Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he became of age
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasure of sin,
esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt;
for he looked to the reward.
Strolling down the aisle of Meijer, I passed a young mother
pushing a grocery cart with a fussing infant in the seat and reaching for a
toddler who had just spied a colorful, inviting display of spring toys. Her commands of “Don’t Touch,” fell on
oblivious 3 year old ears. The allure of
the display overwhelmed the voice of his mother as he reached out and grabbed a
bright red sand bucket.
Have you ever noticed or thought about store displays? The next time you are at a mall, specialty
store or Wal-Mart, take a few minutes and look around, notice the displays then
look in your cart. How many of the
products have you picked up? Now look at
your list, were the products on your list or did you just decide you
needed/wanted that item in the last few minutes? Stores, especially Wal-Mart, Meijer, and
Target sell thousands maybe a million different items and they want to PUSH the ones with the biggest profit
margins. These products are the ones
most prominently displayed, the easiest to reach and the ones with the most
colorful packaging.
The packaging colors, logos and even shelf placement are selected
after extensive market research studies of the “target consumer.” Take a trip down the cereal aisle; the
organic, healthy, “twigs and sticks” cereal is usually not located at the
eye-level of a 2-year old. But every
brightly colored, sugary cereal with a cheap trinket is well within their
reach. Why are toys usually made in
bright colors of red, blue, green, yellow or pink and placed on the second
shelf of the display? What child is drawn
to clear, white, black or gray and what 3 year old walks around looking 4 feet
above his head? Now you are getting it!!!
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an
angel of light.
Satan is the “Master
Marketer” of this world. He has
centuries of studying his “consumer’s” desires and behaviors in his arsenal. And he works tirelessly at exploiting those weaknesses with his alluring
displays. He offers every imaginable,
deviant behavior wrapped in colorful, exciting packages in contrast to the “clear
product” of a surrendered will to God.
His offers of exhilarating adventure are always place right at “eye
level,” within easy reach. The
things of God require effort; they
require commitment; sometimes they
require walking through the storm
and other times we must “reach up” to obtain the prize.
2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore “Come out from among them and be
separate, says the Lord. Do not touch
what is unclean and I will receive you.”
Just as the products displayed at your favorite store may
not be all they promise, sin has a “back-story” and is replete with
undesired consequences. The cereal
company doesn’t post a big warning on the box, “BEWARE! UNHEALTHY! Contains huge amounts of sugar and the toy inside
is junk.” Well neither does
Satan. It might help if the pornographic
website contained a warning before you clicked; “WARNING! Indulging in this
lustful behavior will result in a broken marriage and a retreat from reality.” OR “WARNING! This path will lead you
away from the will of God and it dead ends at destruction.” But just as taking the time to read
the labels on products will help you to make wise choices, there are ALWAYS warnings, if we take the time to
listen. The problem is “DON’T TOUCH” is often drowned out
by desire.
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