Modern Mussar - the evil inclination within us

Keanu Reeves (yes, Mr. Andersssson) has followed the modern dream, been offered a high-powered corporate job in the bright lights of the big city. In a Faustian pact with the impish AP, Lucifer as Mephistopheles, Keanu sells his soul to the god of mammon. Paradise Lost, never to be Regained. (NB - this film is not for the faint-hearted amongst you, though your type should probably stay away from my blog anyway!).

Once on the ladder of temptation, life begins to unravel. There is always more greed, power and success to be had. Hevley havalim. "He who loves money shall never have enough".

The evil inclination, the devilish voice inside every one of us, is tricky, wily, smart, clever and never to be underestimated. You must check out Screwtape's advice to Wormwood, despite it being crusty, British, dated and very Christian (summary here).

AP puts it best: "And as we're straddling from one deal to the next, who's got his eye on the planet, as the air thickens, the water sours, and even the bees' honey takes on the metallic taste of radioactivity? And it just keeps coming, faster and faster. There's no chance to think, to prepare; it's buy futures, sell futures, when there is no future"

He challenges us with: "You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire; you build egos the size of cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies, until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own God... and where can you go from there?"

And the piece de resistance, the persuasive argument that daily eats away at my neshomo: "Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, f***in' ass off. He's a tight-ass. He's a sadist. He's an absentee landlord. Worship that? Never."

TRK