Je pense, donc je suis.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Thou shalt make others covet you?

Okay.
So, I was watching T.V. with my mom last night (it was House night :])
and a commercial came on that kind of hit me as interesting.

It was a car commercial (i don't remember what kind) but they had different women on there saying why they liked the car and blah blah blah.
Nothing special right?
Until one woman, with a big cheesy smile,that if someone in real life was wearing, we might ask her who did her facelift so we can know who to avoid, said "Oh my gosh. My friends are SO jealous!"

Hmm. God said "Thou shalt not covet" but he never said that we couldn't try to make others covet us...

But hold up.
"Oh my gosh. My friends are SO jealous!"
Why would we want to make our friends jealous?
Aren't they our friends?
Shouldn't we want the best for our friends and for them to be happy?
Hmm.

So if that's true, what makes that statement so appealing?
What would make us, as a society, hear that statement then rush to buy this car?

Because, as a society, we are completely and totally "me-centered".
Because everything we do has to benefit US, or make OUR lives easier, or make US feel better about OUR pathetic little selves.

Isn't it sad that most of us use our friends only to make ourselves feel better?
We see no point in the relationship if there is nothing in it for us.
We see no point in ANYTHING if there is nothing in it for us.

Think about it.
Let's say there are two cars.
Both are the same price.
Both run fine.
The first is a very attractive car, with a perfect,custom paint job, heated,leather seats, built in DVD player, and those fancy seats that flip up so you can put all your useless junk underneath. It's the newest and best in comfort and design.
The second is a used car that's not very pretty, a few years old, scratched paint, torn seats, kind of bumpy, not very much foot room, but nothing that would prevent it from working properly.
The commercial for car number one says "You'll make your friends jealous" "Everyone will want your car." "Everyone will be talking about 'Oh my gosh, did you see so-and-so's new car?'"
The commercial for our second car says "Hey, it's not very pretty, but it'll get you where you need to go, and if you buy it, 50% of proceeds go to help starving children in Africa."

Honestly, which car are you going to buy?

Okay, newsflash.
Despite what we're told by the media everyday,
we're not here to serve ourselves.
Sorry to break it to you.
We're here to serve God and I'm pretty sure He said something about "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me."
Our main purpose in life is not to make sure we've had a nice comfortable ride when we die,
it's to save as many souls as possible for Jesus Christ.
And, I'm sorry, but most of the time, that means putting them first.

Think about it.........

10 Comments:

At March 18, 2007 at 4:44 AM , Blogger Chill Pastor said...

Right now, I am, as Steven Curtis Chapman says, "Speechless"...It is 7:40 on Sunday morning, and I am supposed to be looking over my sermon for this morning...I never dreamed I would be reading such a well thought out post from my "chill princess"...

Once again, I am very proud of what you stand for...thanks for your thoughts...you continue to challenge me...

And yes, I will help you set up your "Ice Box", but I'm sure you'll be more creative than "daddy chill"...

I love you...

chill

 
At March 18, 2007 at 2:40 PM , Blogger Starr said...

I am nearing 30 and only in the past few years have I truly embraced the truth that I am meant to serve God, He is not meant to serve me. How often we get those reversed. Great post.

 
At March 18, 2007 at 7:04 PM , Blogger jonathan said...

I'm a pastor. I've never driven a car that one might be jealous of. But it starts, and it plays my music loud when I'm by myself.

Welcome to the blogosphere!

 
At March 18, 2007 at 7:18 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

GMTA! I thought the EXACT same thing about the SAME commercial! Amazing! (Just like the Tar Heels!)

Welcome to the BlogWorld! If you're half as skilled as the old man~ you'll do wonders!

Blessings~

Biffer

 
At March 19, 2007 at 10:29 AM , Blogger Deneen said...

Awesome stuff!

Welcome to the world of blogging.

~Deneen

 
At March 19, 2007 at 11:14 AM , Blogger BarbieC said...

I also think we need to be careful of assuming that just because someone has a new car (or whatever) that they are trying to "show out" and make others jealous. If we are truly treating someone as we would like to be treated, we should be glad for them that they have something that makes them happy.

I remember in high school that, to be mean, girls would say that someone had a new pair of shoes (or whatever) and was just trying to show off.

If we are secure in ourselves, and are truly concerned about our brothers and sisters, we should rejoice in those that are successful and/or content in who they are.

Does that make sense?????

 
At March 19, 2007 at 2:43 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

barbiec.....did you read the post? It was about someone who was TRYING to make their friends jealous. I don't believe it said anything about disliking people because they had more.

 
At March 19, 2007 at 5:21 PM , Blogger BarbieC said...

Yes, I did read the post -- I wouldn't comment on it if I hadn't. I didn't mean to offend. I'm not disagreeing with what the post. I was trying to add a new element/new track to think about. Chill Princess' mom taught me something in Sunday School that I had never thought about. She said that sometimes you need a "nice car" and "nice clothes" for "nice people" to really hear and listen to your message and to save those souls. Kind of another interesting slant to think about.

 
At March 19, 2007 at 7:26 PM , Blogger BarbieC said...

I guess, too, because I DON'T think about making people jealous, that commercial is so ridiculous to me. As a matter of fact, it would make me NOT choose that particular car. I mean, "yeah, I think I'll go into debt with a huge car payment, just to make my friends jealous". How absurd. It makes me sad to think that someone allowed those kinds of values **screech go the brakes** Well, I guess that is it in a nutshell. Values, i.e. Christian values, are difficult to find on t.v. And when something like that commercial shows up on our radar it is our responsibility to comment (or blog) on it, not buy that car, and not make that ad campaign a success.

 
At March 30, 2007 at 10:24 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting. I agree with the basic idea that, as a society, we are selfish and don't always look at the eternal impact of our everyday actions. However, I would have to disagree with the paragraph saying that 'most of us' use our friends only to make ourselves feel better and that we see no point in a relationship or in ANYTHING if there is nothing in it for us. I don't think that is a true generalization. There are people, certainly, who fit that mold. Not all of us are that shallow, though. I don't use my friends to make myself feel better and sometimes I do put more into a relationship than I get out of it. I know plenty of people who volunteer and do things for others who will probably never give back to them directly. I think God honors that.

 

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