Someone posted a random question on ChatGPT: “If you were the devil, how would you make people forget God without even realizing it ?” About 8 different responses were given. The first on the list is to cause distractions. “Overload with Distractions – Keep people so busy with work, entertainment, social media, and personal ambitions that they never have time to think deeply about spiritual matters. If life feels full and urgent, reflection on God becomes an afterthought.” The eight response has a direct bearing on our meditation, and here is it: “Make People Comfortable – If people feel safe, satisfied, and entertained, they won’t feel the need to search for deeper meaning or depend on God.” Debauchery is the word that captures that.
The other effect of indulgence is spiritual in nature. It is its capacity to deaden people’s appetite for God, and that can lead to a ruin. Modesty in all things must be our safeguard.
Indulgence has a twin deadly effect. One is the physical side of it. Many diseases can be traced to intemperance. No wonder the Bible says, “Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!” Proverbs 25:16 NLT. Medical science is just assenting what the Bible said thousands of years ago, that unbridled consumption of sugar or anything else is dangerous to health. The other effect of indulgence is spiritual in nature. It is its capacity to deaden people’s appetite for God, and that can lead to a ruin. Modesty in all things must be our safeguard.
