View source for Pleasure and Greed

'''[[Without Excuse!]]'''
----
'''Back to [[1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!]]'''
----
Over the last several decades, the  shift toward materialism has been undeniable. Across all nations, the  accumulation of goods has become an obsession. This obsession has led directly  to the emergence of a modern mix of humanism and hedonism—the belief that  happiness and enjoyment of the &ldquo;here and now&rdquo; is the central purpose of life.<br>
  
For increasing numbers, this is taking  a newer form—the sin of&nbsp;<em>gluttony</em>&nbsp;(Prov.  23:21). Almost one-third—73 million—of all  adults in the United States are obese, the Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention (CDC) reported. According to the CDC, from 2007 to 2009, the number  of obese adults aged 18 and over rose by 2.4 million—a 1.1 percent increase.  These statistics are double the national numbers of 30 years ago.<br>
  
For extreme examples of carnal  pleasures, look no further than the average modern city. Strip clubs are  essentially a &ldquo;dime a dozen.&rdquo; Many cities across the globe are no less than a  modern day Sodom and Gomorrah, where &ldquo;pleasure&rdquo; is seemingly the  main impetus for each day. So many now &ldquo;work for their weekends,&rdquo; which are  often filled with parties, drinking and sexual exploits.<br>
  
The spirit of &ldquo;tolerance&rdquo; becomes necessarily  a main theme, and many are taking it to an extreme. All forms of &ldquo;pleasure&rdquo; are  not only tolerated, but actually encouraged. With all of this pleasure-seeking,  one might think there would be increased joy and happiness. Yet people&rsquo;s lives  are now filled with worse problems of every shape and form.<br>
  
Hoping pleasure will bring happiness,  people live &ldquo;in&nbsp;<em>pleasure</em>&nbsp;on the earth, and [have] been&nbsp;<em>wanton</em>&rdquo;  (James. 5:5). Millions have&nbsp;<em>no idea</em>&nbsp;what  brings true happiness. So many are &ldquo;…foolish,&nbsp;<em>disobedient</em>,  deceived, serving [various]&nbsp;<em>lusts</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>pleasures</em>…&rdquo;  (Titus 3:3).<br>
  
We saw that the main motivating factors  behind the recent global financial crisis were&nbsp;<em>greed</em>&nbsp;and <em>covetousness</em>.  Banks were greedy for ever-higher profits. So were investors who took foolish  risks for higher return on investment. And greedy individuals sought loans they  could not repay to purchase material goods they coveted.<br>
 
God sees—and hates—all of these things!<br>

<strong>Violence, Crime and Corruption</strong><br>
Consider how often acts of&nbsp;<em>mass</em>&nbsp;violence  now occur in schools, restaurants or other places in ways that were virtually  unheard of until recently! Who ever heard of &ldquo;serial snipers&rdquo; in previous decades?  The relatively modern phenomenon of terrorism is now worldwide! Gang violence  and warfare have never been greater—or spreading faster. Truly, violence is now  a global epidemic, just as in Noah&rsquo;s  time.<br>
  
According to the World Health  Organization, violence is responsible for the deaths of more than 1.6 million  people worldwide every year. It is &ldquo;among the leading causes of death for  people aged 15-44 years of age, accounting for 14% of deaths among males and 7%  of deaths among females. On an average day, 1,424 people are killed in acts of  homicide, almost one person every minute.&rdquo;<br>
  
Looking at just a few newspapers today  provides a reader with accounts that are but a brief snapshot of an ever  spiraling trend in today&rsquo;s society. News presents a picture of a world truly  &ldquo;full of bloody crimes.&rdquo; Many cases (as evidenced in high-profile cases of  recent years) are so often left unsolved.<br>
  
Gone are the days when parents did not  have to worry if their children left the front yard without them. Today, trust  and confidence have been replaced by&nbsp;<em>suspicion</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>fear</em>!  People no longer consider the effects their actions will have on others. Human  life has been increasingly devalued, as evidenced by some who kill merely  because they have been &ldquo;disrespected&rdquo; or to enter a gang, or even just for the  sake of killing. Many thousands are murdered every year on just the streets of America.  Millions more are slaughtered worldwide each year.<br>
  
More and more, when things do not go  their way, people simply &ldquo;lose it.&rdquo; They go on killing sprees and, in some  cases, end it by taking their own lives. They seem to believe the solution to  their own problems must necessarily involve wreaking misery, unhappiness,  suffering and death on others. The rationale seems to be, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going down, and  I&rsquo;m going to take as many with me as I can.&rdquo;<br>
  
Studies also show that &ldquo;Over two-thirds  of the world&rsquo;s countries are rife with corruption&rdquo; (<em>Reuters</em>).<br>
  
Turn on your television or radio, or go  to the Internet. Pick up a newspaper or news magazine. Watch local, national or  world newscasts. No matter your source for news, one of the regular, big  headlines is&nbsp;crime—and on  personal, corporate and governmental levels.<br>
  
What has been covered is but the  briefest glimpse of what God sees when &ldquo;the eyes of the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;… run to and fro through the  whole earth&rdquo; (Zech. 4:10). A sin-sick world!<br>

But when these things are brought to  people&rsquo;s attention, most blame others, rather than taking responsibility.<br>

<strong>The Blame Game</strong><br>
Many today specialize in playing the  &ldquo;blame game.&rdquo; Large numbers of people feel little or no personal responsibility  for what happens to them. Many now see themselves largely as blameless, innocent<em> victims</em>&nbsp;of any number of possible&nbsp;<em>perpetrators</em>.<br>
  
People who get lung cancer from  cigarettes blame and sometimes sue the tobacco manufacturers. People who kill  in a rage blame temporary insanity. Other killers blame society or their bad  childhood. The victims&rsquo; relatives also blame the gun manufacturers. People who drive  drunk blame the bartenders for letting them get behind the wheel. Addicts blame  the easy access to drugs for their substance abuse. The increase in youth  violence is generally attributed to Hollywood  and video game manufacturers (partly true), instead of parents taking their  fair share of the blame. Overweight people who cannot control their appetites  blame the fast-food industry for their &ldquo;addiction,&rdquo; and often seek huge  &ldquo;damage&rdquo; awards through the courts.<br>
  
Realize that you have been conditioned  to blame others for what is&nbsp;<em>your</em>&nbsp;fault—and&nbsp;<em>your</em>&nbsp;responsibility  to change. You must recognize that you live in the age when there are no  longer&nbsp;<em>perpetrators</em>—unless it is someone else—but rather only  &ldquo;innocent&nbsp;victims.&rdquo;<br>
  
Who is to blame for all of the wrong  conduct described above?<br>
  
Some blame religion. Others blame Hollywood, or the  decadent West. Still others point the finger at educators. Yet others claim  politicians are at fault. And more and more now blame capitalism or other forms  of the free market.<br>
  
There&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;certainly  plenty of blame to go around. Every institution of man&nbsp;<em>has</em>&nbsp;played  a role in the awful and sin-filled condition of society. Terrible evils&nbsp;<em>have</em>&nbsp;been  committed by leaders of every facet of society, and all people&nbsp;<em>will</em>&nbsp;answer  for their part in them. God&rsquo;s vengeance is real (Rom.  12:19;&nbsp;Deut.  32:35). Many verses reveal that His  justice—described as His &ldquo;judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour  the adversaries&rdquo; (Heb. 10:27)—<em>will</em>&nbsp;strike great numbers  of unsuspecting people suddenly—severely—and soon.<br>
  
But stop blaming&nbsp;<em>others</em>&nbsp;for  wrong conduct in&nbsp;<em>your</em>&nbsp;life!<br>
----
'''[[Without Excuse!]]'''
----
'''Back to [[1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!]]'''