Sex, Power and Money Contributing to Immorality in Our Society

The term immorality refers to an act or practice that is immoral or indecent. Money, sex and power are the threefold alliances of immorality in our society. There a quite a lot of these immoral practices that are plaguing our society. Due to the high rate of immorality that is caused by money in our society there is widespread corruption. Have you ever been a victim of corruption? If not, I am almost certain you have suffered the effects of corruption. Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority. According to Transparency International‘s (TI) 2011 Corruption Perception Index “the vast majority of the 183 countries and territories assessed scores below on a scale of 0(highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean). “ Two years earlier, TI acknowledged that its 2009 annual report exposed the pervasive reality of corruption”: It is clear that no region of the world is immune to the perils of corruption.
In some cases, the consequences of corruption lead to a very high level of immorality and can be very disastrous. For example, Irie FM’s news reported that “a man was killed in the Kemps Hill area of Clarendon”. This man was a part of a trio that went to a remote area to sell other men cocaine. On arrival with the cocaine, it was tested and found to be flour instead of cocaine. A dispute developed and the other two accomplices fled leaving one behind. He was set upon and stabbed to death by the men who were supposed to purchase it.
These forms of immorality in our society are very high and these are caused by the need and greed for money. Why immortality does persist? “Man has dominated man to his injury.” Ecclesiastes 8:9. That statement aptly describes the history of human rulership. It has been responsible for untold suffering and misery. In all ages, well-intentioned people who have tried to establish a more just society were constantly foiled by greed and immoral behaviour. Why is that so? Basically, because of the following three unwholesome influences: the influence of sin, the influence of the wicked world we live in and the influence of Satan the Devil.
The influence of sin- the Bible plainly states that we “we are all under sin”. (Romans3:9) Like an incurable hereditary disease, sin” resides” or is “dwelling,” within us. For thousands of years, sin has ruled over mankind like a king. Its law is continually at work in us. Sinful inclination leads many to put their own interests first or to center their lives on gaining material possessions or authority at other’s expense. Romans 5:21; 7:17; 20, 23, 25.
The influence of the wicked world we live in- our world is characterized by greed and selfishness. In such an environment, some people find it difficult to be different. Driven by selfish desires and ambitions they become power hungry. They also develop a strong desire for more money and possessions, more than they really need. Sadly, they are willing to behave in a dishonest way to achieve those goals. Rather than resisting immoral and unwholesome influences, such people “follow after the crowd for evil ends.” Exodus23:2
The influence of Satan the Devil, a rebellious spirit creature, is “misleading the entire inhabited earth.”(Revelation12:9). He may craftily exploit a person’s natural desire for material comfort and financial well-being to the point that the person acts deceitfully. Is it possible to be honest in a corrupt world? Although we live in a sinful world and the devil can exert great pressure on us, we can resist their influence. This can be achieved by drawing close to God and applying principles from His word to our lives.
Money has certainly caused a lot of immoral behaviours in our society. This is not just a situation that started in contemporary society but has been happening from as far back as in biblical times. Look at the situation in Acts5:1-10, with Ananias and Sapphire. These two persons sold a possession and kept back a part of the money for themselves. Instead of talking the truth they hid it and the outcome was death. This is all because of the love and greed that mankind has for money.
Another biblical example is that of Judas where he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Genesis37:18). Greed is one of the main causes why people are led to act so cruel and inhumane. Can you imagine that Judas was one of Jesus’ disciples and yet still he made greed overcome him? He did not even care about the after effects but probably was looking on the amount of money he would receive. Situations such as these are not just happening nowadays but were there from ancient times.
Recently aired on TVJ via a program- ‘Religious Hardtalk’ was a bishop (Bishop Clayton). He talked about his life as a pastor in church. He was a womanizer and someone who was very wealthy. He said that because of his money he thought that he did not need anything from God. His main focus was on women and his possessions. This led him to commit immoral and unjust acts. He said the more money he had, the more he wanted it. Therefore, this causes him to turn a blind eye to certain principles and values and thus go after money (the thing he had so much pleasure in).
Lottery scamming is indeed another terrible ‘disaster’ that is wreaking havoc in our society. People are actually stealing from others to fulfill their cruel desires. Can you imagine! Elderly people are the main targets. These people have worked so hard for their entire lives and are now living in fear and poverty because of these criminals. Some of the major players in these criminal acts are young people. Superintendent Fit Bailey, head of the Organized Crime Investigation Division, (OCID) confirmed that students are dropping out of school because they do not see the need to continue in acquiring an education.
Reason for this is merely because they are able to purchase car, houses, and land and other valuables based on the money they received from lottery scamming. Lottery scamming contributes significantly to the crime rate in terms of murders. Superintendent Bailey also disclosed that students are using school compounds to make their links and carry out their plans and telephone calls. They are even introducing this method to their friends, telling them it is a good way to make money.
Human trafficking is also a cause for concern. The price that are being paid to adults for these young people are tremendous. Recently the media reported that a lady from the Kingston area was nabbed. She is believed to be the mastermind behind the disappearance of a large number of children. Can you imagine that people’s children are being sold for money without their knowledge? This is downright inhumane and immoral. Our society is packed with a lot of people who are craving for money and will do anything to make this a reality.
Sex should be an act that is performed by married people. People are not thinking about the immoral acts that they are performing. They are only thinking about the pleasure that they would receive from such act and also the benefits.
People commit such acts to benefit both financially and also to get pleasure. There are numerous amount of people (both male and female) in the society who are selling their bodies. These prostitutes can be found all over the society, example, in clubs, motels and street corners. Even in some uptown community. At one point there would be only females who do these things but men are now doing it. The love of money makes people do almost any and everything. The Bible also talked about a prostitute who sold her body for monetary gains.
A vast majority of women (even men too) are being viciously raped in our society. Recently an eight year old girl was raped along with four other females in St. James. This act was so cruel. The little girl had to go through some major surgeries. Even parts of her internal system were damaged due to this wicked act which was carried out on her. The RJR news stated that “reports are that the men who carried out this act were on a housetop nearby. They actually watched from this view because they had the intention to perform this act. Our society in which we live today is very scary. The recent vicious rapes that are occurring in our society causes alarm, panic, fright and anguish to citizens. What difference does it make if we are sexually immoral? The Bible tells us not to engage in sexual immorality. The Bible gives us abundant evidence that sexual sin leads to disaster and this is stated clearly. We are supposed to avoid sexual immorality. But, we are not very good at this. Surveys indicate that between 17% and 35% of pastors in the USA have had, as married men, sexual relations with other women other than their wives. The politicians who have been supporting family values keep on falling down as it is revealed that they have had or are having sexual relationships with mistresses and prostitutes. Pastors continue to fall as they preach on Sundays and Saturdays about moral purity and then live a double life of sexual immorality during the week. The problem is not just pastors and politicians, but citizens on a whole who participate in these moral acts.
Citizens who are in positions of power and authority are also partakers of immoral behaviour in our society. Some examples are: employers and CEO’s in institutions that disregard the rights of the workers. They abuse and treat them inhumanely. Sometimes they are worked overtime and never get a pay for the time that they worked. Some of them also use indecent language to their employees. These are immoral behaviour that is being displayed in our society. Some persons who have power such as policemen are also involved in immoral behaviour. Some policemen issue guns to citizens and this result in the death of innocent persons, the abuse of power and also lottery scamming.
Recently, Operation Kingfish stated that several police personnel are involved in the deadly lottery scam operating out of Montego Bay, St. James. Also, the two persons who were nabbed in that parish for lottery scamming. These persons are from the St. James parish council. They were held in a pre- dawn operation at their homes by members of the security force. These are persons that one would look up to and expect to be role models. But instead they are involved in deeds that are downright immoral. Entertainers are persons who people in our society look up to so therefore if they bring across positive ideas it would certainly help the nation because people tend to follow what they say. The message some of them of them bring about is outrageous and immoral. Their songs contain vulgar and indecent language which is impacting seriously on the minds of young Jamaicans.
Sex, money and power are the three alliances that cause the majority of immoral deeds in our society. But, money is the major influence. Remember, the Bible states that “the love of money is the root of all evil. (1Timothy6:10). People perform sexual acts for money which is downright immoral. People try to gain some form of power and authority for the sake of money. The love of money on a whole lead people to act immoral, indecent and corrupt.