Vol IV: #48 Vices Aren’t Good For Us
As I watched the run up to the Super Bowl, I sat amazed at the attention given to online betting. And then a thought walked through my mind last week, didn’t we use to believe all this stuff was bad for us? And by stuff I include drugs and porn with gambling. Not to mention fast food, chips and candy, what we called junk food. Literally. And then junk food became ubiquitous at every highway exit and shopping mall. Of course now, Taco Bell and McDonald’s are on demand via your favorite delivery app.
At the risk of sounding like an old man, WTF? Why is the worst of what we are the easiest to access? And it’s more than that. The ability to gossip, slander, or creepily watch other people live their lives is also greater than ever. And as I wrote above, didn’t we believe all this was sin? Was bad for us? Isn’t it still?
Admittedly, I get it. We’re all avoiding pain- of loss, but also of failure. It’s easier to watch someone live their life or drink away grief than it is to chase a dream. I know this because I’m no better than anyone at having my vices. Only when I actively try to stop entertaining them do I become keenly aware of their draw and hold over me. And yet, I know every time I watch a YouTube video about zit popping or life in Korea, I’m avoiding my life, my calling, and my destiny. Apparently, most of us are. Lord, help us.
(If it needs to be said: Eating Taco Bell isn’t a sin, in itself, but over-eating, binge eating, and generally neglecting your body is. Using social media isn’t a sin, but voyeurism- the social act of watching other people as a form of pleasure- is. Drugs are bad. Porn is worse. And gambling is how people become poor.)
