A Culture of Excess

Beer commercials often politely tell the audience to have designated drivers, or to drive home safely. This is understandable; no one wants a lot of intoxicated drivers on the streets. The companies tell the customers to drive safely, but they do not tell the customer not to get drunk. They want, after all, for customers to buy as much of their product as possible. In these commercials, drunkenness is not viewed as a problem unless the person under the influence is behind a steering wheel.

Similarly, commercials for diet programs merrily promise that you will be able to eat as much of the good food that you want on their diet, saying they have found a secret that will allow you to enjoy your favorite delicacies while staying underweight. Restraint and moderation are not encouraged, rather, these commercials promise a scenario in which you can try to have the best of both worlds – a splurging, excessive lifestyle in private, with the public appearance of one who has a moderated, well ordered lifestyle.

This mindset is present in our spiritual lives as well. Christians may appear devout and well-rounded theologically, and consistently full of the joy of Christ. They may constantly spout out Christian buzzwords in public, creating the appearance of spiritual health and soberness, when on the inside they are rotting away due to secret sins and an excessive lifestyle. In public, these people speak of the things of God. In private, they spend all afternoon watching television, surfing the internet, playing video games, or entertaining themselves in other various ways.

Entertainment itself is not evil – it can be relaxing and refreshing. Yet too many Christians do not practice recreation in moderation. We can easily think, “I’m home from work now, I can do whatever I want.” Reading the Scriptures, praying, fellowship, and time with our families can get pushed aside in the name of relaxation. This is just one example of a disordered life.

How can we overcome this mindset? The Apostle Peter proposes an alternate mindset:

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:10-13).

We must live in the light of the eschaton. Christ’s return is immanent. How then shall we live? What shall we do with our time? How will we give an account of our works? Will we be fat in our own pleasures and malnourished in our works of ministry and righteousness?

Let us cast off this excess of self-centeredness and place all our hearts and hopes on the return of the King. We are, after all, not wealthy barons sitting in a fine estate, but soldiers on a battlefield. Those who are loyal will continue fighting.