Commercials

Ok, so I’m not much of a football fan. I don’t think I watched a single NFL game this season. Well, I did watch part of the Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day, but it wasn’t my fault, I tell you!

I did watch the Superbowl though. Being a native of Louisiana, I had to watch the Saints make history.

And of course, this is the one time a year when we all actually turn up the TV for the commercials. This is when companies shell out some serious cash (around $3 million for a 30-second spot), hoping to leave an indelible mark on us. Overall, I was disappointed with the selection this year, but there were a few laugh-out-loud moments… Betty White playing football… friends conversing with auto-tuned voices… the Doritos ninja… Casual Fridays… and Tim Tebow tackling his mom. Funny stuff. I don’t know if they’re worth a multi-million dollar investment, and I don’t think I can remember most of the companies that were advertised. But maybe some kind of seed was planted. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I’ll think to myself, “I could use some Doritos right now!” ...

A lot of people are upset these days. There’s an ever-growing list of things that are "destroying our country" and our society. And the usual suspects line up, and we point at them and say, Yeah, that’s the one. That’s the one who’s ruining my kids. That’s the one who’s stealing my country. That’s the one who...

Well, I think we’ve got the wrong guy! I think that marketing is what’s gonna get us all in the end! Commercials.

I read recently that the average American encounters three thousand commercial messages every day. Yeah, that’s right. Three thousand… every day! Billboards, radio, TV, magazines, banner ads… even at the theater before the trailers! Everyone is selling something. And there are so many things that I would never have imagined that I needed or wanted. But now it’s hard to imagine life without them.

I heard Don Miller speak recently, and he talked about the simple strategy of advertising. The basic idea is to convince you that you are miserable, and that you will continue to be miserable until you have this product, and that when you do finally get the product that your life will finally be worth living. I know it sounds so silly, but don’t we buy into the promise all the time? And when we do get the phone, or the jeans, or the whatever, what happens? Does it stop there? No, it's never enough...

In Genesis, we read about the fall of mankind, where Adam and Eve eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God tells them that if they eat the fruit, they will die. And if you’re like me, when you read the story, you think, “How stupid can you be? I mean, seriously, don’t eat the fruit. It’s not rocket science.”

And yet, if we are honest, that scene occurs over and over again, to each one of us. Because what we have is never enough. We want more and more. And the chorus of voices that surrounds us constantly persuades us that we want more… that we need more… that we deserve more…

Maybe it would be better for us if every time we gave in to that desire, someone blew the whistle on us and kept us in line. Maybe there should be a surgeon-general-type warning on all the things that we long for – “Chasing after this product can result in misery and/or death.” But when we follow our nature into those things, we often come out unscathed. And like Adam, we look at ourselves and pleasantly say, “Well...I’m not dead.”

Jesus told a story of a farmer who had an incredible harvest – so big that he didn’t have enough room in his barns to store everything. So what did he do? He decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, after which he would take it easy and enjoy life. Now that sounds pretty good, right? His desires didn’t lead to immoral living, to addictions, or even to debt. He was just being a good steward, right? Wrong. In Jesus’ parable, God says, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?” (Luke 12:19, CEV)

You see, there is something that happens when we always want more. We seek. We accumulate. We center on ourselves. And it all comes so natural, because it is the way of the world. It is our way...

In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world.” I think a lot of people think that just means don’t drink beer or don’t watch R-rated movies (except the Passion of the Christ). But often, the most dangerous enemies to our souls are those that blend in – that just seem natural.

In another place Paul says, “I have learned in whatever state I am in, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

What would life be like if we could truly be content with what we have? What if we didn’t always want more? What if we didn’t believe the hype? What if...

So what is that one thing today that you must have? What is it that is going to make your life complete? Don’t believe the hype. Don’t believe the commercial...

I don’t have cable at home, or even network TV for that matter. But my in-laws have a DVR, which is an amazing advance in technology. Now, when watching America’s Funniest Home Videos, I can rewind live TV and watch the poor people fall off the porch again and again and again. But better yet, after recording shows, I can fast-forward the commercials.

I like that.