Uphill battle

I may have written about this before, but it is in the forefront of my mind, so I'll bring it up again.  Forgive me if I am repeating myself.
I'll start by saying that I believe my present lamentation "is the way it is supposed to be." In other words,  the longer we are Christians and really trying to progress in our sanctification,  the worse things around us will seem/be.
There are many analogies that could be used to describe this.  For example,  a bank teller handling cash,  an art expert assessing fine art, the symphony conductor criticising his musicians.  All of these situations share at least one thing, exposure. The more one is exposed to "the real thing", the more glaring and repugnant the imitations become.
For the Christian,  the longer we focus upon, strive after and long for an ever deepening relationship with God,  the uglier and detestable the things of the world become.  The really difficult part in all of this is our sinful nature.  Our stupid, fallen flesh constantly drags us down and lies to us. And far too often, we believe it.
The other hard part is our lifetime here among it all.  We are here in fallen America, with all of its comfort and ease,  having to struggle against the "normalcy" of our culture.  It it's a difficult, uphill battle.
If I would only keep my passions at bay, follow my heart instead of my passions and flesh,  I might actually make some real progress.
But alas, stupid me,  wallowing in the ease of modern day America. Pray for me, a sinner.