Power, lust, greed, sex, gluttony, laziness, and war.
Forget about reading Fifty Shades of Grey just read The Bible or watch it on The History Channel!
Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) and reality show mogul Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Amazing Race) produce The Bible, and have brought viewers what is being called, “The Bible for today’s generation.” They’re not kidding.
Today, children are growing up with more wars than their parents and grandparents. Sex and violence are prevalent in TV shows, video games, and movies. The internet can be a dangerous place kids because you don’t really know who’s lurking on websites and from where. And most kids are becoming desensitized to all of this.
Can we trace power, lust, greed, sex, gluttony, laziness, and war back to The Bible? Sure we can. Here’s how The Bible influences you without you knowing it.
Power
Let’s begin with power. Some political leaders seek to control and enslave their people and the world (if they could) through the use of force, violence, and manipulation. In The Bible, the Egyptian Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites because they were increasing and number and he feared they may help his enemies. However, Moses returned to lead his people to freedom by parting the Red Sea. They settled in Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments.
The Israelites allowed slavery too which extended to pre-pubescent daughters as a last resort if the father couldn’t sell himself. Some became slaves as a result of poverty, whiles others were sold into slavery.
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. ~Lord Acton
Of course, we can’t and won’t forget how the U.S. allowed slavery hundreds of years ago. Both the North and the South owned slaves; however, the North was quieter about it. Don’t believe me. Check out Slavery in the North and other websites and books. Some slaves in the North were referred to as indentured servants, but they were slaves nonetheless. It’s true that most Northern states abolished slavery before the Civil War; however, the fact is they owned slaves. The North isn’t as high and mighty as they’re often portrayed in films and books.
Sadly, we still haven’t learned our lesson that owning another person is wrong. Political leaders around the world use their power to put fear into people so they won’t fight back. Some even imprison their people in camps much like the concentration camps of World War II.
Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. ~John Adams
Lust and sex
These two go together like peas in a pod.
Today, we have porn websites, porn on cable, racy TV shows and made-for-television movies; films, revealing clothing, lingerie (Women buy lingerie and some men like to dress up in lingerie), sex magazines and toys, hot oils and body rubs, and anything else you can think of that will get you in the mood for a wild night of sex, or that will bring back the sex in your relationship. Sex in the 21st century can be kinky.
Okay, some people probably aren’t having wild sex, but the fact is lust and sex run rampant through The Bible.
Don’t worry, it only seems kinky the first time. ~Author Unknown
Is there anything wrong with having sex? No, there isn’t. Is there anything wrong with lust? If you lust after someone’s spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend, you could be asking for trouble.
Some people don’t like to talk about sex at all; it makes them uncomfortable. Maybe they grew up in homes where The Bible was preached from “the Wrath of God” point-of-view. Yet, I wonder how many of those homes had issues with infidelity, addiction, and abuse. I bet some of the parents or guardians in the home did not practice what they preached.
Did you know that King David broke two of the Ten Commandments?
King David broke the seventh commandment of Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery and the tenth commandment of Thou Shall Not Covet (another man’s wife). Oh my!
Kind David took Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, to bed.
In case you didn’t know, adultery is one reason why marriages breakup today.
King David ended up marrying her and they had two children. The first born died of a severe illness, some scholars believe it was punishment for the sins of David and Bathsheba. Their second child was Solomon who built Solomon’s temple.
Perhaps, King David and Bathsheba’s story is one of fate and destiny. But if the Ten Commandments give explicit instructions not to commit adultery or cover another man’s wife, you’d think King David and Bathsheba would have paid closer attention to them.
Next we have Samson and Delilah.
Apparently, guys from the 1970s and 1980s with long hair weren’t the first ones to be considered hot. Guys in biblical times beat them to it.
Delilah was tempted by power and greed (still to come) and agreed to cut off Samson’s flowing locks in exchange for 1,100 silver coins. You have to hand it to Delilah. She got a “two for one deal”; power and greed in exchange for cutting off Samson’s hair. Not a bad deal for her. Samson, on the other hand, was imprisoned, blinded, and made to grind grain. That’s what happens when you’re attracted to untrustworthy women.
We don’t know what happened to Delilah.
To hear many religious people talk, one would think God created the torso, head, legs and arms, but the devil slapped on the genitals. ~Don Schrader
Greed
The economy is still the hot topic on the lips of talk show hosts, both political and non-political.
For all of the talking we do about the economy, we haven’t come up with constructive solutions to boost it.
We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet. ~Stephen Hawking
Because banks and other financial lenders screwed up and approved mortgages and bogus loans for those who could not afford them, financially stable people have to pay the price with bank fees and restrictions.
If you don’t meet the requirements for a checking and savings account such as a minimum daily balance of $1,500.00 or more, you will be charged a monthly maintenance fee, or you can’t open up a checking and savings account. This makes no sense. How the hell are we supposed to teach our kids the proper and right way to manage money if they won’t be able to open a checking and or savings account?
Why do people who try their best every day to do the right thing get screwed?
You could say, “That’s life. It’s not fair.” Or is it a self-fulfilling prophecy, much like the ones told in The Bible?
And then there’s nuclear power and oil (goes with power and not the electrical kind). It’s good for business and some would say the economy, but at what cost? Look what happened with Noah. He had to build an ark, gather up two of every animal along with his family and pile everyone into an ark because God was pissed that the people disobeyed him? Could this happen again? Maybe.
If we really want to get off the grid and no longer be dependent on oil and nuclear power, we would do it NOW! However, many people would lose a lot of money; henceforth, there’s too much power at stake. It’s another “two for one deal” because greed and power can go hand-in-hand when they’re in the wrong hands; hands that aren’t looking out for the highest good of society.
All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry. Edgar Allan Poe
Gluttony
Have you ordered a super-sized meal lately? They may be a thing of the past, or will they?
In The Bible, people usually had feasts for this or that occasion. Kings and queens dined on the finest foods while their subjects starved. It’s no different than today. However, hunger is front and center more now than ever.
Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us. ~Peter De Vries
Obesity in the U.S. and around the world is still an issue. But one minute we’re winning the war on obesity. And then we’re losing it, again.
The fact is people in the U.S. and around the world are hungry.
Why?
Some will argue that low quality foods, mostly processed foods, is readily available, which is why Americans pack on the pounds. If you’re poor and cannot afford to buy good foods, you’re only choice is to buy unhealthy foods.
I disagree.
When I lived in Chandler, Arizona, I used to shop at Fry’s and would purchase organic fruits and veggies and whole grain foods. I had no idea I would receive an abundance of coupons, some of which were for FREE FOOD! You read that right. I received coupons for FREE packaged salad and whole grain cereal (no sugary cereal for me).
If you know how to shop and where to shop, you can buy good food for you and your family.
Let’s face it; crops are grown each year. Animals are slaughtered left and right (my apologies to the animals and vegans). So, why are people still hungry?
It takes a collective mindset to know and understand there’s enough for everyone. Sadly, we focus on hunger and children and families going hungry.
You’d think we’d learn from Jesus’ stories of teaching a man to fish and multiplying loaves of bread and fish. Do you think he would have been able to do that if he was focused on hunger? Jesus focused on creating more bread and fish — he focused on abundance.
New Age gurus would probably say that Jesus used the “law of attraction,” which basically states, “You get what you focus on and what you put emotion behind.” What does society focus on? We focus on HUNGER; therefore, we get more of the same in the U.S. and the world.
Maybe if we focused our energies on ABUNDANCE, people wouldn’t go hungry. We’d help them to help themselves. Since we haven’t squashed hunger, we may have to ask ourselves, “Do we have ego and co-dependency issues?” After all, charities and celebrities go hand-in-hand; they focus on ending WORLD HUNGER, but haven’t done so, yet.
The flesh endures the storms of the present alone; the mind, those of the past and future as well as the present. Gluttony is a lust of the mind. ~Thomas Hobbes
Laziness
Do you know someone who you consider to be lazy?
What about our kids? Is it our fault they may be lazy?
Failure is not our only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others. ~Jules Renard
No matter how much you pray someone will change (you can only change yourself), they could remain lazy.
Some moms and dads enjoy doing everything for their children such as laundry to cooking. But is this helpful? Is it good for society?
Consider the following Proverbs:
Proverbs 10:4: A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Proverbs 12:24: The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.
Proverbs 14:23: In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter[a]leads only to poverty.
If moms and dads continue to do things for their children, why should they learn to do anything? Why should children learn how to cook, run a household, clean, do laundry, etc. There’s just one problem: moms and dads won’t live forever, physically speaking. When they die what happens to their children who eventually grow up into adults? Who’ll do their laundry? Who’ll cook? Don’t worry about it. Your adult children can take their laundry to the laundromat or dry cleaners. They can eat out seven-days a week too. Some may call this convenience, but others will call it laziness. Only you know what is true for you.
Being lazy once in a while has its benefits. Sometimes you need to relax and rejuvenate your body, mind, and soul after you’ve put in long hours at the office or worked on a project for several months without a break. But chronic laziness won’t benefit you in the long run. The people in your life will tire of supporting you financially, emotionally, and physically. What will you do when they leave you?
Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction. ~Anne Frank
War
What is it good for anyway?
Some will say it’s good for the economy. Others will say it’s good because we fight for freedom, liberty, and justice.
If we don’t end war, war will end us. ~H. G. Wells
No matter how you spin it, nothing good ever comes from a war.
Look at the U.S. soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s like they finished one war and now have to face another one at home by facing bureaucracy and red tape. They have mental and emotional issues. They have trouble finding jobs. Some will get divorced. Most have to wait for healthcare or are denied. How fucked up is that? These men and women put their lives on the line to protect us, and they can’t get decent healthcare and benefits.
All we do is talk and talk about how they deserve this and that. Quit talking and just give them what they deserve. Yes, they signed up for the military, but we need the best of the best in our armed services right now since we haven’t figured out how to get along. Imagine that. It’s been thousands of years since the time of Jesus, and we still can’t get along with one another. I guess you could say we learned from our ancestors and have yet to un-learn from them.
All war is deception. ~Sun Tzu
In Conclusion
There you have it, the seven ways The Bible influences you today.
In essence what happened or what is proclaimed to have happened thousands of years ago can set us FREE! All we have to do is learn from the mistakes and sins of the past. Hopefully, we do this sooner rather than later. If you’ve read The Bible then you know Revelations is one hell of a story that WE DO NOT want coming to life.