The commercial at the bottom of this post is not in English, but its message is clear enough. The basic scenario is that a young woman is horrified by the appearance of a mere pimple on her face and decides to stay parked in front of the television rather than venturing out in public.
She switches from channel to channel, but no matter which she chooses, she sees impossible beauty standards, unrealistic romance, and the like. All of this fuels her despair at not being “fit for prime time” due to her pimple.
Too much television and other imagery can do that, playing with your mind. And it isn’t just body image and beauty standards that incite our vanity, pride, and envy; it’s a whole range of other things, too. Greed and lust are often encouraged without showing us their true cost. Sloth is incited by making it appear that little is really required of us to obtain the blessings of life. Happiness can be had for a mere $19.95 (plus shipping and handling) or by drinking the right brand of beer. Our anger is roused by news programs that focus only on extremes and on the most provocative and divisive of issues.
The point is that we are being played; this young woman presents the perfect picture of that.
Watch as little television as possible and remember that when you do watch, you’re a sitting duck, being played by masters of image and marketing.
Be careful of what you watch, even the news!
Business is neither temptation or sin; rather, the fault is with us. If we do not overcome our concupiscence, than everything will be an excuse for sinning and everything will look like a temptation to sin. Hence the woman’s vanity, sloth, and despair. Hence Martha erred where Mary did not, though they were in the same boat: Jesus’ company.
Satan did not fall because of peer pressure, business, government, economy, health or disability, wealth or poverty, language or lack of it, noise or silence, power or impotence, knowledge or ignorance, wisdom or stupidity, greatness or smallness, strength or weakness, joy or sorrow, work or recreation; he fell because of himself: his pride.
Satan does not sin because of peer pressure, business, government, economy, health or disability, wealth or poverty, language or lack of it, noise or silence, power or impotence, knowledge or ignorance, wisdom or stupidity, greatness or smallness, strength or weakness, joy or sorrow, work or recreation; he sins because of himself: his envy.