Editor’s note – We’re running this piece because it uses an unexpected source – a slapstick 1963 comedy about a buried fortune – to explain something true about the human heart in an outrage-driven age. The author traces how ordinary people turn on each other once desire hardens into obsession, then points readers toward repentance and faith instead of despair.
A Mad Scramble for a Fortune
If you’ve never seen the 1963 comedy movie It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World by Stanley Kramer, you really should see it; it’s hilarious! It’s the story of a criminal dying in a car wreck who confesses to five ordinary men where he hid $350,000 dollars in cash. What follows is a chaotic race to get to the money first.
Human nature on display
In typical fashion, ordinary people obsess about getting their fair share of the money. They lie, manipulate, wreck cars, and sabotage each other, totally willing to sacrifice nearly everything for the fortune buried in a state park beneath a “big W.”
This film is poignant because it exposes the painful reality that people can become obsessed and irrational when an exaggerated desire for money takes over. The frenzied madness in this slapstick movie may not look exactly like the madness going on in the world today, but it’s close enough. The news media often shows people in crowds whipped into a frenzy by outrage over a viral social media post.
The movie’s comedy is ironic because it reflects the hidden flaws in people’s hearts. The characters destroy themselves in pursuit of money. Today, we see lives destroyed by greed, prejudice, fear of financial uncertainty, infidelity, and endless promises that happiness lies just beyond the next person, purchase, promotion, or public victory.
Each character in the film firmly believes that getting that cash will solve all their problems. As the pursuit of the treasure progresses, the situations intensify and produce humiliation, broken relationships, and danger, ending in spiritual emptiness. This is exactly the lie that sin produces. The deceitfulness of sin lures us with promises of a better life and more happiness, but it actually takes life away.
In today’s world, unthinking madness can unfold online in minutes. People see a shocking video, headline, or accusation, and before they check the facts, many rush to judgment. As the movie portrays the characters turning against each other, we see people posting cruel online comments in response to heartfelt, confusing, or tragic posts. Sometimes these comments attack people’s careers and threaten families. Nowadays, anger and rage seem to be rewarded with attention, which is dangerous because they always seek a target.
Idol forms may change, but not the idol-worshipper’s motivations
The danger in today’s society is that people may be making outrage their idol. Some people seem to enjoy watching their opponent’s destruction. This is seen in the celebratory actions of some people toward the killing of Charlie Kirk. [1] What is the motivation behind this attitude? Could it be desire for superiority, revenge, resentment, or tribalism? In any case, this behavior ignores people’s dignity as persons made in God’s image.
Consider another sad scene. A teenage girl opens her phone late at night and finds hundreds of messages ridiculing her because someone posted a brief, awkward clip of her that went viral. People who never even met her have treated her pain as their entertainment. Tragically, these thoughtless acts have caused many teenage suicides.
These aren’t merely social problems. They reveal a spiritual dilemma. In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul warned people not to follow the world’s pattern because he knew it would influence what we consume and lead us away from knowing God’s will. The entertainment industry, social media, and news broadcasts fascinate us and hook us in by focusing on the spectacular, such as scandal, cruelty, tragedy, sexual immorality, violence, and humiliation. If we let these things influence us, they will shape what we stream, post, laugh at, and absorb. [2]
Editor’s note – Outrage becoming an idol deserves careful thought. An idol doesn’t need to be carved from wood; it can be the satisfaction of watching someone else lose an argument online. The remedy is repentance, not a new platform policy.
An alternative response to the stampede
Christians who attempt to live the way Jesus taught don’t hide their heads in the sand, pretend that wars, injustice, poverty, disasters, suffering, and death don’t exist, or downplay their significance. If tempted, we better not retreat into smugness, thinking that madness only happens to “those people.” No, we must try to realize that we are just as vulnerable to sin as anyone else. Our hearts are still “desperately wicked” (see Jeremiah 17:9), and we are still in desperate need of God’s grace.
The believer’s alternative to going mad in today’s world is repentance and faith. When we repent, we reject self-rule and self-worship. We stop participating in false worship, greed, dishonesty, sexual sin, bitterness, and revenge. We stop rebelling against God and start trusting and depending on Him, grateful for His saving grace. When we do these things, He gives us the gift of Faith. We start to value peace of mind and assurance of our future in Christ more than chasing wealth, status, ideology, or personal goodness.
A long time ago, Jesus asked a question that cuts through every frantic race for more:
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? [Mark 8:36]
So what happens if a person ignores Christ’s offer of forgiveness? So what if they win the argument, accumulate more money, gain a ton of followers, humiliate an enemy, or achieve much applause? What will happen in the end if they don’t receive the forgiveness offered by Jesus through His atoning death and resurrection? They’ve still lost what matters most: the happy destiny of their eternal soul.
Editor’s note – Giving up self-rule for trust in God isn’t a loss. It’s the whole logic of the gospel, an exchange of chains for peace.
Conclusion
The characters in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World fail over and over again because they won’t let go; they won’t stop grasping for more. They no longer see each other as neighbors; they see competitors. Their treasure has made them ridiculous and miserable. The sobering lesson in this movie is that the race itself is the real disaster, as it became the thing that ruined their lives. It will ruin our lives too if we don’t get our priorities straight.
References
1. GotQuestions.org. (2025, September 22). GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/Charlie-Kirk.html
2. GotQuestions.org. (2022, January 4). GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-Hollywood.html
A Word from the Editor
Every generation gets its own version of the buried $350,000 – a fresh reason to treat a neighbor as competition instead of someone made in God’s image. Jesus already asked the question that matters: what does it profit us to win every argument if we forfeit our own soul? Repentance and faith are the only exit from that race.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
Editor Comment: Today's outrage culture demonstates the ancient truth that idols alway promise life and happiness, yet only take it instead.
This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.