A recent survey conducted by Keele University in Northern Staffordshire, England has exposed an appalling lack of basic honesty among far too many ordinary British citizens. Cutting corners in basic morality is more prevalent in the Western world today than previously thought possible. England is only one example in the West.

Over a third of British citizens pay cash in order to avoid taxes. Nearly a third keep very silent when given too much change by a clerk. Nearly 20% pilfer small items from the office with impunity. Over 10% manage to avoid paying their TV license. Many drive their cars without the required liability insurance. The list goes on and on.

Obviously committing so-called petty crimes is not like robbing a bank in broad daylight. Most people "get away" with indulging in these "misdemeanours" simply because of the cost and inconvenience of detection.

Incredibly "The worst perpetrators are said to be highly paid people facing temporary financial difficulties…" (The Times, June 25, 2007). Professor Susanne Karstedt, a criminologist from Keele University, stated that "Contempt for the law is as widespread in the centre of society as it is assumed to be rampant at the margins and among specific marginal groups" (ibid.).

We sometimes forget that what may be hidden from men is always known by God. Our Creator is fully aware of what people do behind the scenes. Lawbreakers worry about being caught by police but usually show no real fear of God in their thoughts and actions.

The Bible shows that our primary concern should be to please our Creator. After all, the God who made us is the One who will determine our eternal destiny (see Matthew 10:28). And God obviously is not pleased when we transgress the biblical moral standards that He has defined for us. And His standards include paying taxes (Romans 13:1-7).

When normally righteous King David committed two capital crimes—adultery and murder, it was stated that "The thing David had done displeased the LORD" (2 Samuel 11:27, emphasis added throughout).

The apostle Paul displayed great concern for ethical behaviour among Christians. "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more; just as you received from us how you ought to walk [conduct your lives] and to please God" (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2). Paul then pointed out striking examples of proper ethical behaviour—including the importance of sexual self-control.

What is your opinion of morality? Do you just go with the flow of popular opinion? Or are you concerned about the downward spiral of personal ethics and morality in our Western society? Are such values as honesty, self discipline and respect for others important to you? Or are you caught up in the self indulgence that has become a noticeably dominant feature of our time.

At no previous time in human history has such a large portion of a society been able to enjoy such an abundance of material luxuries. But with the availability of those material blessings has come an incredible shift from responsible living to a self-indulgent lifestyle.

Long ago the apostle Paul explained when and why this lifestyle shift would occur. "You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!" (2 Timothy 3:1-5, NRSV).

Are you fed up with the inevitable negative results of the self-indulgent way of life that is criticized so forcefully in the pages of the Bible? If so, you may be seeking guidance to a completely different manner of living, one that is satisfying to the soul now and will eventually result in eternal life in the Kingdom of God.