I find it really interesting that telemarketers and big business will take great liberties to try to 'convert' me to their products, especially in the light of our culture's distaste for
prostylization. At the end of the day it boils down to one message, "Is your life empty? Are you missing something? This: (fill in the blank), is the answer to that empty space." It sounds absurd when put this way, I know; but if you really listen to most commercials, the underlying message is the same whether implicit or explicit. Advertisers need to convincingly create a two step process in the consumer's mind:
(1) there is an unfulfilled need in your life (whether this is true or not),
(2) their product is the answer to that need (where this is true or not).
Often times the appeal to consumers is sexual. The advertiser appeals to natural, God-given sexuality; however, the created sexual need is constructed into grandiose fantasy, which in-turn is presented as true (normal) sexual identity. Knowing full well that no male or female viewer has this kind of experience with sexuality, the advertiser creates the need for sexual fulfillment that does not exist, and not to mention much less then the real thing! Meanwhile, their product is the center that links the world of reality and fantasy together.
You may say, "boy Rielly, you have a pretty low view of people, are we all mindless automatons manipulated at every turn?" I do not think we are manipulated easily, people are indeed smart; and yet, this intelligence is used to concede to our deepest human needs. I believe we
allow ourselves, or dare I say,
we choose to be consumed by consumerism.
This is the danger of living in a free-market economy. Sure there are benefits, but the question is one of presuppositions and influence. None are neutral, we are all influenced by something. No one is presuppositionally unbiased. Because we live in a free-market economy we must ask ourselves how much of this consumerist mindset we have allowed into our worldview, values, and approach to faith.
When we speak of Jesus, do we present it as a product to purchase? Is it a formula or a relationship? Do we use advertising manipulation: (1) do you feel empty and unsatisfied? (2) if you accept Jesus, all your emptiness and dissatisfaction in life will be gone? Is Jesus a pill to take? A vacuum cleaner to buy? A bed-of-roses solution? A get-out-hell free card?
When we establish our relationship with God, do we see it as transactional? Do I expect a return for my service? Do I treat God as a salesman who presents me with a service in return for my devotion? This is not to say that God does not offer us joy and a host of gifts like beauty, truth, wisdom, and earthly blessings; but why?
Grace.
There is no even level transaction. God is not a peddler of divine gifts.
As the Scriptures say, "...not that we loved God, but that God loved us..." God gives because that's what He loves to do, give completely freely and unconditionally. There is no business transaction.
Is God present in our lives, not for what we think we need, but for a life-long journey of struggles, joys, pains and pleasures? It is not a quick fix. C'mon, life will be tough! Let's start presenting an honest message! Your life will not necessarily be better circumstantially. But instead of living life on your own, in your own wisdom, for yourself; there is someone who invites you into something much bigger than your own wants or needs.
As Donald Miller aptly writes,
Because we live in a constant sales enviornment where we are told a certain car will make us sexy or a certain dishwashing detergent will be a miracle for our dishes, we assume the gospel of Jesus works the same way, that is, if we invest something, we get something more back. But this is not the case. To understand what the Bible explains Jesus' gospel to be, we must look to each other, to the way a father interacts with a child, a bride to a bridegroom, a doctor to a patient. When we let go of the idea of Jesus as a product and embrace Him as a being, our path to spiritual maturity begins.(http://www.donaldmillerwords.com/searching.php)
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