May the mumbling commence!
We live in a time of excess. There is no two ways about it. And we pay in so many ways for our excesses. Sometimes when I read the beginning of James chapter five, I think that it was written for me and for the times and culture that I live in. Read the passage below (from Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):
And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.
All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it. (Verses1-6)
Ouch! That hurts. It hits far too close to home, doesn’t it. Or don’t you see it?
We are a culture that loves a bargain. Manufacturing has gone overseas, where the laws for proper wages and facilities and workforce (read child slave labor) are not as strict as they are here. Therefore, corners are cut to save loads of money. The workers in the sweat shops are not given anything near a wage that they can live on.
Think about those cheap clothes that you wear and those cheap electronic devices. They truly do stink.
The stench rises up from our appetites for luxuries. These luxuries begin to rule our lives. They get into our very guts through more than just the convenience food that we eat.
We’ve lived it up. And what will we have to show for it? A fatter than usual corpse is what will come to fruition. Ouch! Think about these words and the obesity of America. Think about these words and the prevalence of diabetes and heart problems and blood pressure problems.
There is another thing that we have as a result of our living it up. We have mounds and mounds of debt – both on the personal and governmental level.
We have these problems, and we are angry. So, violence has become more and more prevalent. Have you ever realized how much of our economy is built upon the industry to destroy human life? Some may point to the abortion clinics, but if that is all that we see then we hardly are even seeing the tip of the iceberg.
Think about the enormous amounts of money that we pour into our military… and that even is not enough. We need to arm every citizen to line the pockets of the guns and munitions moguls. Think about the violent rhetoric that is common place in the government. Think about the movies and the video games industries that sell us violence as the answer to our problems.
How, oh, how can we get out of this mess?!? For starters, we need to realize that our society is sick and we suffer from the sickness whether we recognize the symptoms or not. Where is the narrow path in the midst of this broad path of destruction?
Let us get on our knees to get back on our feet. Read from Peterson’s paraphrase of James chapter four verse ten:
Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get back on your feet.
That’s right. Let us get back to prayer. Let’s allow prayer to transform us one person at a time. Let’s allow prayer to guide us to transform the sickness of society piece by piece. We are either all sick together or we are on the road to recovery together. How will we choose?
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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