The African
Savannah was one of the most dangerous places in the natural world, if not the
most dangerous place. It was sweltering hot during the day all year, and
chillingly cold at night all year, for the African Savannah was the desert. The animals that lived in the Savannah had
their ways of surviving in such a harsh, hostile environment. They all learned
their ways, which were passed down from generation to generation. Any animal
that was too weak or feeble had no chance of survival: the rule was that
whoever was stronger would destroy, or eat the week. Such is survival of the
fittest. There was no point of helping the feeble or weak, because, in the
minds of the animals that lived in the Savannah, they were destined to die in
such a way.
Whoever had
control over the African Savannah controlled the whole land. The lion, which
was the most powerful creature, was feared by all. Any animal that did not fear
the lion was a fool, and is the next to find his way into the lion’s den. The
lions lived in well-organised groups and has assigned roles for not merely
survival, for they were too strong for merely survival, but destroying the
communities of those below it. Their
dens stretched as far as hundreds of kilometres across the Savannah. If one
lion family could not control a particular region, another lion family would
control it. The lions were both independent as families and individuals, as
well as supportive of other lion families. They were united as a tribe of
lions, which was what made them so powerful, feared and hated. No animal dare
even dream of challenging the lions’ rule over the Savannah because they knew
it was impossible – the lions were merely satisfying their desire for security,
control, freedom and power over others. Such is the animal kingdom.
Even the
humans, who were more technically advanced than the lions and who shot the
lion, feared them. The African Savannah was a popular tourist spot. Cars
specifically designed for wildlife safaris in the Savannah would travel across
the plains, in intrepid anticipation of seeing wildlife. However, the one thing
that tourists feared was a lion attack. For the lion was merciless, ruthless
and cruel. It killed without mercy, and stole territories without regret. The
lion loved to rip apart and take away baby animals. It took pleasure in such
cruel acts. That was what made it proud – that it would do something so
merciless and not experience counter-attacks. For all the animals, despite
despising the lions were ripping apart all baby animals, except for their own,
admired the lions for their strength. They sought to be like the lions within
their own communities, taking advantage of each other when one could. “To act
like a lion” was considered with greatest compliment of all.
As this
notion of acting like a lion was more widely embraced, a generation of animals
across the whole of the African Savannah sought to be aggressive, ruthless and
merciless, thinking it means they were successful and independent. Any animal
that was not aggressive, ruthless or merciless was ridiculed as naive, immature
or childish.
Such is the
capitalist, narcissistic, liberalistic mindset of the modern 21st
century West. The capitalist, narcissistic, liberalistic mindset is essentially
naturalistic. It sees no point for compassion, generosity or mercy as the only
reason why one should live is to maximise pleasure. Such pleasure comes from
security as a ‘basic need’, ability to pursue one’s aspirations, power to
control one’s life, and especially power over others such that one could show
others how accomplished one was, and sexual indulgences. Mere sexual
relationships are not enough – there are mere basics. The “social approval” of
an individual indulging in sexual relationships is required for one to be
deemed accomplished and treated as an ‘equal’. Such indulgence in sexual
hedonism is not separate from such a capitalistic mindset. Rather, they
compliment since both the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of pleasure come
from the self-indulgence of the heart. Such is lust of the flesh and lust of
the eyes.
The pursuit
of wealth and anxiety for one’s physical needs to be met is called
‘mammonisation’, which comes from the term ‘mammon’. Mammon does not mean
money, but rather is the spirit of seeking one’s physical needs first to
satisfy one’s anxiety for material security. A person need not be pursuing
wealth to be mammonised. He only needs to be anxious about his own material
security to be mammonised. Indeed, a person can be one who is not
materialistic, but mammonised. Sexual immorality and mammonisation of society
are linked and cannot be separated. The carnal nature of humans is indeed
analogous to the nature of animals – it seeks only to indulge in one’s nature
desires of security and pleasure.
Capitalism
has bred a generation of humans who are callous, ruthless, merciless and
individualistic, devoid of all compassion and sympathy for the poor. Homeless
persons are all assumed to be drug addicts or people who ‘deserved’ it for
whatever reason. Since there is no social incentive to help the homeless, there
is not the slightest sympathy or compassion for the poor. Work is seen as not
merely a means of survival, but also a status symbol – those who do not work,
either by choice or by inability to find work are despised. They are ridiculed,
mocked and hated, seen as “oppressed”, “archaic” and “uneducated”. A person may
indeed argue that he or she does not look down on those who are unable to find
work, and made poor as a result. She may feel as sense of sympathy for the
poor, only because of how she may feel if she were poor, not because she really
has compassion for them. That is exactly what it means to despise and mock the
poor. To have false hypocritical “sympathy” for the poor is to mock the poor
and despise them. Whoso mocketh the
poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall
not be unpunished (Proverbs 17:5).
Such an
individualistic, mammonised culture has been associated with the breakdown of
the family and high divorce rates. It is not because two people in the family
work that has caused the breakdown of the family. Rather, it is the mindset
behind work, which purpose it not merely for survival, but to show one approved
as an autonomous, independent and accomplished person that has lead to the
breakdown of the family. Women divorce their husbands whenever they do not
satisfy them financially, out of spitefulness for his status as ‘poor’. Men
divorce their wives whenever they do not satisfy them sexually, and move onto
another more ‘sexually satisfying’ woman. Such is the spirit of mammon which
births self-indulgence of one’s carnal desire. This is indeed the evidence of
the link between sexual immorality and mammonisation. It is obvious, but few
fail to acknowledge because of self-righteousness, and hence justify it as a
means of ‘finding satisfaction’ or ‘feeling desperate’.
Capitalism
prevails even when it fails, because people deceive themselves into thinking
they are free, when they are indeed in bondage of the shackles of the desire to
serve mammon. Indeed, that one cannot help but feel anxiety for one’s material
security is to be bondage of the shackles of mammon. One may be “free” to work,
under the guise of ‘independence’ and ‘autonomy’. However, as long as one has
the anxiety for security, one is really not free. Only is really a slave to
one’s desires of security. Since, however, capitalism legitimises the “noble
lie” that one is free by the ability to gain wealth freely in the minds of
many, it serves a comforting ideology, or even a psychological crutch for many.
“Who wants
to be poor and unfree?” deride the multitudes. Despite the poverty and slavery
that comes with capitalism, it is still embraced because it legitimises the
very lie it hangs on, the lie that one is ‘free’ to indulge in one’s own lusts,
and panders to the merciless, ruthless and selfishness of human nature.
Jesus said,
“this is the condemnation, that light is
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Jesus said, “No man can serve
two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”
(Matthew 6:24).
The carnal mind does not nor cannot
submit to the Moral Law of God (Romans 8:7). Since love is the fulfilment of
the Law of God (Romans 13:10), and the natural mind cannot submit to the Law of
God, and the Law of God is love, the
natural person does not and cannot love. Therefore, since the natural person
cannot love God which allows one to love other people, he cannot but only serve
mammon.
Capitalism encourages and feeds the carnal mind with things of the flesh.
The spirit behind it is mammon.
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