Have you ever noticed how much lying is a part of life? I'm thinking at the moment about advertising. It seems as if we get a constant stream of lies offered as truth and it is so prevalent that we barely notice it. Me personally ... I'm sick of being lied to.
There is a glut of advertising on the market right now for weight loss. "I tried this product and lost 47 pounds the first week!" she may tell you. It's only in the fine print that you'll find the disclaimer "results not typical". But the lies go deeper. There is the unspoken suggestion that if you lose weight you'll not only be healthier, but sexier, happier, and likely wealthier. You see, all of that seems to hinge on how much you weigh. Didn't know that, did you? Well, that's what I'd conclude from the commercials. And, of course, it's a lie.
Advertising has always used sex as one of its key selling points. One after shave for men was named for the skills you would need to fight off the women if you used it. Of course, I've never seen anyone having to fight off women because they smell good. But if you use their products -- if you smell good or drive their car or wear their outfits -- you'll be in such demand that you won't know what to do. Some of these claims are explicit. One TV ad for a product essentially claims, "Use our product and you'll have great sex!" More of them are implied, with sexy people and sexy images used for selling. None of them are true.
Then there are the dating sites on the Internet. You know the ones. They will find you the love of your life. Just sign up and you'll find romance, lifelong happiness, that "one true love" who has eluded you for so long. He/she is right there on the other side of the wire just waiting for you. And while they use a variety of methods and make a variety of promises, they're all quite sure that love is just a few keystrokes away -- a claim, of course, that is not genuine.
Even outside of advertising we get these same types of lies. I saw a "helpful" bumper sticker that sagely suggested, "Treat your wife like a thoroughbred and she won't be a nag." That's a common notion. Treat other people well and they will all treat you well. The truth is that you are more likely to be treated well if you treat others well, but being a nice person is no guarantee. And that's just one example.
The one that bugs me the most is the false advertising I hear from Christians. Give your life to Christ and everything will be wonderful. We hear it directly sometimes, but generally it's just a suggestion. "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." That may be true, but God's "wonderful plan" could be martyrdom for His sake. I'm pretty sure when we think "wonderful plan" we're not thinking "incredible suffering". The biblical promise for believers, however, is just that. "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12). "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). Indeed, the Bible views suffering for the sake of Christ as a gift (Phil 1:29-30). The abundant life we are promised is something not of this world. The Christian's peace is a "peace that surpasses all understanding" (Phil 4:7).
We live in a world of lies. It's part of the nature of the beast, so to speak. We have hearts that are deceitful. Okay. So we recognize it and live with it. The wise person does well to analyze the advertising with which we are bombarded to find the lies and avoid them. They're everywhere, spoken or implied. The believer, however, has no business offering lies on behalf of God. He has true joy and genuine peace and more to offer, but it's not the cheap joy and peace we know in this world. Let's not tell people lies to trick them into the kingdom. That's a strategy that's sure to backfire. Lies are not God's strategy. That's from another father.
2 comments:
Stan,
Have you had the opportunity to read "Christ and the Media" by Malcolm Muggeridge? It is a fantastic analysis on truth and television. I was thinking of his words while reading this piece. I'll try to post a few quotes when I get the chance to get the book in front of me.
As for lies in the body of Christ, it is a horrible tragedy. It seems to me mainly to be a lack of time in the Word. As you point out, there are myriad scriptural arrows pointing toward the truth. It's dangerous as well because it seems to tone down the effects of sin on creation. If we misunderstand and think that God's plan is for us to be healthy, wealthy and wise in the here and now we might get the impression that we're just sick not dead, and that all we need is some medicine not a redeemer.
On the "healthy, wealthy, and wise" concept, my mother says, "If it doesn't play in Bangladesh, it's not real." In other words, if Christ intended His own to be healthy, wealthy, and wise, it wouldn't be limited to the U.S.
Post a Comment