If I Were the Devil

A recent dinner table experience caused serious reflection on the state of affairs in our culture.

A friend was trying to engage in a conversation with her teen-age children and was interrupted repeatedly by cellphones. The family barely could eat, let alone converse, due to interruptions.

At the risk of sounding brusque, here are some things worth considering about the "advances" in our culture.

If I were the devil, I would do away with conversation and laughter at the family dinner table each evening. I would replace it with teens checking their smartphones between bites and parents arguing about making enough money to pay for all their gadgets.

In fact, I would do away with family meals altogether; stuffing down fast food is so much better than interacting with one another.

If I were the devil I would fill people’s lives with clutter. They would spend huge amounts on storage units for things they couldn’t even remember owning. I would litter their lives with junk mail and catalogs so they had no time to think about things of eternal value.

If I were the devil I would offer TV programming morning until night, touting violence and sex. I would desensitize small children toward demonic themes, crime and bloodshed. I would show them explicitly immoral scenes.

If I were the devil I would do away with family game night and replace it with children and teens shut away in their rooms, texting friends whom their parents wouldn’t allow them to hang out with if only they knew.

If I were the devil, I would cause moms of toddlers to work outside the home, leaving children to be raised by those who care little about their moral training.

If I were the devil I would offer parents glittering overtime pay if only they would work on Sunday instead of taking their family to church.

If I were the devil I would plaster sensual billboards across the landscape, causing the minds of people to rot one thought at a time.

If I were the devil I would distract people so much they would have little time to think about their eternal destiny.

But wait…why do what’s already been accomplished?

What about you? Any thoughts on our culture? Feel free to comment below.