Whenever I visit my doctor—as reluctant as I am about it—the nurse will inevitably take my vital signs, including my blood pressure. In an effort to skew the results in my favor, I typically close my eyes to envision a warm, white sandy beach, and the sounds of surf on a pristine emerald shoreline as I sit under a beach umbrella, savoring the bouquet of an ice cold beverage! Ahhhhh!

Take a look at our society today. Sexual misconduct and perversion are rampant. Movies, magazines, videos and the internet are dominated by sexually explicit content. Many thinking people are alarmed by the "sexualization" of so much of our society.

Here is another classic dumb idea of mankind. It all started right after the flood of Noah. You can read about it in Genesis 10:8-12. Nimrod, the great grandson of Noah, began to have people look to him for guidance and protection rather than relying on God. He built the first city-states and set the Babylonish pattern for mankind from that point on.

God worked directly with Abram – who became Abraham – and with his descendants down to Israel's time. But, the people were not happy with that arrangement. We pick up the story in 1 Samuel 8:1-5:

I am not a tax protester. But, as a citizen, I am a tax payer.  As such, I find all the talk about the government at all levels taking "a bigger bite" in taxes – as one commentator called it –very unsettling. We are told increases are needed to pay for the various stimulus programs and to cover the incredible deficits resulting from declining tax revenues.The effects of the recession (depression?) as well as increased spending for massive bailouts and entitlement programs are having a huge negative impact.

A national survey of young people concerning their hopes, dreams and aspirations revealed a rather shocking fact. Most youngsters today want to become celebrities.