The Fall of Rome

                Have you seen Quo Vidas? It is a rather old movie, made in 1951, which stars like Deborah Kerr, Robert Taylor, and Peter Ustinov, as Nero. It’s a good flick but one thing caught my attention was one of those mindboggling, eyebrow raising moments. What had caught my eye was one of the scenes toward the end of the movie (SPOILER ALERT) when Christians were executed in the Circus Maximus by being fed to the lions. It wasn’t the fact that the Christians were killed in that manner. What I really zeroed in on was the reactions of the Romans in the crowd. They cheered as the blood and terror of those being torn to shreds by the lions. Poppea Sabina, Nero’s wife, displayed a seemingly orgasmic thrill at the carnage. Let that soak in for a moment.

                Have you ever heard a NASCAR fan explain the love for the event to just to see the crashes? I’ve heard that a time or two over the years. Why? We see the fire and wreckage, often times, flying into the crowd killing the driver and, maybe, one or two in the crowd. That is a reason to watch hours of cars going in a circle? Have you seen the sports DVDs that glorify the injury, or death, of players instead of the skill? I remember watching ABC Sports and the skier tumbling off the ramp. Let’s not forget about the movies. We laugh at movies like Jackass (I won’t go further about that.). The current movie fair seems to require graphic, blood lusty scenes to draw a crowd. We have a fascination with vampires, werewolves and other factious creatures with some elevating such to a god like status. Blood sells. Acting, art direction and score rarely sells.

Do you know a church where the pastor released early or cancelled Sunday night service because of the Super Bowl? Or, have you seen someone get uptight because the preacher keeps services over on race day? Where is the priority? If you are getting uptight because you might miss something on TV, you probably shouldn’t be going to church. Your heart is not in the right place. That one hour should be focused on one thing! Not what the world has to offer, but what the Spirit has to offer.

                Take a moment and re-read the previous paragraphs. Do you see what I am getting to? I certainly hope you do. If not, here’s the meat and taters. We talk about how America is going downhill. How we are going to lose our freedoms. Rome started on their downward spiral when they started focusing on the wrong things and not what was really important. Romans sought to quench their lustful hearts instead of the betterment of their society. Eventually, four hundred years after Nero, Rome fell. The Roman society fell apart letting in those who would destroy it. Is America the new Rome, waiting on the time when it finally folds and no one notices? Think about the road America is on. Take a step back. See what is happening.