There are some untruths about life that are perpetuated by our society that I completely bought into hook, line, and sinker while I was growing up. I found these falsehoods promulgated in the movies and shows that I watched, the music I listened to, and in other aspects of the false culture I thought I belonged to and they really messed me up.
I followed these untruths and even planned my life around them thinking that by doing so I would find ultimate fulfillment and happiness. Unfortunately, I had to discover the hard way that they lead me to the opposite: emptiness and misery. Thank the Lord that I did find out, however, because now I have discovered the treasure I had originally hoped to find.
I want to share these with you now so that others who might be living by these might escape. We need to stop teaching these things to our children as well. You might scoff at this remark, but I have honestly seen many of the following still being communicated or illustrated in modern movies and shows today.
Here’s the list of untruths. Let us know if there is anything you think we should add.
- The Teenage years are the best years in life – Ok, so people can have this point of view and truly believe it because they don’t feel as happy as they were as a teen, but it does not have to be the case. Usually, what they mean anyway is that they would rather live care free without responsibilities. I have to be honest, responsibilities can be hard, and I am by no means a perfect adult, but I truly love getting older, having a family, and fulfilling all of my responsibilities. Even more than my teen years.
- Pleasure equals happiness – Oof, this got me in a lot of trouble. This basically taught me that life was only meaningful if I was enjoying myself and feeling good. I was under the impression that I should avoid the opposite experiences of discomfort and toil. Therefore, I avoided anything that was difficult to do and missed out on the extreme joy found through self-sacrifice and making an effort.
- You can do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t physically hurt anyone – Another biggie that got me in trouble.This understanding removed the proper moral compass from my decision making and it turns out that a lot of non-physical damage can still be done with certain decisions. For instance, I remember sitting in the back of a cop car with handcuffs hammered drunk and claiming that my arrest for a minor-in-possession was ridiculous because I was not hurting anyone. I didn’t see that, while I was not physically hurting anyone but my liver, there was still a lot of spiritual and emotional damage being done to various people I interacted with, my friends, and family.
- The ends justify the means – No. The means to an end can never be an evil act. We cannot do evil to bring about good. This is like trying to go north by going south. Every act needs to have a good intention and a good act. And it might be good to note that self defense and just war are both not only good, but at times, even considered a duty.
- Consent is all that is needed for sex – We need to normalize men and women choosing the good even when it is hard, even though it’s not as fun. While consent is 100% important and should always be apart of the sexual act, so should marriage. Marriage establishes a structure within which sex bears the greatest fruit and brings the greatest joy. It has its hardships, but the good aspects of marriage far exceed those found in a life in which sex is a contact sport. Because of this more than just consent is needed for a couple to come together in this way.
