I wanted to take a break from First Timothy. So I asked the question at the beginning of this week, “What is a product that did not live up to its advertisement.”
I really appreciated that the answers there weren’t about
products as much as about the disappointment that comes when we try to rest on
earthly success or happiness.
I saw this video of Jerry Seinfeld accepting an advertising
award.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the video:
“I love advertising because I love lying.”
“I
don’t care that it won’t be like that when I actually get the product being
advertised, because in between seeing the commercial and owning the thing, I’m happy.
And that’s all I want.”
“We know the product is going to stink. We know that. We
live in the world.”
“We are a hopeful species. Stupid, but hopeful.”
“A brief moment of happiness is pretty good.”
“If your things don’t make you happy, you don’t have the
right things.”
“Eventually I’ll be dead, and someone will just take it or
sell it or throw it out.
That’s fine. I’m happy now.”
So. He is being incredibly sarcastic. And the tone he uses,
and the fact that he is a comedian, all come together to create a strange vibe.
If I was in the room, and in advertising, would I be laughing? Or would I concerned
that he was causing us to laugh at ourselves. How sad would it be to have
someone make fun of you and get you to laugh along with the joke?
So, thinking about soulful materialism, is it real? Does it
work? If I just find the right stuff will it work? I sometimes fall into that trap. Bring up Toyotas, or Adidas Sambas, or
Chacos, and I am happy to celebrate those things with you.
But we will live forever. And my Chacos will not be there in
heaven. So let’s ask God to enter into this conversation? What does he have to
say about this?
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one
and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money.”
-Luke 16:13
And this is at the end of the parable of the shrewd manager,
where Jesus tells the story of a man who knew that his time to manage the
accounts was short, so he gave them away freely, to benefit the long-lasting
relationships. Let's consider how we can be like that shrewd manager.
Reflecting:
Can you think of a way to do what the shrewd manager did? He
used his earthly wealth to benefit relationships, because he knew that the
people are what lasts. How can you make use of the earthly blessings that you
have to plant seeds that God can grow for eternity?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGod blesses us in so many countless ways we can't keep track of them all. He has given all of us material possessions and we don't always use them the way He wants us to. I believe God gives us these things to glorify him. How can we do that? By sharing them with others. Perhaps you get to drive a car to school and your neighbor who goes to your school can't afford another car, so he has to take the bus. You can take him to school and bring him back so he doesn't have to wait for a school bus. Maybe you're that kid with a smart phone and the other kid has a "dumb phone", he really needs to send an email to a teacher but doesn't have access to the internet. Let him borrow your phone to send that email. One more example. You're at McDonald's and your friend doesn't have money. Offer to buy his/her meal, and tell them they don't need to pay you back. You're happy to do it because God has blessed you with some spending money on McDonald's. Share your blessings with others, it's an easy way to point to your Savior.
ReplyDelete