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Okay, I admit it. I am a sucker for a good commercial. A catchy jingle gets my attention. A sappy plot makes me teary. I cannot watch an infomercial for too long without wanting to pick up my laptop and order. And I stillfeel an affinity for Oscar Mayer products because they have a way with “B-O-L-O-G-N-A”.
Please tell me I’m not the only one!
A quick internet search can pull up many lists for the “Most Effective Words in Advertising” —You. Love. Now. Sex. New. Best. Free. Easiest. Exclusive. Unique—words meant to entice us to buy goods and services. Our minds are sent a barrage of potential desires and promises to make life better, easier, more fun, and more successful. Falling for clever advertising may be harmless enough. At times it does bring us good food and cool toys; but it also reminds us how we can be influenced by worldliness as we walk in the Spirit.
Take Christmas for instance. How much of the secular message and tradition of these holy days do you celebrate? For me, I got really caught up in decorating my house and tree, buying new additions every year. Until two years ago I had almost a dozen boxes of decorations, and more nativity scenes than I had surfaces on which to display them! Then I felt God calling me to a deeper, simpler faith. There were many ways the Spirit showed me how I needed to un-complicate my life. I was aghast to find that it included my precious decorations! I did it though. I gave away a lot of stuff, and I continue to ask the Holy Spirit to keep me from being carried away by the big jolly elf and jingle bells—seriously, I loveChristmas!—and to keep me centered on my first love, Jesus.
Beyond the celebration of holidays, there are many topics today that, if you pay too much attention to advertising, news, and social media, can make your absolutes become maybes, and your cornerstones become peripheral. Whether it be politics, marriage, women’s rights, education, or even religion, we as Christians can be distracted by emotional arguments and persuasive reasoning. I don’t want to single out any one of these to start a debate; I am not an expert, but a fellow participant in the day-to-day mine field of our increasingly secular world. I confess I find, at times, that my emotions or relationship with someone, rather than the solid truths of Scripture, guide my stand on one or more of these topics.
In Matthew 10, Jesus is sending out the disciples on mission. In verse 16 (ESV) He tells them: "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”Before this He told them not to go to the Samaritans or Gentiles: “Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”(10:6, ESV). The wolves were intermingled with those familiar to them, not blatantly recognizable as the enemy. Wisdom and innocence were needed as they walked amongst their own. Doing God’s work required them to identify the potential traps before them and rely on what Jesus had taught them, to not get side-tracked.
And what if they did not know what to say, particularly when the inevitable trials and beatings brought them before “governors and kings for my (Jesus)sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles”(10:17-18, ESV)? Not to worry: “What you are to say will be given to you in that hour, For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you”(10:19-20, ESV). They did not have to be know-it-alls; they did have to be smart enough to let the Holy Spirt do the talking.
I am so grateful for Womenary because these classes have deepened my knowledge of God and understanding of Scripture. The instructors have said many times that if I have not been offended or affronted by God’s actions or hard passages, then maybe I have created a simpler God in which to believe. What the Bible speaks about the topics of women, abortion, sex, even the pathway to Heaven, is definitive and can be difficult to accept. Because the Word is given to us by a God who is as loving as He is just, as merciful as He is holy, we can trust that what God says relating to any current topic is the best way for His creation.
Jesus also tells the disciples to be innocent as doves. The word innocent can be translated as harmless. We are called as Christians to be set apart—that is what it means to strive for holiness--but this adherence to core beliefs does not preclude being kind to those with differing opinions. We ought to listen more and do less harm with our words and attitudes. Innocent in Greek means “unmixed or pure”. Jesus is also telling us not to mix worldliness with godliness.
Paul states this even more plainly in his parting words of caution at the end of Romans: For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil(16:19, ESV). Letting the world see our obedience to Christ leads to rejoicing! Keeping our attention focused on good, leaving no time or room for what is evil—or not God-glorifying—will protect us from the wolves of our time.
Do I think my excessive Christmas decorations were evil? No. Did they take some of my focus away from celebrating Jesus in Advent? Absolutely. And the painful pruning was worth it. Do I think my political views or opinions on women’s rights, etc. are evil? Not necessarily, but the real questions are: Who am I trying to please—God or men? Who am I relying on for wisdom—experts with limited minds and their own agendas, or the omniscient, ever-loving God? I don’t know about you, but I must keep asking myself these questions; and with daily Scripture and godly people in my life, I need to truly listen to the sometimes-painful answers. To God be the glory!
Elizabeth Murphy
Elizabeth Murphy has been following Christ since she was 17. Although this road has not always been straight, she has seen God’s hand in every detour. Elizabeth is blessed with and by her husband of 30 years, John, and 2 grown daughters. As an educator, she has been able to feed her insatiable desire to learn every day and share learning with others. Elizabeth became a student of Womenary in 2016. From the Bible to theology to cozy mysteries, Elizabeth is always absorbed in reading. This still leaves time for enjoying travel with her husband, walking, old movies, and time with extended family and friends. Elizabeth loves to walk alongside fellow Christ-chasers—learning and laughing through life.
