We do not know what to do with the good. Over the last few days I have been meditating on the fact that God is good, and we are not, and that the state is jealous of all others, and accounts us not as moral agents, but children to be exploited.
None of us are good. And when God, who is good, became incarnate, the state of his day — both the secular empire and the tame religious council — mocked him. But let us not lose sight of what Jesus did. He claimed to be God. If you are a Jew, and say God is one, you will call the Messiah a blasphemer. and kill him.
63Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; 64they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65They kept heaping many other insults on him.
66When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. 67They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; 68and if I question you, you will not answer. 69But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.” 71Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”
Now, we can sit comfortably and consider that this is just the role of unjust rulers and foolish clerics. We can be comfortable in our laity. However, we are jealous of those who seek after righteousness, and try to pull them back to failure. We resent those who succeed, instead of rejoicing in their good fortune. This is so common in the Antipodes that it has a name: the Tall Poppy Syndrome.
This has consequences. Consider this conversation.
I think that’s why I’m focusing more on fasting and prayer and observing what is going on. The more I watch and learn to control myself, the more I notice that what is underlying a lot of our society’s ills — if not all of its ills — is a lack of self-control. A lack caused by giving into Satan’s whispers.
Feminism and masculinism says, “You don’t have to do what is right. Just do what will make you happy.”
Globalization says, “You don’t have to worry about the little people. Just go get yours.”
Tyranny says, “There is nothing right or wrong, there are only the powerful and the weak. Just take what you want.”
Consumerism says, “Waste not, want not? Forget that! Just go shop!”
Slovenliness says, “Why should you care what anyone else thinks about you? Just be comfortable.”
Obesity says, “It’s okay to eat more than you need. Just eat what you like.”
Homosexuality says, “What goes on in your own bed is nobody’s business. Just do what feels good.”
The Culture of Death says, “Other people are in your way. Just remove them and party on.”
And so on. It’s all about refusing to suppress your own desires for the sake of the common good. That’s why I think that this age of decadence can best be combated by a witness against decadence. This isn’t the first time the Church has faced this, after all. The Franciscans were a reaction to society-wide decadence.
That doesn’t mean that we have to all go walk around the streets in monk’s habits, but that we can get control of our desires, one aspect at a time, until we can be true and convincing witnesses for Christ. Fact is, our society is now so utterly decadent that even just getting and staying married is considered a radical act of self-denial. Talk about lowering the bar so that even someone like me can jump over it. LOL It’s sad.
I’m just thinking aloud here
We are not called to remain in this world to sit in some kind of secular unchaste single state where we spend our time and energy on hour hobbies, our interests. We are not supposed to enjoy the decline. We are called to be salt and light: to bear witness to a God who is good, and do his acts, preserving the society we are in, and helping the mad, the crippled and the forsaken (widows in biblical time, young men in this current age).
But we are going to look weird while we do this. We will be mocked, particularly by the elite.
We will be offensive. And at times this will lead to violence: for the pagans and the followers of false religion should feel damned by our acts and the way we live.
But to do this, we need to repent We need to come out of Babylon. We need to look after ourselves, our children, our spouses: we need to be good stewards. we need to work. For our struggle is not merely political and physical. But if we do not stand, our children will not inherit the riches of faith, but instead inhabit the post-modern ruins.
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