We have been brain washed; all of us. "What do you mean", you ask? I mean that we as Americans live in the richest country in the world and yet we live in constant want. Let me give you an example.
As most of you know I'm a techie. I love learning about computers and other greeky stuff. When it comes to operating systems I use Windows XP and have always had a windows machine. Primarily because they are more affordable than the competition, Apple. I have, however, learned a lot about Apple's new OS X. The more I learned the more I wanted it and the more unsatisfying my current system seemed. Apple's marketing team did their job well. They got me to want what I didn't have and not want what I already had. Recently a friend of mine bought an Apple ibook. I have to confess, there was some lust involved. But as he was learning the system and setting up his home network (which included windows machines), he called on me to help get things configured. I finally had a chance to play with my dream system. What I discovered was that my expectations were not based on the quality of a product, but the quality of propaganda designed by a marketing team to make me think that way. I'll spare you all from the details, but the long and short of it is that the Windows machine is working the way it should and the ibook is a bit lacking in it's duties. I was a little bummed. I spent hours researching the problem, because I knew it should work because the commercial said it would. Well it doesn't.
This is one example, but it happens all the time. Kari wants a cell phone. Because we need one? No, because everyone we know has one. Is this want wrong, no. But it is a problem when the want is perceived as a need. I am blessed with having DSL, yet knowing that there are faster alternatives wonder, "Should I upgrade?"
The Church does not escape this. We hear all the "propaganda" being put out by ministries ( and I use this term lightly ) that are trying to sell the latest and greatest new program or teaching series. We see that our church doesn't have or do this or that so it becomes somehow lesser in our minds. And we want.
We wonder why our services lack power and experience. Could it be that we enter God's presence in want and not thanksgiving? Could we have been brainwashed to think wrongly about our lives and the Church? The Psalmist tells us that the way to keep our path straight is to "meditate on His Word". Paul instructs to think about what is good, holy and pure. If we stay in God's presence and are in His Word we will stand a better chance to live and make decisions based on truth and not "propaganda". Foster called it the Discipline of Simplicity. Paul called it contentment. Whatever you want to call it, it all comes down to remaining in Christ and walking closely after Him. We need to make sure that He is the primary input in our lives. If we do this we will eliminate want in our lives, and we will live based on the Truth of Jesus and not the "propaganda" of the world.
As most of you know I'm a techie. I love learning about computers and other greeky stuff. When it comes to operating systems I use Windows XP and have always had a windows machine. Primarily because they are more affordable than the competition, Apple. I have, however, learned a lot about Apple's new OS X. The more I learned the more I wanted it and the more unsatisfying my current system seemed. Apple's marketing team did their job well. They got me to want what I didn't have and not want what I already had. Recently a friend of mine bought an Apple ibook. I have to confess, there was some lust involved. But as he was learning the system and setting up his home network (which included windows machines), he called on me to help get things configured. I finally had a chance to play with my dream system. What I discovered was that my expectations were not based on the quality of a product, but the quality of propaganda designed by a marketing team to make me think that way. I'll spare you all from the details, but the long and short of it is that the Windows machine is working the way it should and the ibook is a bit lacking in it's duties. I was a little bummed. I spent hours researching the problem, because I knew it should work because the commercial said it would. Well it doesn't.
This is one example, but it happens all the time. Kari wants a cell phone. Because we need one? No, because everyone we know has one. Is this want wrong, no. But it is a problem when the want is perceived as a need. I am blessed with having DSL, yet knowing that there are faster alternatives wonder, "Should I upgrade?"
The Church does not escape this. We hear all the "propaganda" being put out by ministries ( and I use this term lightly ) that are trying to sell the latest and greatest new program or teaching series. We see that our church doesn't have or do this or that so it becomes somehow lesser in our minds. And we want.
We wonder why our services lack power and experience. Could it be that we enter God's presence in want and not thanksgiving? Could we have been brainwashed to think wrongly about our lives and the Church? The Psalmist tells us that the way to keep our path straight is to "meditate on His Word". Paul instructs to think about what is good, holy and pure. If we stay in God's presence and are in His Word we will stand a better chance to live and make decisions based on truth and not "propaganda". Foster called it the Discipline of Simplicity. Paul called it contentment. Whatever you want to call it, it all comes down to remaining in Christ and walking closely after Him. We need to make sure that He is the primary input in our lives. If we do this we will eliminate want in our lives, and we will live based on the Truth of Jesus and not the "propaganda" of the world.
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