The Bodies and Souls of Men: Revelation 18

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     Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!' 11 "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more— 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men. (Rev 18:10-13).


    Last week I explored the idea of Babylon the Great being an economic power house.This passage furthers the hypothesis. Today we concentrate our economies in one society, currently China. Overseas we find cheap labor and receive cheap goods--goods that cheapen our lives. And how do we do that? With the bodies and souls of men.
     Slavery exists, in the United States as well as overseas. Not only are girls and boys sold to the sex trade, we have enslaved migrants and servants and menial workers. But beyond the literal slavery, we enslave people in sweat shops. They toil long hours, away from family with no health benefits or vacation time or maternity leave. They work with no concern taken for their safety or comfort. And their toil for us is sanitized. We don't see it, so we waltz off to our box stores and buy more. And more. And more.
     Sadly, this disparity of basic human rights--or rather our God given rights--will last until the end of time. But that is not an excuse to allow it to continue. Be aware, we are allowing ourselves to become the "Great Whore of Babylon."