Decadence does not go unnoticed by God, who is not a distant observer but watches and tests mankind against His standards. When people are righteous, He extends loving kindness and blessing, but when they are evil, He sends punishment in various forms of destruction. He is not a sap who lets decadence have the upper hand for long, as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 shows. Applied to the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Islamist terrorists bear most of the blame, yet American culture is far from righteous, so God is amply justified in chastising the country. Suggesting that Americans played any role in bringing the attacks upon themselves stirs controversy, but the pressing question is whether the nation has learned the lessons of that chastening.

Decadence appears as the luxury and sensuality that mark a society turned to idolatry, where dress deteriorates along with morals. Cultures that worship nature and sensuality dress immodestly, and those who idolize possessions become obsessed with the edge of fashion and are never satisfied unless their wardrobe pushes the limits of modesty. Christianity entered a Greco-Roman world of luxury and decadence combined, with elaborate hairstyles, wigs, gems, and pearl-encrusted slippers worth fortunes. Peter (I Peter 3:3) and Paul (I Timothy 2:9) therefore warned against excess and sensuality in adornment. Extravagant braiding and jewelry were not only ostentatious but also the dress of courtesans and harlots, so women who dressed that way were taken for harlots. Today's culture repeats the pattern, as even young children dress provocatively and many professing Christians have drifted into immodest fashion by following cultural trends instead of bringing every thought into obedience to Christ (II Corinthians 10:3-5). The remedy is not mere outward rules but inner self-government: modesty, humility, purity, moderation, and self-control rooted in a right heart before God. Clothing should express purity, humility, and moderation rather than sex, pride, and money. The origin of shame about sex came from Satan, who rules this world of excess, while God clothed Adam and Eve, Christ, and the saints modestly, a pattern that points to the pure white robes of the Kingdom.

Paul's prophecy of perilous last days in II Timothy 3:1-4, with men lovers of self, money, and pleasure rather than God, fits a Western culture bent on pleasure, greed, and selfishness at the expense of marriage and family. Cultural decay follows a pattern: the breakdown of marriage, disrespect for authority, rebellion, adultery, and perversion. Today's values-neutral outlook refuses to define right and wrong, so young people absorb standards from popular culture, and most Americans, including most professing Christians, no longer believe in moral absolutes. Statistics on illegitimacy, violent crime, divorce, and single-parent homes illustrate the decline. A moral society cannot exist without faith in God. According to Proverbs 14:34, righteousness exalts a nation while sin is a reproach, so the rise and fall of nations is moral and spiritual, and wealth, arms, intelligence, or social programs cannot save a nation from moral decay. Corinth, like Sodom, let prosperity lure its people into immorality, becoming so notorious that its name became a byword for immoral conduct. The church there absorbed that permissive atmosphere and tolerated gross sexual immorality (I Corinthians 5:1-2). Believers must counter decadent culture by recognizing its influence, building convictions on the Bible's definitions of right and wrong, disregarding human disapproval, and standing firm for sound doctrine as Paul urged Timothy. The Bible itself must be the believer's culture.