Balloon Boy

            I saved a sermon on greed a few years ago. The illustration was six year old Falcon Heene being sent up in an air balloon by his father, who hoped the stunt would draw the attention of a TV network… and a contract for a new “reality” show.

            As you might imagine, one of the points of the sermon was the way greed had driven the father, Richard Heene, to put his child in danger. Other good points were made and, in the end, the message was extremely clear—greed is bad.  

            What made the sermon interesting to me was the Preacher: a major news magazine in the United States.

            The Bible has preached this sermon for a long time. Here is one way Paul preached it: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs (I Tim. 6:10.) ESV

Cheating Hearts

Several years ago, TIME magazine reported a study done at the University of Hawaii. An attractive member of the opposite sex approached college students. After a brief introduction, the students were asked one of three questions:

                        1. Would you go out on a date with me tonight?

                        2. Would you go back [with me] to my apartment?

                        3. Would you have sex with me?

            The male response varied from the female response. Here is how each answered the question of the corresponding number:

                                                Women (yes)                  Men (yes)

                        1.                         50%                             50%

                        2.                         6%                               69%

                        3.                         0%                               75%

            The magazine noted that Charles Darwin considered Man to be a moral species since human beings could compare their past and future actions and motives, and correspondingly approve or disapprove of them.

            “In this sense,” TIME said, “yes we are moral. We have at least the technical capacity to lead an examined life: self-awareness, memory, foresight and judgment. Still, subjecting ourselves to moral scrutiny and adjusting our behavior accordingly is hardly a reflex. We are potentially moral animals-which is more than any other animal can say-but we are not naturally moral animals. The first step to being moral is to realize how thoroughly we aren't."

            These are fascinating words coming from a secular magazine. Better yet was the title of the article—“Our Cheating Hearts.” Does this title connote an editorial statement in a supposedly neutral magazine’s investigative reporting?