What a fascinating world we live in. Last week advertisers paid more than $2.6 million for thirty seconds of airtime during Superbowl XLI. But who can blame them? With an average of 3,500 emotionally-inducing advertisements bombarding Americans each day, you got to go big to stand out from the crowd. We now have more consumer choices than any other time in the history of the world, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Consider these thoughts from Skye Jethani,
We find ourselves in a culture that defines our relationships by our purchases. As the philosopher Baudrillard explains, ‘Consumption is a system of meaning.’ We assign value to ourselves and others based on the goods we purchase. One’s identity is now constructed by the clothes you wear, the vehicle you drive, the music on your iPod. In short, you are what you consume….No longer merely an economic system, consumerism has become the American worldview-the framework through which we interpret everything else, including God, the gospel, and church.
(Leadership Journal, Summer 2006, page 29.)
In this day and age it’s easy to loose our focus and alter our priorities. How do we choose? How do we deal with our ever expanding “choice” anxiety? A great place to start is with these simple words written so long ago,
Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10, NIV)
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