Quote

“Only love can grieve.”

A.W. Tozer

A Blue Ferrari

Yesterday I had lunch with a young adult who is walking through some difficult days. We talked, and I hope something I said might be of help. We shook hands and I opened the door into the August heat. At just that moment a blue convertible Ferrari drove by. It looked a bit better than the Saturn I got into.

Sometimes I whine to God about wanting something nicer or faster. But then I’m reminded that cars will rust, eventually that blue Ferrari will be in a junkyard, and my friend, the one with the problem, he’ll still be living.

Tags: culture, faith

Hounded by Advertising

In a consumer culture there aren’t many places we can go without someone buying the right to our audience. I’m not sure about the ladies room, but many times a fella can’t visit a restroom without an ad staring at him from the wall or door.

And what are the ads saying. Some are telling us how great a product is, but many others are tapping into something within us: our yearning for redemption or our depravity.

Once you start looking for this you’ll see it:

1. Advertising tapping into the yearning for redemption.

These messages are about a better life. A life of joy and celebration. A life without anxiety. The solution is a trip to Sandals Jamaica, a specific retirement home, or a few Millers (“The High Life”).

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2. Advertising tapping into the nature of our depravity. Our lust. Our unbelief.

According to the ad the way to get a girl isn’t by character and integrity, it’s Axe bodyspray. Apparently, with just a spray, beautiful women begin to hunt you and are willing to have sex.

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The conclusion: Choose to align your life with truly redemptive things (hint: they aren’t made of silver or gold, or a spray that causes women to flock to you).

Tags: culture, faith