Flesh vs the Spirit

We are living in a promiscuous and degenerate era when passions are unleashed on us and our children. A hurricane has to spend its fury and then it quells. But with money as the god of our age, as the absolute principle that justifies any means, good or evil, it is difficult to focus on Jesus the Lord, the only true source of peace, justice and righteousness.

We are living in a period of darkness and loving it. "Men love darkness rather than light." We divorce, we use people, we exploit each other, we reject the poor, babies are aborted, old people are euthanised, children rule their parents, women rule their husbands, wrong is called right and right is made out to be wrong.

The centre is lost, the axis of our turning world has been removed, Christ, the meaning of our life, has been made arbitrary; we are living in a godless age of atheism. We no longer trust each other, and each day is a drink of the bitter cup of life. At the end of modern man's life, the question will be asked: "Is that all there is to it? Money and bills, money and self-gratification, this world and nothing else to come?"

I am convinced the rich, the middle class and the poor all desire what is good. But good is not necessarily what is good, but evil. Selfishness, self-gratification, me, myself, mine, this life, this material world and my enjoyment of it is all that counts.

This is the metaphysics of our present world, and time, money, the me and my own have replaced God and our neighbour. Each man sees himself as the centre of the universe, and the enjoyment of the existential now and this world is what matters.

Love is the answer

Yet, we know deep in our hearts that love, not sex, is the answer. Love is genuine when we make sacrifice for others; charity does not begin at home, that is, with the me and my own family. The Lord says, "Who is my mother, my father, my sister, my brother? It is he who belongs to the kingdom of God." Charity, true Christian charity, is love of our enemies, the poorest of people, the stranger without a home, the forgotten ones. Charity is true love when we suffer and struggle and continue loyally serving our family members and friends when they are sick and dying, when they are a burden to us, when they hurt us.

In our disposal age, we get rid of people when we are tired of them, when they are weak, when they are no longer useful or convenient.

This is not the Jamaica I know. But Europe, and even America, are bending us towards yielding the basic Christian values that have been the root and foundation of Jamaican life.

They give money, and we do what they wish. That is why I speak of blood money regarding abortion. This is what we see happening in the matter of gay sex and its legalisation. Euthanasia, or mercy killing, will soon be prevalent. All of this is being pushed by the European Union, which has made the death wish upon themselves.

And so it is that most of Europe is declining in population. Soon the Caucasian nations will be extinct if they continue in this trend. All that matters to the modern Europeans is that they have a higher standard of living, that is, materially. All that matters is that this generation gets what it wants, and enjoys whatever personal passions call for physically. A spiritual and moral life, which leads to true happiness and a freedom from the slavery of emotions and self-indulgence, is no longer believed in.

"The flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit wars against the flesh," says St Paul. Jamaicans, do you believe this? Will we serve God or mammon? What brings happiness? Is it the Spirit? Isn't Jesus the happiest man who ever lived, who was crucified, suffered and died for us?

Fr Richard Ho Lung is founder of the Missonaries of the Poor. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.