|
We continue to be shocked - almost daily - with new revelations and allegations of atrocities that surround the s*xual scandals involving athletic coache s at Penn State and Syracuse universities. We wonder who knew, what they knew, and how long they knew it. We scratch our heads as we try to imagine why proper authorities were not notified. We wonder if college athletics have to be cut back or eliminated. And deep at our core we are asking - even if not verbally - how could an adult do such acts to children.
Even in our pluralistic, non-absolute world, we know deep within that such acts are wrong. There is no one - even in the most liberal of media outlets - that is defending the acts. There are no cries of "Well, I see this as wrong, but who am I to judge?" Indeed there are absolutes that form such standards of behavior. But of all the words that are used to describe such acts, the word "sin" is not used.
As J.R. Slosar shows in his urgent, yet sometimes startling book, the nation's fast-and-loose approach to money and excess is in fact a symptom of a more widespread pattern of excessive behavior. In The Culture of Excess: How America Lost Self-Control and Why We Need to Redefine Success, Slosar portrays an America where the drive to succeed and the fear of mission out manifested itself not only in self-entitled corporate fraud, but in everything from sharp rises in obesity and cosmetic medical procedures to equally troubling increases in eating disorders, panic attacks, and outbreaks of uncontrollable rage.
The Culture of Excess is the first book that I am aware of to assess the impact of economic and social factors on the nation's psychological well-being. Narcissism, productive narcissism, psychopathy, rigidity and self-destruction, perfectionism, the illusion of success, and identity achievement all come into play as Sloser diagnoses psychological drivers behind this indulgent age, offering his prescription for helping "Generation Me" become "Generation We."
Interesting enough there are passages in the New Testament that give us the idea that there were a lot of excesses around in the first century as well. We began in October looking at the fifth chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians. We heard Paul's call to stand firm on the truth because we all are in need of God's grace. Let's continue reading to find Paul's list of sinful excesses that are a part of the natural man's world.
Read more.
Tom May
Discipleship Minister at Eastside Christian Church (Jeffersonville, Ind.)
| 
