' Materialism'

Mammon is the big evil of modern society. The God of materialism. Possessions are well-named as that's what they do as well as being what they are. Things possess us when we strive so badly to possess them that we take moral shortcuts. The parent who works later hours to afford the shinier material possession but ends up neglecting time with his/her child. The person who is so proud and precious of his material possessions that he spends more time with hollow baubles than with his friends or family.

Materialism eats away at us and traps us in a never-ending cycle of need fulfillment and a desperate struggle to consume and possess.

The heart of Christianity : two

' sin'

Interesting article in the Sunday Times last week wherein three religious leaders discussed the nature of sin. And it's a very good question, and something which many people would answer differently. What is sin? And what does it mean to us? and Why should we try to avoid it?

To me, sin is many things; principally it's a weakness of the spirit and usually involves doing something that we know and acknowledge is wrong but don't have sufficient willpower or self-control at the particular time to avoid doing. Sin is something that saps our soul and drains our spiritual energy and leaves us feeling bad about ourselves and conflicted. So why do it?

Because it's easier. It's the simple solution. It's the more obvious choice. It precludes seeing the bigger picture and seemingly takes care of whatever resolution we are seeking when debating our course of action. But in the end, it's just a huge mess.