day no. 16,856: dissipation and despotism

“Those who throw themselves into dissipation will not inherit the kingdom of God. And they will inherit political despotism.” — Douglas Wilson, So Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ

You cannot give yourself over to lawlessness without also giving up your right to having a say in your governance. Those who kowtow to the tyrant within will be made to bow to the tyrant without.

2 Peter 2:18-19

For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

Tyrants cannot make good on their promises of freedom They don't have any to offer. They themselves are slaves to their own desire for unqualified power.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Chaos cannot inherit calm. You cannot build anything worth keeping by breaking up all foundations. Sin is not solid ground. It cannot hold itself together and it will not submit to standing on the Rock.

1 Peter 4:3-4

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.

The self-indulgent are always suspicious of the repentant. The dead fish floating downstream always make it more difficult for the living fish to swim against the current. The dead sea is a dumpster fire of self-seeking, lifeless deposits. The promised land is a place inhabited by living faith that is fit from resistance training. Its muscle is built up by getting reps striving against the grain of the zeitgeist.