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Controlling the Environment

Some people have been persuaded the the world is about to fail by means of climate change, depletion of resources, or pollution. Having a sort of “chicken little” fear response makes them vulnerable to almost any “solution” that is offered. The key to this dynamic is to incite fear and then offer a “solution” that can alleviate the anxiety caused by the manufacture of fear. This can mirror the physiology of heroin addiction in that the drug use causes more pain sensors to form making it needful to get more pain relief from the heroin.

An infant learns to control his environment by crying. Childhood exposes us to additional means of interacting with others in our environment through barter, bullying, avoidance, or work. In the past one came to see that chopping wood could provide heat in the winter and weeding a garden could produce food in the summer. This engagement with the natural world taught one what to do to survive their environment. In the social world we now live in many have learned that their “environment” can be controlled by manipulating people. This is usually done by distorting truth (lying).

A pagan priest might hint that angry gods would prevent farmers from getting rain. To placate the gods, the priest would be willing to accept offerings. If rain did not come, the people could be told that their offerings were insufficient and they needed to give even more. While one individual might try to seduce, con, or manipulate another, or even one priest attempt to manipulate a village, the development of mass media has allowed entire populations to be manipulated. By the time of FDR about 10,000 pages of new federal laws were being added each year. By the time Obama was president that was 80,000 pages of new laws each year. While much of this growth can be seen as the natural result of creating bureaucracies that themselves seek to grow and control, some of this growth in attempting to control people is an expression of the belief that the world can be made to be as we wish.

In the natural world, the environment needs to be endured and navigated. This lends itself to humility and the recognition of that which cannot be controlled. In the artificial social world, pride can lead one to attempt to control others. This may be because without an appreciation of God, one can begin to think like he is a god and see nothing to limit his desires. Sadly, the movers and shakers of the artifical social world are themselves manipulated to advance the plans of Satan. The blindness of selfishness tends to not only discount consequences, but also contribute to self-deception.

Technology such as air conditioning, central heating, and indoor plumbing contribute to the idea that we are free from nature. We tend to see social prominence, networking, and organizational advancement as the more real environment. God seems relegated to irrelevance as the artificial environment can seem increasingly real. It is perhaps the global rejection of the natural world in favor of the artifical world where we can indulge the fantasies of our becoming as Gods (Gen 3:5) that is the point where God will pour out his wrath. There are levels where God’s patience is finally exceeded (Gen 6:5, Gen 15:16).

The idea that we can control our environment, get whatever we want, or be whatever we imagine is delusional. Worse it keeps us from the humility to recognize that we need a Savior and in that in gratitude we should be thankful.

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