Materialism is the opiate of the masses

I don’ t think Karl Marx had it right. While religion may have been an opiate in the 20th Century (keeping people anesthetized to the need for radical action) I think that materialism seems to be a more effective drug in the 21st century. I just returned from a round-the-world trip which took just 12 flights and 40 days. I spent much time discussing what it takes to transform the very fabric of society in India, South Africa and Nigeria. We brainstormed the metrics of reformation, and the benefits of societal change. Landing in Atlanta was a rapid reality check. The orderly customs lines and clean airports are great. The crowds bottled tans, beautiful clothes, bionic boobs and bleached teeth heading off to Florida or the Bahamas… the shallow chit-chat and self-absorbed activities… all of a sudden I wondered, “Could this be where societies end up if they are blessed and changed?”

I also began to ponder, “What do we do to ensure that true spirituality and world-changing intent remain at the forefront of what we do?” I meet people who are reaping the fruit of the sweat of prior generations, and have little awareness that they paid a price for their present opulence. How do we raise the bar on the spiritual “key performance indicators” so that the material measures do not automatically eclipse the eternal?

OK, perhaps Marx was correct to a point: religion could be an opiate for the masses, but not the fiery world-changing, deaf-healing, dead-raising, dread-defying, always-rejoicing type of religion, if one can call it that, modeled by Jesus. Materialism is drug enough for so-called Christians and anyone else on the planet: we don’t need religion to add to the stupor. Putting it bluntly, we need the face of God, not just the benefits from the hand of God. Otherwise Lagos might end up looking like LA, and then we will have a whole new set of battles to fight.

What would your Top 10 Indicators of a Transformed Society be?