Lost Vegas

Last week I was in Las Vegas for a few days attending a business related conference. Since I don’t indulge in most of the activities that are available to those making “Sin City” their destination of choice, (Okay, I confess, I did drop a few dollars into a slot machine. But that’s it.) I was afforded a lot of time to walk around and make some observations. Don’t mind me while I just note some of them here, in no particular order.

I was reminded anew of just how blessed I am to not have an addictive personality and have some measure of self-control. Oh how many have made just one or two bad choices that have reaped an avalanche of consequences that could have been averted with a simple “no” before it all got started.

The reality is far different than the image. As I landed and took the shuttle to the resort at night I could see all the bright lights advertising all the fun that awaited the visitors to Vegas. Sure there are some very interesting themes to the casinos and in the architecture. But it’s all a façade, a scheme to draw you inside where the real theme is “give me lots of money as I fool you into thinking you are being entertained and you have a slight chance of winning a little bit.” Overhearing some conversations during breakfast at the conference, there were people who had lost more money the night before than all the expenses my company incurred to send me and two others there for three nights and four days. And it’s as if these people were bragging about losing that much. Hmmmm. Since they like just giving it away, I wonder if they’d go for just handing the cash over to me. I’ll let them brag all they want. And I’d even double tithe on it!

It’s not just the image versus reality as it relates to the casinos. The explicit sexuality on display just makes your feel defiled by simply walking down the street. There are groups of people on seemingly every corner trying to pass out pornographic advertisement for either bars or “services” of all kinds. (I’m not talking “classical” or “contemporary” worship service styles either.) It seems almost any depravity can be found if the price is right. After all, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?

But in addition to the disgust it was all very heart wrenching and sorrowful. What could drive somebody to sell their bodies like that? Did they run away from home because they felt unloved? Were they trapped in that lifestyle due to addiction or something else? Had they come, drawn by the bright lights and promise of success, only to find themselves making one “temporary” compromise after another to make ends meet? It made me want to get home and tell my wife and kids, especially my daughters, how much I love them and how special they are.

The whole time I was there it was like there was just this dark, icky sensation that enveloped everything. Almost as if I was the only one who could even see the real evil that lurked behind the glittery false fronts. Or if others could see it, they just didn’t care. People are funny that way. Most of the time they really do know right from wrong. But often it’s easier to rationalize why wrong isn’t so wrong than it is to take a stand and live in a way that is different from the world around us.

I’m still unpacking the many things I’ve been contemplating after my Las Vegas trip. So I don’t really know all of what I’ll take from that experience yet. Jesus loves the world and the world desperately needs Him. What is my part in His plan? What's yours?