By REY FLORES
“Welcome to the jungle, we’ve got fun and games. We got everything you want, honey, we know the names. We are the people that can find whatever you may need. If you got the money, honey, we got your disease.”
That above set of lyrics is from the 1987 song Welcome to the Jungle from the now-defunct rock band Guns N’ Roses. The song is an ode to hard living in the big city and it also conjures up visions of the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
Perhaps you’ve had someone ask you, “What’s your poison?” when offering to buy you a drink. Well — what is your poison? We all have one; don’t we?
Is it the temptation to overindulge in food? Maybe you are inclined to let your imagination run wild with lustful thoughts. Is your poison something you either drink or smoke, or is it popping some pills every couple of hours to help you relax?
If you have had to confess any of these things more than once, you may be falling for the Devil’s traps and snares more often than not. Whatever snares entrap you, be it sloth, gluttony, lust, greed, or pride, know what these traps are and when to be on guard for them. Your poison is what’s killing you.
Because sinful behaviors are celebrated in today’s society, we are no longer ashamed of any of our actions, no matter how depraved. We are encouraged to give way to whatever pleases us and then some.
Self-discipline is passé while self-indulgence is the new virtue of man. Why would we deny ourselves anything that we desire? After all, life is too short to not enjoy all of the worldly pleasures that man has to offer.
In this modern world, if there a pleasure to be had, the timeless concept of supply and demand paired with modern technology can have us enjoying any given pleasure within seconds or hours of our initial whims.
It is the instant gratification that we are so accustomed to that not only allows, but facilitates, sin and immoral choices to be made by all of us.
While sin is nothing new, the places that the Devil sets his traps and snares for us are becoming more widespread. Technology has certainly made the Devil’s job easier.
How many times have you gotten snared while surfing the Internet?
It’s hard enough trying to steer clear from the culture of death garbage out there as an adult, so imagine how tough it is for our children. Having so much technology around our young people makes them much easier prey. The average age of a boy viewing pornography online today is seven years old.
I assure you that pornography was almost as readily available to kids 40 years ago as it is today; definitely not as available or as depraved, but around nevertheless.
For many men in my generation, their own fathers were the main source for pornography. Other ways that they could get their hands on pornographic magazines or pictures included their friends’ older brothers.
You really have to feel concern for today’s kids because they no longer have to necessarily seek pornographic or other impure images — they are very much part of our societal landscape. One cannot even turn on the television news without the latest same-sex marriage laws being reported on and celebrated.
Yes, the wickedness and snares of the Devil are there and we have to keep on fighting them.
Since I began this column with some song lyrics, I’ll leave you off with some other lyrics — these are from Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys from their 1947 song The Devil Ain’t Lazy:
“The Devil ain’t lazy (no sirree), he like to throw out sticks and stones, passes out his moans and groans, the Devil ain’t no lazy bones, he works 24 hours a day. He likes to see us fight and fuss, makes us mean enough to cuss, and then he blames it all on us, he works 24 hours a day….When you think you’re strong and brave, smart enough to not behave, then you’ve got one foot in the grave; he works 24 hours a day.”
That’s a message we can take to heart.
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(Rey Flores is a Catholic writer and speaker. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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