My dad was a used car salesman. I remember that he once told me that he didn’t have to talk people into buying a car because by the time they showed up at the dealership they already wanted to buy one. He just helped them choose the one that fit their preferences. He was giving them what they wanted, a car, whether they could afford it or not.

It is the same with cultural changes. It’s not that the current state of affairs has been forced upon us, it’s that the people have demanded it. The market is shaped by what sells, and what sells is often evil. While they help trends grow, we cannot simply blame public schools, politicians, capitalists, the media or a secret cabal for the desires that shape the culture. If people wanted to live righteous lives, the market would find a way to make money off that. The aforementioned groups are simply giving the people what they want.

But pleasure and ease and entertainment is much more popular because people are naturally drawn to it. Whether it’s a new car, prescription drugs, sexual thrills, or the desire to change your gender, there is someone who will help you fulfill your desires, for a price.

What causes people to want the wrong things for the wrong reasons? You could say that we have a “cabal” living inside us. This cabal is called the ‘flesh’ in the Bible. The flesh is our sinful human nature that makes us rebel against God’s authority, be discontented and selfish, prideful and sensual. When we are controlled by this ‘cabal’ of desires, we are not controlled by the spirit of God, and we make our decisions based on what the flesh wants.

Not everyone sins in every possible way, but we easily say yes to the temptations that we find attractive. It is this cabal in all of us that shapes culture. Sure, there are also various groups of powerful people in business and government that are also working to socially engineer and manipulate us, but they could not succeed if we didn’t like what they are doing. There are way more of us than there are of them!

So when you look back on the history of materialism, consumerism, scientism, the sexual revolution, progressivism, and atheism, know that these things could not have become popular unless the public had said yes to them. And as we observe the rise of transhumanism, transgenderism, immortality seeking, bioengineering, and the embrace of an anti-human technologically-controlled future, remember that this is what the people of the earth want. They voted for it, they paid for it, and they love it.

Just to clarify, I’m not saying that people are not being influenced. I am answering the question of why have the influencers been so successful, which is that many people eagerly accept their influence rather than recognizing it for what it is because the have rejected the truth.

Those of us who are awake must keep speaking truth to friends and family. We need to stay strong, stick together, encourage each other, and pray for the lost. But we also must be honest with ourselves and ask if we are living like one of them. Are we purposely or unknowingly supporting harmful agendas? Beware the undercurrent of the cultural tide.