tidal wave that will create a heart that is open to hear or see the true way out of the slave, self-absorbed mentality that has consumed them.
I have walked a path of trying to find my own happiness and thinking I could handle it all also, now I have confidence and joy! When you're ready, send an email, I'll be happy to share with you the very same things that I have grabbed hold of (or that has grabbed a hold of me!) that has opened my heart and my eyes. The answer is easy, but your heart has to be open and ready~
Lorna Mercer
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