My social media feeds have been flooded this week with the antics of the build up to the Logan Paul and Dillon Danis fight on the undercard of the KSI vs Fury boxing match. The men have aimed increasingly personal arrows at each other seeking to cause as much public shame as possible. This trash talk sank to malevolent depths with Danis exposing the alleged promiscuity of Paul’s girlfriend and her numerous former sexual partners, causing maximum damage in the eyes of the mob of social media. This is all done to maximise the viewership and subsequent profits from their fight with little consideration for the long term consequences of such behaviour. When lamenting the foolishness of this social theatre watched by many young boys, it is hard for any honest man to condemn the behaviour of these “men” without considering his own thoughtless actions in the past.
Men are responsible for many of society’s ills. If you venture out on a Saturday evening to any city centre you will find that those who are most frequently arrested for violence, drug use and disorderly behaviour are men. If you consider official statistics detailing who fills a country’s street gangs, leads organised crime groups and populates most of the prisons, it is men. If you google the national suicide rate you will find that over three quarters of the people who kill themselves are men (Office for National Statistics, 2021). These facts have long been a sad social reality for men. How are we to approach this desolate battlefield of despair, how can the tide be turned?
The battle against thoughtlessness
Thoughtlessness is the ill-fitting uniform of many men. Wild, impulsive behaviours and short term passions are its decorative attachments which make for poor camouflage in the battlefield of the mind. Many are wounded by intoxication through the constant abuse of drink or drugs, indulging in uncontrolled lusts via sexual conquests or gaining money, power and respect from others by any means necessary. In my early years as a young man I succumbed to some of these impulsive temptations and received the wages of anguish I rarely considered but rightly deserved. Many men who engage in such transgressions do so to fulfil their own desires but give little thought to their actions or the long term consequences of them.
It is here where the modern man must first draw his sword to confront the enemy and slow the destruction of his life. Thoughtlessness is an adversary which maims and burns many a man: thoughtlessness about himself, his path in life, the impact of his actions on his future spouse and descendants. Thoughtlessness about the company he keeps and their influence upon him, thoughtlessness about how he treats others (especially women), thoughtlessness about entering into temptation and its impact on the soul. Most men create ingenious distractions to distance themselves from matters such as these, but many have been damned by their apathy later in life, due to their lack of thought.
To elevate the mind above the material things of earth we must consider the things of heaven.
A reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven
It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
since that is the end of all mankind,
and the living should take it to heart.
Grief is better than laughter,
for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.
The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.
This scripture is part of a larger work written by Ancient Israel’s wisest ruler, King Solomon. Over the course of the book he gives thought to the pursuits of life which humans busy themselves with. In this portion he remarks how it is better to go to a house where people are mourning over a death than to go to a party! He then doubles down on his assertion; remarking that a heart set on pleasure is foolish and sadness is better than happiness as it makes a person wise. What are we to make of this?!
We can consider our theme of thinking and be reminded of the importance of not rushing from the place where divine providence has brought us. Every situation, especially those of grief and adversity, has meaning and to distract our thoughts away from the meaning is to act as the foolish man rather than the wise. Death is certain, each man must think carefully on the short time he has on this earth and give thought to how he is to spend it: in thoughtless pursuit of temporal desires and impulses or in seriousness, making best use of the time in preparation for eternity.
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“Oh young men, learn to be thoughtful! Learn to consider what you are doing, and where you are going. Make time for calm reflection. Commune with your own heart, and be still. Remember my caution- do not be lost merely for lack of thought.”
John Charles Ryle
First Anglican Bishop of Liverpool