Morality, Modern Culture, and Free Time
Our modern culture plays a huge role in the decline of personal morality led primarily by a continual bombardment with overtly sexual images.
No one would doubt the increasingly lascivious nature of the images produced for movies, television, and advertising. When a beer company promotes their product via a commercial, the beer itself often plays a supporting role. It is the blond woman who “advertises” the beer—not the product itself.
For the first time in human history, the sights and sounds of culture are beamed directly into our homes. We can turn on the radio, watch television or surf the web without moving our chair. It is possible to be completely entertained and nourished without leaving our residences. We can watch whatever we please while we order a pizza.
These images saturate our existence. Unlike the past when most people actually lived with family or with roommates, our culture is migrating toward single living. I live alone do not believe that living alone is inherently wrong. However, I do see it as an inherently more dangerous way of living, but more on that later.
Culture is now completely at our local disposal. We regularly imbibe heinous and slovenly acts through these media. And because we are more likely to live alone, we have created a wickedly fertile ground for sin.
If you were writing an equation it would be something like this:
Media Influx + fertile imagination + time – accountability = BAD
This situation is like a powder keg, waiting for a spark to set it off. Maybe that spark is frustration. Maybe that spark is tiredness. I’m not sure what that spark may be, but because of the environment that we live in, it doesn’t take much to devolve into a continual and spiraling cycle of sin.
It would be wise to consider the environment you have “created” for your life. Have you created a system that is going to break down? Have you created a system that is going to lead you to sin? We all have vestiges in our life that are built on some prideful assumption that we are strong enough to deal with these difficult situations. We have created an institution at odds with the lifestyle outlined by Jesus, and we are foolish to continue believing that this institutional failure won’t cause significant problems as we strive to become better followers of Christ.
Unfiltered personal time aided by the sights and sounds of the media will lead to personal failure if we don’t minimize alone-time while participating in an active and useful accountability system.
Comments
alisha Said: (November 13, 2006 04:18 PM)
i agree. in my global issues we talk about the social, political and economic issues that "plague" our society & the class ultimately blames the culture, but every week I leave knowing that culture isn't going to change unless we recognize our depravity and embrace our Savior. And we, as believers need to be accountable & speak truth