Serious People Don’t Pursue “Fun”

[rodion]

I remember reading that quote from Fr. Seraphim and it kind of blowing my mind, because it never really occurred to me just how new a concept “fun” is. I don’t mean the general enjoyment of life such as family, church feast days and so on. But fun and pleasure is a sole pursuit in and of itself.

When I was young all I wanted to do was have fun, play video games, play sports, just follow all my whims which naturally lead to habitual sins of the flesh. Working, responsibility and the reality of life felt like an unfair, begrudging chore. I’m ashamed to say this now, but that’s how I, and I suspect many others of my generation and certainly subsequent people felt. Why else would Jordan Peterson’s initial message about responsibility seem revelatory? Like “whoooaaa dude! This guy says there is more to life than cooming and smoking weed? Wild!”

Before becoming Orthodox, and when I still believed in evolution, I felt like I was just wired differently. I remember telling a counsellor that I just don’t have the part of the brain that enables people to set goals, work hard toward them and achieve them. It’s always seemed to be absent. I had a vague notion that I should be doing something with my life, and sometimes even said “I am going to do X!” And got a pat on the back, a little dopamine hit and then went back to just… not doing anything.

So I totally agree with Fr. Seraphim that unrestrained pursuit of the passions and obsession with comfort and fun absolutely makes you an adult infant. I am the living proof of that. The only way I have been able to make any progress has been through Christ and his Church.

Right! Time to scrooooooll the Roosh V forum for another 12 hours today!

 

[Twigg]

Well, I’ve never been into the drinking or partying scene. I do have trouble slacking off with video games and other digital media. I am trying to limit my time engaging in these activities by supplementing it with more productive tasks. Such as reading, or sketching.

 

[Twigg]

I remember reading that quote from Fr. Seraphim and it kind of blowing my mind, because it never really occurred to me just how new a concept “fun” is. I don’t mean the general enjoyment of life such as family, church feast days and so on. But fun and pleasure is a sole pursuit in and of itself.

When I was young all I wanted to do was have fun, play video games, play sports, just follow all my whims which naturally lead to habitual sins of the flesh. Working, responsibility and the reality of life felt like an unfair, begrudging chore. I’m ashamed to say this now, but that’s how I, and I suspect many others of my generation and certainly subsequent people felt. Why else would Jordan Peterson’s initial message about responsibility seem revelatory? Like “whoooaaa dude! This guy says there is more to life than cooming and smoking weed? Wild!”

Before becoming Orthodox, and when I still believed in evolution, I felt like I was just wired differently. I remember telling a counsellor that I just don’t have the part of the brain that enables people to set goals, work hard toward them and achieve them. It’s always seemed to be absent. I had a vague notion that I should be doing something with my life, and sometimes even said “I am going to do X!” And got a pat on the back, a little dopamine hit and then went back to just… not doing anything.

So I totally agree with Fr. Seraphim that unrestrained pursuit of the passions and obsession with comfort and fun absolutely makes you an adult infant. I am the living proof of that. The only way I have been able to make any progress has been through Christ and his Church.

Right! Time to scrooooooll the Roosh V forum for another 12 hours today!

Yeah, I’m pretty much ashamed of my generation too. But it’s not entirely their fault. They were influenced by a satanic agenda to destroy them.

 

[Hermetic Seal]

What makes this a complex issue is, what exactly do we mean by “fun?” This is such a squishy word whose contextual meaning varies a lot.

To me, reading a good book is “fun.” Making coffee is “fun.” Walking around the neighborhood or going for a hike is “fun”. But to others these activities are all boring. Maybe I’m just justifying stuff I like to do, but it seems quite likely that this sort of thing is not what Fr. Seraphim had in mind when he criticized the concept “fun” but rather what could be alternatively described as vain/idle amusements that have no value beyond momentary stimulation of the senses or direct temptation towards sin.

I have no doubt that Fr. Seraphim would consider the “fun” of listening to an AC/DC album in this category, but he often spoke of the value of listening to/understanding classical music. If I enjoy listening to Bach, am I having “fun?” And if I insist I’m not, doesn’t this just come across as elitist snobbery? I think that a more nuanced articulation of all this is probably going to be more beneficial; if I’m someone from a secular background drawn toward God and hear Orthodox “don’t have fun,” I’m likely to conclude that I’m incapable of sitting on a log in the woods eating only acorns for the rest of my life and quickly write the whole thing off in favor of some version of Christianity I feel is actually feasible to follow; and for the average person that, rather than familiarity with Church history and theological debates, is likely to be the main issue.

What seems to be the real issue here is, does the recreational activity/entertainment have some kind of uplifting spiritual or moral aspect? For instance: reading a novel by Dickens or Dostoevsky does. A trashy romance novel doesn’t. Watching a movie like Man Of God does. A vulgar bro-comedy doesn’t. Where it gets complicated is that probably the majority of entertainment exists somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Therefore, the best we can do is try to apply more scrutiny to what we chose to watch, listen, read, or play in order to filter out stuff that is harmful or not beneficial, in favor of things that are somehow spiritually or culturally uplifting, and try to be careful about how much time we spend on these activities, that our whole life doesn’t revolve around the next time we sit down to watch a movie rather than following God.

Of course it’s clear that Fr. Seraphim is referring to other activities as much as entertainment media. Some of these types of “fun” mentioned in the article are obviously of no redeeming value, like the nightclub, and deserve to be criticized, as does the American orientation towards entertainment as life’s highest priority. But if I’m made to feel guilty for taking my family on a trip to the beach, or going on a date with my wife to a baseball game or something like that, I can’t shake the sense we’ve taken things too far.

We’re not pre-industrial Russian peasants in a village with an Orthodox parish serving the full cycle of daily services a five minute walk from home, or working subsistence agriculture almost every other waking moment in an effort to not starve to death, to name a few obvious differences. So it seems a bit unfair, for lack of a better term, to expect our lives to look just like theirs. The idea of going for a hike or lifting weights would be absurd to them and doubtless seem like an idle fancy, but less so if you work in front of computer eight hours or less a day.

When I first read that quote from Fr. Seraphim I didn’t get that he was saying we should never do anything that could be considered enjoyable, but challenge the contemporary American mindset where the whole point of life is not pursuit of God, or building a family, but to indulge in hedonism: to make plopping down in front of the TV with a big fat hamburger, or going on a lavish vacation, the goal of your daily activities, rather than the love of God. This, I think, is certainly a pertinent lesson for pretty much all of us unwittingly catechized into our worldly culture from our earliest years.

I wonder if one reason Jay Dyer is a popular “on ramp” for Orthodoxy is because his apparent way of life seems more approachable to onlookers. “I can be Orthodox and keep watching tons of movies and TV shows and acting goofy!” I tend to question if this is really a good thing, but don’t want to act too judgmental since the truth of things may be different from his public persona.

 

[Redcrosse]

The funny thing about that "We Are Young" song is that the band's actual name is "fun." I liked it at the time too. Social engineering indeed. Tailor-made for the Gap in-store playlist and television commercials. Even though they've been on hiatus for years, bandmate Jewish Jack Antonoff has had his hands all over a lot of recent popular music as a songwriter/producer-for-hire. I remember finding him suspect even before my redpilling because he was in a relationship with Lena Dunham, but looking back it makes sense.

If this is true, his band should have been named Torture.

 

[Kentucky Gent]

The people arguing against Roosh seem to be/might be confusing "fun" with "joy".

One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy. We obtain joy when dancing (Jay Raidu), or when playing with children (Pete345), or when doing wholesome activities on a Saturday men's work day at church (Thomas Moore), or when raising a family (Northumber). I hope I have listed all the objections.

As Fr. Ripperger said, "temperance" is the virtue which moderates pleasure, and can be sub-divided into 17 separate virtues. One of which is
Eutrapelia, the Virtue of Right Recreation!

http://www.sensustraditionis.org/Virtues.pdf

Let's not confuse fun with joy. Joy is time spent playing with my 3-year-old nephew. Fun is wasting time on video games.

 

[SiverFox]

The people arguing against Roosh seem to be/might be confusing "fun" with "joy".

One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy. We obtain joy when dancing (Jay Raidu), or when playing with children (Pete345), or when doing wholesome activities on a Saturday men's work day at church (Thomas Moore), or when raising a family (Northumber). I hope I have listed all the objections.

As Fr. Ripperger said, "temperance" is the virtue which moderates pleasure, and can be sub-divided into 17 separate virtues. One of which is
Eutrapelia, the Virtue of Right Recreation!

http://www.sensustraditionis.org/Virtues.pdf

Let's not confuse fun with joy. Joy is time spent playing with my 3-year-old nephew. Fun is wasting time on video games.

Joy comes from the Lord. Happiness comes from the world

 

[Kentucky Gent]

Joy comes from the Lord. Happiness comes from the world

Well, sir, you've managed to sum it up much more succinctly than I did. Well said.

 

[infowarrior1]

Let's not confuse fun with joy. Joy is time spent playing with my 3-year-old nephew. Fun is wasting time on video games.

Especially when there is no edification involved.

 

[infowarrior1]

--Deuteronomy 8:11-14

Note that the warning here is given for people to remember God when they are living in plenty in the promised land. I don't recall any such warnings for when they are poor. Typically when people are brought low they start repenting.

I conclude that prosperity is spiritually dangerous for the unwary, and I look around and it is borne out. Once people in the prosperous West forget God there is a positive-feedback effect, as people embrace more and more "fun" as a way of numbing themselves to the ever-increasing pointlessness of their existence. More pointless --> more numbing needed.

As a young man graduating from college and on his way to his first job, a good friend warned me that success was more dangerous than failure, and how I handled success was critically important. I took heed of his warning, and of God's warning, and I am grateful for this wisdom given me.

This was why "Giving their children a life they never had" by the Greatest Generation was such a mistake. They wanted to give their children ease and luxury. And worked very hard to make that happen. Baby boomers are the result who also were targets of much cultural subversion.

But at the neglect of bringing up children in the fear of the Lord. Parents who work long hours to give their families riches(and park them in childcare centers) end up with spoilt children who depart from the LORD.

Rather they should been content with a modest rise in income whilst spending much of their time in their children's lives especially their Mothers but also Fathers too.

 

[SlickyBoy]

I think the saying “Sunday Funday” pretty much sums it up.

Never mind all we could say about "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Cindy Lauper sang those accurate words penned by the late Robert Hazard. If he only knew how poignant he was.

That said, isn't it a bit different if you happen to enjoy what you're doing, versus making a dedicated pursuit of "fun"?

For example, I'm sure monks doing work for the poor, running soup kitchens, teaching in schools, etc get a lot of enjoyment out of what they do, but that's wholly different than making a life pursuit out of "fun." \

The older I get the less patience I have with men my own age who constantly self-medicate with booze or weed and/or create ridiculous "fun" like fantasy football to distract from anything more serious that could be enjoyed, but maybe not understood as usual "fun."

Alas, being a wet blanket stoic all the time isn't the answer either. Most of these relationships are worth preserving even if I don't partake in the same activities. The ones who are purely dedicated to "fun" all the time are reduced in frequency of meetups or zeroed out completely - they don't add much to the big picture anyway.

 

[Pete345]

Never mind all we could say about "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Cindy Lauper sang those accurate words penned by the late Robert Hazard. If he only knew how poignant he was.

That said, isn't it a bit different if you happen to enjoy what you're doing, versus making a dedicated pursuit of "fun"?

For example, I'm sure monks doing work for the poor, running soup kitchens, teaching in schools, etc get a lot of enjoyment out of what they do, but that's wholly different than making a life pursuit out of "fun." \

The older I get the less patience I have with men my own age who constantly self-medicate with booze or weed and/or create ridiculous "fun" like fantasy football to distract from anything more serious that could be enjoyed, but maybe not understood as usual "fun."

Alas, being a wet blanket stoic all the time isn't the answer either. Most of these relationships are worth preserving even if I don't partake in the same activities. The ones who are purely dedicated to "fun" all the time are reduced in frequency of meetups or zeroed out completely - they don't add much to the big picture anyway.

There are "men" in their 40s that are colleagues of mine, and they are obsessed with superheroes, anime, video games, and scifi shows. They even go to Comicon events and rave about having met Batman or Darth Vader. It is truly disheartening to see.

 

[Samseau]

Joy comes from the Lord. Happiness comes from the world

You can be homeless and broke, begging in the streets for cash, and still be the most joyous person in the world if your faith in Christ is strong.

You can be imprisoned for life, with only a Bible to read, and still feel more joy than the richest man in the world if you are in communion with God.

"One cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless one is like a child."

The more childlike and innocent a person is towards the world, the more you know that person feels the joy of God, so the less they need the world, and the more spiritually-grounded they become.

This isn't to say a joyful person cannot enjoy the pleasures of life, but clearly, if they become self-indulgent then it is no longer a matter of joy, and by turning your back on your Neighbors you've turned your back on God.

I believe one of the most difficult questions modern man can ask himself today is, "How do I best serve my Neighbor?" Because it seems like everything is already provided for, there is barely anything left to do, and the things that need fixing are almost intractable (Usury, women not wanting kids, the spread of sexual degeneracy, drug addiction, etc). It leaves Christian men in a state of powerlessness and confusion.

If there was a leader that allowed Christian men to go forth and transform the world, I believe this would take away the ennui men feel and they could dedicate themselves to service around such a leader. But as it stands, our work is totally disconnected from faith, our culture is meaningless, and pleasure is almost the only thing left.

Service to Church and time spent at Church is an excellent way to fight nihilism and bring purpose to men, but ultimately if Church duties cannot expand outside of the Church then men's lives will still be full of too much emptiness. All too often the average Church has it's services, and then parishioners go back to a rather purposeless life devoid of Neighborly love.

Therefore I believe the best way out of this is indeed through God, evangelism, conversions, and ultimately political change. Fighting for the souls of our Neighbors is the most pressing issue of our time and any way to return "the West" back to Christ is the ultimate service for the modern age.

 

[ThinkReadWrite]

An article I can relate to and have been meditating on a lot recently. I was clearing out some old storage items in my residence and came across old self-made book projects and things my elementary school made me do. One of my entries said my favorite things were video games and movies and that I liked action. And did I ever, every single one of my drawings were of muscular action figures, fighting, weapons, battles, deadly dinosaurs, any kind of violence. I had written a short story in 2nd or 3rd grade that was all about a pack of Allosauruses wandering around killing things, being killed, and eventually dying off themselves. I called it "The Final Death". As I continued to look through my old stuff I felt like I began to see where my life became hijacked: action. Action was fun, it was entertainment. It took me about 30 years to realize I had spent my entire life seeking fun as my primary value and goal in life.

It's interesting that Roosh also views serious people as the opposite of fun people because I have for many years asked myself, "when am I going to get serious?" And this is just in a materialistic sense, related to buckling down to learn a craft so I can have a decent job. Because when fun reigned king in my heart, everything I did catered to it, whether consciously or not. It was painful to stay in a job, I often looked for avenues to relieve myself from boredom, and since I had mostly worked at call centers, this meant I would go around security blocks at work to read books in between calls. I could never throw myself into something, like another commenter said, and work hard toward a goal I set. I couldn't even stay disciplined long enough to achieve a gym body to make dating easier.

The timing of this article is good. I was always the funny guy in my social circles. Nor could I stand people who were serious. Entertainment led to a hollow, meaningless existence, one where I discovered I'd left nothing of value behind me. I'm working on getting serious, now that I've identified the problem, which I used to think was sloth (and I have plenty of that), but I believe it has been more about fun. If anyone here was once previously all about fun, and really did change their ways, I'd be open to hearing more about how they were able to change.

 

[infowarrior1]

You can be homeless and broke, begging in the streets for cash, and still be the most joyous person in the world if your faith in Christ is strong.

You can be imprisoned for life, with only a Bible to read, and still feel more joy than the richest man in the world if you are in communion with God.

"One cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless one is like a child."

The more childlike and innocent a person is towards the world, the more you know that person feels the joy of God, so the less they need the world, and the more spiritually-grounded they become.

This isn't to say a joyful person cannot enjoy the pleasures of life, but clearly, if they become self-indulgent then it is no longer a matter of joy, and by turning your back on your Neighbors you've turned your back on God.

I believe one of the most difficult questions modern man can ask himself today is, "How do I best serve my Neighbor?" Because it seems like everything is already provided for, there is barely anything left to do, and the things that need fixing are almost intractable (Usury, women not wanting kids, the spread of sexual degeneracy, drug addiction, etc). It leaves Christian men in a state of powerlessness and confusion.

If there was a leader that allowed Christian men to go forth and transform the world, I believe this would take away the ennui men feel and they could dedicate themselves to service around such a leader. But as it stands, our work is totally disconnected from faith, our culture is meaningless, and pleasure is almost the only thing left.

Service to Church and time spent at Church is an excellent way to fight nihilism and bring purpose to men, but ultimately if Church duties cannot expand outside of the Church then men's lives will still be full of too much emptiness. All too often the average Church has it's services, and then parishioners go back to a rather purposeless life devoid of Neighborly love.

Therefore I believe the best way out of this is indeed through God, evangelism, conversions, and ultimately political change. Fighting for the souls of our Neighbors is the most pressing issue of our time and any way to return "the West" back to Christ is the ultimate service for the modern age.

Before my Atheism in my pre-teen and teen years. I remember being a child. And I imagined the stars in the sky as portals to heaven. Its weird that as a child the sense of the supernatural was far more strong. Even though I never actually witnessed any personal miracles.

Maybe its childhood idealism. Or that the Grace of God in childhood is normally strong.

 

[infowarrior1]

An article I can relate to and have been meditating on a lot recently. I was clearing out some old storage items in my residence and came across old self-made book projects and things my elementary school made me do. One of my entries said my favorite things were video games and movies and that I liked action. And did I ever, every single one of my drawings were of muscular action figures, fighting, weapons, battles, deadly dinosaurs, any kind of violence. I had written a short story in 2nd or 3rd grade that was all about a pack of Allosauruses wandering around killing things, being killed, and eventually dying off themselves. I called it "The Final Death". As I continued to look through my old stuff I felt like I began to see where my life became hijacked: action. Action was fun, it was entertainment. It took me about 30 years to realize I had spent my entire life seeking fun as my primary value and goal in life.

It's interesting that Roosh also views serious people as the opposite of fun people because I have for many years asked myself, "when am I going to get serious?" And this is just in a materialistic sense, related to buckling down to learn a craft so I can have a decent job. Because when fun reigned king in my heart, everything I did catered to it, whether consciously or not. It was painful to stay in a job, I often looked for avenues to relieve myself from boredom, and since I had mostly worked at call centers, this meant I would go around security blocks at work to read books in between calls. I could never throw myself into something, like another commenter said, and work hard toward a goal I set. I couldn't even stay disciplined long enough to achieve a gym body to make dating easier.

The timing of this article is good. I was always the funny guy in my social circles. Nor could I stand people who were serious. Entertainment led to a hollow, meaningless existence, one where I discovered I'd left nothing of value behind me. I'm working on getting serious, now that I've identified the problem, which I used to think was sloth (and I have plenty of that), but I believe it has been more about fun. If anyone here was once previously all about fun, and really did change their ways, I'd be open to hearing more about how they were able to change.

Seriousness is presented to us as synonymous with Cynicism. To be "Realistic" and "Serious" is to be Cynical. To be "Mature" is to throw away Absolute Notions of Right and Wrong and embrace shades of Grey. To be a sour person bereft of the color of life. Like the stereotypes of Puritans.

Its because Adulthood is for many people so dreary, meaningless and is the impression that people get that people try to find meaning in "Fun" and "Fantasy". Because "Fantasy" is where we are allowed outside of God to find actual purpose and to explore Absolute Good and Evil.

In a sense the worship of "Fun" is like a Soma drug that allows people to bear the Spiritual emptiness of Modernity. Escapism. So that they can pretend to have purpose. And that they are allowed to enjoy the Beautiful, True and Good in that setting.

In childhood there was still a sense of "Enchantment". Cynical Adulthood takes that away from us. People looking for "Fun" are people still looking for "Enchantment"

It's symptomatic of the establishment that they hated the "Fairy Stories" of Tolkien such that they attempted thorough defilement of his world ASAP.

 

[AdorationoftheCross]

Vainglory would be the term I would equate it to. It's a trap we Christians can easily fall into when we praise ourselves. We should avoid talking about how righteous we are, because it's a form of pride.

 

[Kentucky Gent]

That said, isn't it a bit different if you happen to enjoy what you're doing, versus making a dedicated pursuit of "fun"?

Yes. The term you are looking for is "Flow", aka the psychology of optimal experience:

Amazon product

For example, I'm sure monks doing work for the poor, running soup kitchens, teaching in schools, etc get a lot of enjoyment out of what they do, but that's wholly different than making a life pursuit out of "fun."

Yes, enjoyment and fun are distinctly different. "Flow" is a satisfaction you get when performing at a high level at something that is difficult. But it's more than satisfaction:

"Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life."

 

[AdorationoftheCross]

You can be homeless and broke, begging in the streets for cash, and still be the most joyous person in the world if your faith in Christ is strong.

You can be imprisoned for life, with only a Bible to read, and still feel more joy than the richest man in the world if you are in communion with God.

"One cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless one is like a child."

The more childlike and innocent a person is towards the world, the more you know that person feels the joy of God, so the less they need the world, and the more spiritually-grounded they become.

This isn't to say a joyful person cannot enjoy the pleasures of life, but clearly, if they become self-indulgent then it is no longer a matter of joy, and by turning your back on your Neighbors you've turned your back on God.

I believe one of the most difficult questions modern man can ask himself today is, "How do I best serve my Neighbor?" Because it seems like everything is already provided for, there is barely anything left to do, and the things that need fixing are almost intractable (Usury, women not wanting kids, the spread of sexual degeneracy, drug addiction, etc). It leaves Christian men in a state of powerlessness and confusion.

If there was a leader that allowed Christian men to go forth and transform the world, I believe this would take away the ennui men feel and they could dedicate themselves to service around such a leader. But as it stands, our work is totally disconnected from faith, our culture is meaningless, and pleasure is almost the only thing left.

Service to Church and time spent at Church is an excellent way to fight nihilism and bring purpose to men, but ultimately if Church duties cannot expand outside of the Church then men's lives will still be full of too much emptiness. All too often the average Church has it's services, and then parishioners go back to a rather purposeless life devoid of Neighborly love.

Therefore I believe the best way out of this is indeed through God, evangelism, conversions, and ultimately political change. Fighting for the souls of our Neighbors is the most pressing issue of our time and any way to return "the West" back to Christ is the ultimate service for the modern age.

We are not here to build a utopia, we're here to sacrifice ourselves for our neighbor, which includes our family members, by the way. Do you have parents? Visit them and help them first! It would be a much better idea than conquering the world for Christianity.

 

[Javelin]

You can be homeless and broke, begging in the streets for cash, and still be the most joyous person in the world if your faith in Christ is strong.

You can be imprisoned for life, with only a Bible to read, and still feel more joy than the richest man in the world if you are in communion with God.

"One cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless one is like a child."

The more childlike and innocent a person is towards the world, the more you know that person feels the joy of God, so the less they need the world, and the more spiritually-grounded they become.

This isn't to say a joyful person cannot enjoy the pleasures of life, but clearly, if they become self-indulgent then it is no longer a matter of joy, and by turning your back on your Neighbors you've turned your back on God.

I believe one of the most difficult questions modern man can ask himself today is, "How do I best serve my Neighbor?" Because it seems like everything is already provided for, there is barely anything left to do, and the things that need fixing are almost intractable (Usury, women not wanting kids, the spread of sexual degeneracy, drug addiction, etc). It leaves Christian men in a state of powerlessness and confusion.

If there was a leader that allowed Christian men to go forth and transform the world, I believe this would take away the ennui men feel and they could dedicate themselves to service around such a leader. But as it stands, our work is totally disconnected from faith, our culture is meaningless, and pleasure is almost the only thing left.

Service to Church and time spent at Church is an excellent way to fight nihilism and bring purpose to men, but ultimately if Church duties cannot expand outside of the Church then men's lives will still be full of too much emptiness. All too often the average Church has it's services, and then parishioners go back to a rather purposeless life devoid of Neighborly love.

Therefore I believe the best way out of this is indeed through God, evangelism, conversions, and ultimately political change. Fighting for the souls of our Neighbors is the most pressing issue of our time and any way to return "the West" back to Christ is the ultimate service for the modern age.

No, in these times a man must shrink his world to take care of himself and his loved ones. And with it he just sets an example and starts a chain reaction of other men becoming God-fearing.