Recently my job took me to a conference in Las Vegas, otherwise known as "Sin City." I was only there for the day but it was more tha enough time to be in that filthy city. Though my coworkers and I were mostly in seminars all day we did get out and eat some wonderful Italian food, walk the strip staring at the lights and even watched a water and lights show at the Bellagio put to Christmas music. I must say it was bizarre to listen to Andre Bochelli singing:
"Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'till He appeared and the soul felt its' worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...."
To hear "O Holy Night" being sung in the middle of Las Vegas was just odd, it didn't fit. I felt sad thinking that most of the people watching did not know the Saviour who came to break the darkness of sin. Those people watching the pretty lights and enjoying the beautiful music, do they even realize the sin they are enslaved to? Do they understand what happened on that "Holy Night" when Christ was born, when the Word became flesh and God Himself came humbled in the likeness of man to redeem man from the slavery of sin and death? That sin which He defeated and saved us out of is the sin so many at that moment were celebrating, chasing after and enjoying.
On the way back to the airport my two coworkers and I had an interesting conversation with a cab driver who felt some sense of this underlying struggle. He'd been living in Vegas the past 25+ years. I guess it's always easier to be open and honest with a stranger rather than someone who knows you well. This man opened up to us about his life in Vegas, how it changed him, what he'd seen and experienced, how tired he was of it, and how disgusted he was after having tried everything you could think of. He saw first hand the wickedness of men. He realized the futility of a living gained dishonestly and the futility of pleasure seeking. In the end he had no hope and no joy.
It reminded me of King Solomon who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes towards the end of his life. Oh I pray that cab driver will realize what King Solomon did in the end.
"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person." Eccl. 12:13
After being there and talking with this guy it's easy to think "this is just Vegas, that's how it is here." But it's not just Vegas. It's man. Man is everywhere and there is corruption everywhere. It may be glorified and concentrated in Vegas, but it is just as real and ugly everywhere.
This whole day really made me thankful that my Saviour came to break the darkness of in, to give us hope, eternal life with Him to free us from the power of sin.
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:22-23
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