Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked

Caravaggio, "The Conversion of St. Paul"

There is something very hopeful about the life of a man who sins with enthusiasm.  Unlike many people we encounter today, the enthusiastic sinner does not settle for being content.  Rather he is always finding something else to do, seeking another zing to thrill him, until his heart is stuffed with whatever he desires.  

Herein lies the difference between a headstrong, confident sinner and a typical post-modern man suffering from contentedness (we’ll call him Mr. Smith): the said sinner recognizes he needs more, whereas Mr. Smith believes he has found peace and happiness in being content with his mock-paradise he set up in his gated community.  Ask Mr. Smith if he’s happy and at peace, and he will undoubtedly say “yes” without giving it much thought.  Take his earthly paradise away, however, and you won’t get a yes out of Mr. Smith any more.  Unfortunately, there are too many Mr. Smiths in our world.  We would be better off with more headstrong sinners.

Let me explain.

I think the problem with Mr. Smith is his understanding of what it means to be content.  Understandably, people strive for contentedness because they get it confused with happiness and peace.  In reality, contentedness is more akin to lukewarmness, something that Christ adamantly condemns (see Revelations 3:16).  Even the words “peace and happiness” have a connotation today that is very different from the “peace and happiness” that we should be striving towards.  Peace goes beyond the mere absence of wars or other physical evils, and being happy isn’t measured by how much pleasure one can obtain.

The Greeks had a word for this happiness and peace; they called it “eudaimonia.”  While this word is often translated as “happiness,” it is perhaps better understood as fulfillment, specifically in regards to one’s soul.  When man acts according to virtue (that is to say, when his will is under the direction of his intellect), he obtains true happiness, and nothing can disturb him.  Socrates hit the proverbial nail on the head when he said, “no evil can happen to a just man, neither in life nor after death.” 

Seen here: Socrates at peace before his unjust death.

I think the headstrong sinner alluded to earlier understands this concept of eudaimonia better than Mr. Smith, for the consistent seeking and sinning of the sinner stands as a testament to the fact that fulfillment is not obtained through the material world.  His seeking and devouring affirms Augustine’s philosophy of the human person - our hearts are indeed restless.  The irony for the sinner, of course, is that the human heart will never find fulfillment until it rests in God.  Thus in heavy sinning does this man continue to search, yet he will only find disappointment everywhere he turns until he comes to face the disturbing truth - nothing on earth can put to rest his restless heart.  Nothing.  If he’s a reasonable fellow, he will then appeal to the spiritual realm in order to to find the next zing.  Consider it a process of elimination, and consider the hope for the sinner fulfilled.

If you’re still not convinced of the hope that lies within the most headstrong of sinners, consider the war that the sinner declares against God.  If you asked him if he is a wicked person, he would laugh and probably say, “yes, I am wicked and I’m on my way to Hell,” recognizing that his murdering and conniving ways are indeed immoral.  Ask the same question to Mr. Smith and he would most likely take offense and respond, “of course not!” (even though he is a liar in the workplace and lusts after his neighbor’s wife).  While Mr. Smith is indifferent towards God, this isn’t the case for our treacherous sinner.  No.  The great sinner sees the Creator’s presence as an annoying, blinding light that must be eliminated if he wishes to continue down his path of sin.  Of course the sinner’s quest is destined to end in defeat, for God is not known for losing battles.  He reigns as the Eternal Victor.

Perhaps it is necessary that I add a disclaimer: I am not advocating a festival of sin.  What I am advocating is that you get off the fence - the fence that separates you living according to God’s statutes from spitting in His face.  Choose, for goodness sake, something, anything, making a stand one way or another.  I do not believe I need to tell you what the correct choice is, but I feel it appropriate to tell you that not choosing is the surest way to your own destruction.  Moving towards something is better than not moving at all.

The Declining Female Happiness

Satan tempting Eve, by John Martin

There is a social phenomenon sociologists and their kind call “the paradox of declining female happiness.” This phenomenon was first noted by two researchers at the Wharton School studying 35 years of data from the General Social Survey. What they found was that during the time that women had increased access to education, career opportunities, and the contraceptives that made careers possible, there was a steady decline in the level of happiness reported by women. Those researchers tried not to draw any conclusions, but I think it is reasonable to explore the correlations.

Before going any further, I think it appropriate to speak directly to you, female reader. There is no question that you can do many things that men do. You can be doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. There is, however, question that you can do all those things as men do them. I did not say “better than” or “worse than,” I said “as.” There is further question as to whether you should do those things, even though you can.

One of the possible reasons for the decline in female happiness seems to lie in what G.K. Chesterton describes as “modern torture.” No one denies that women have been wronged before, but as Chesterton says, “I doubt if they were ever tortured so much as they are tortured now by the absurd modern attempt to make them domestic empresses and competitive clerks at the same time.” A woman’s life was never easy, but at least she knew what she was to do with her life. She knew she was to be a wife, a mother, a cook, a teacher, a seamstress, a moral guide, a source of optimism for her pessimistic husband, a dose of realism for his irrational dreaming, and more. To paraphrase Chesterton, a woman was expected to be everything to a few people rather than one thing to many.

Even more, what others expected of her aligned with her natural tendencies. No little girl ever grew up dreaming of being a rich and powerful CEO; she grew up dreaming of her prince, with whom she would start a family. Now, however, little girls are told that they should not “settle” for marriage, a loving husband and father for their children, and a life of love and care for others; rather, they should become wealthy and successful. If she decides that a child might be nice along the way, she can simply go to the sperm store and inject it herself.

Our current situation is much like the story of the original sin. There is a great lie being spoken to insecure women and the timid and weak men stand aside, fearful that they might be hurt, or worse, offend someone. Instead of trying to be like God, in this case, woman is trying to be like man, because men have failed her and hurt her. We have lesbians because men failed to be loving and faithful men; we have gays because the men that were replaced by women decided to fill the void of femininity left by those women. What is to be done?

I greatly admire those women today who have the incredible strength to reject the lie that their work as wives and mothers is less than the work of female accountants, teachers, doctors, or lawyers. The work of the wife and mother is of infinitely more worth than any temporal work she may do. Her work as wife and mother is of divine and eternal importance. For that work to take place, she needs a man that stands for her, fights for her, and protects her from a diseased world. We not only need women to take the stand for themselves and reject the lie, but we need men who will take the stand for the women they love.