The Root Cause of Corruption

Our society is rooted in independence, self-sufficiency, self-accomplishment, and being a "winner". They all require an attitude of pride and the greater the self-accomplishment, sufficiency, and winning you are, the greater that pride fullness is developed, the more victories and accomplishments it will need to feed on to satisfy an insatiable drive. Sex driven commercials are directed to people of all ages grinding away any their sense of shame and respect for the temple we have been gifted with.

Pride in the physique and grooming supplant the grooming of the soul and heart. Pride in societal designated attractiveness and sexual performance replaces performance for God except to be at church each week for those who do even consider that. Pride is ones destructive capacity against another physically; particularly verbally where using the tongue to degrade and browbeat another in shameful displays of senseless slang and rhetoric and of course "talking smack". There is much blame directed in all directions justifying these behaviors.

It is ironic that while they see success as a result of their prideful behavior, they attribute it to their own wisdom and knowledge but when failure besets them, blame and the past suddenly are the overriding stimulus to their downfall. Instantly they go from being in control to out of control because of "other" factors. Suddenly, they are victims of their past, victims of their upbringing, or victims of circumstances out of their control until reality has convicted them so painfully and shamefully that they are forced to admit that they are the only one to blame for their choices.

The direction of essay is "how pride establishes a personal culture that is conducive to habitual sexual sin". I add that our society influences us from birth that so many of the attributes of pride are not only acceptable but required to be successful. Habitual sexual sin is a byproduct of pride. Successful, famous, popular people are frequently associated with sexiness overtly and covertly. It is tolerated, even praised as natural and normal. We study the forms of pride and the one overriding factor is the lack of discernment and restraint.

We become blind to the evils of our impulses, instinctively knowing we are doing wrong yet looking to society to justify our actions. We deny the God-given conscience, shutting down our basic discernment and succumbing to unrestrained impulses that bring a deceptive sense of satisfaction that only leads to an intensified desire for more. Self-control, restraint and discipline are important and can have some success but without the foundation of God's word in our heart, we run the risk of failure to change the actions because the heart has not been changed with the change in action or behavior.

Not so many years ago women protested and railed against the shameless dress and behaviors that women do now. What was not acceptable is now only acceptable but encouraged. This depravity generally is directed to men but we must remember that women have are setting the stage for the way they will be viewed by men. One dresses and behaves to attract; the other is attracted by the behavior, ones impulses and lusts feeds on the others impulses and lusts.

Regardless of gender, our life is about not denying self; continually searching for more exciting and self-satisfying adventures and endeavors that are only a respite from desiring more. It is the thirst that can only be quenched with living water. The water of man is finite and polluted as the water on this earth and only through Christ can purity can begin. Some may be blessed with the ability to catch their descent to the bottom but many do not. Like trying to kick smoking; the drive is sustained and powerful and only one more powerful and sustaining can do more than change a bad habit.

Though we need to deny self, we speak of self-denial, self-control so self is involved. The difference is that self-denial and control through God is greater than self-control and self-denial through self which has a tendency to cancel itself out, relying on the problem to cure the problem contrary to the likes of Jung whose father was a pastor of a Swiss Reformed Church and Carl Rogers whose mother was a devote Christian and was for a time, a student of Union Theological Seminary (Boeree, 2006). It is no surprise that the choices made by these and other theorists; choosing to deny Christ and promote self would be the foundation of their theories of mental health based upon self-healing and searching the past for present bad choices. (Gallagher, 2000)

Gallagher, S. (2000). At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry. Dry Ridge: Pure Life Ministries.