... But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not us

We are afflicted in every way,

But not crushed;

Perplexed,

But not driven to despair;

Persecuted,

But not forsaken;

Struck down,

But not destroyed;

Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,

So that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies...

...So death is at work in us,

But life in you

For this light momentary affliction is preparing us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison

II Corinthians 4:7-10;11b-12; 17

Lets be honest, in the case of the Apostle Paul's affliction he saw Jewish authorities, Roman Centurions and exhausting physical hardships associated with his Missionary Journeys. We, on the other hand, see our afflictions stemming from an adversarial Post-Christian Culture, Bondage to our Finances and an Emotional Semi-Paralysis attempting to engage our Purpose and Meaning for our Life.

The question is: "Do the above passages still apply in the same way for us today?" Or: "Is God still there for us in the same manner, despite the radical change of 'affliction' in our culture?" Can the same splendor and glory burnished in the Roman Colosseum, for the afflicted faithful, comport with we contemporary sycophants, subtly afflicted (no less in bondage) metaphorically by Fitzgerald's infamous West Egg?

If we look to much to the kind of "affliction" that once was as a measure of faith and response, can we misapprehend a different kind of current affliction, that while different, is no less severe and destructive? The brick and mortar of today's Colosseum's are made up of a composite of materials we know as: Individualism, Hedonism, Materialism and Debtism.