Of George, John, Paul and JC (not the Beatles though!)

“Our society's values are being corrupted by advertising's insistence on the equation that … ‘youth equals popularity, popularity equals success, success equals happiness’.”   John Arbuthnot Fisher

Well, am I supposed to accept this kind of thought outright especially since I myself come from over 30 years in the advertising business?  I think that the world we live in now, in this 21st century, makes it abundantly clear to most of us that our lives are somehow ruled by the media.  You must surely be aware yourself of the effect advertising has on us, on you, both positively and negatively, to a greater or lesser degree. While most things in life start off by being intrinsically good man (and woman, for that matter too) has the knack of turning these round and to abuse them  to the extent that the original scope these things were meant to do is now lost in the mist of recent time!

In fact, the above quote with which I kicked off this post, has, I believe, captured some of the more detrimental effects of media power quite succinctly, and perhaps deserves some time of reflection on their meaning in our own lives, your life, and on how true this is for us personally.  How many people would today prefer to die of hunger than to be seen now wearing the "right" clothes...or suffer from bulimia to achieve that idolised figure?

Advertising and marketing are two much maligned words nowadays because they have been largely responsible for these new idols in our lives.  Look to the hero-worship of popular persons, of singers, of sportspersons, of TV and film stars.... the media produces them for its own enrichment not for our own sake.  While it may all have started legitimately, through man's genuine desire to inform his planet co-inhabitants of a product or service (inasmuch as giving them something that would enrich their life even if at a price) it is now, though, the price which dictates the service and the enriching of one's life is now directed at the few who control the rest.  Sounds like something out of George Orwell's "1984" or "Animal Farm", two modern literary classics reflecting what powers are controlling society today, a true description of the abuse of this power as when he wrote them in the middle of the last century. Orwell's masterpieces of literature show his clear vision, realistic deduction and profound understanding of human behaviour. "When I sit down to write a book....I write because there is some lie I want to expose, some fact I want to draw attention to...."  he once said.

Much before Orwell, though, someone else had underlined the power of these hidden "idols" in our lives.  "The rest of mankind ..... still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts."  This was penned by the apostle John in the Book of Revelation (Rev 9: 20).

And, in the First letter to the Corinthians Paul advised them very constructively: "Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry." (v10).... "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?  "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." (v21-26)

Yet Paul also encourages us too to look at life more positively, more altruistically.  By going against the tide that society tries to wash us in through its media spin. "As we have opportunity let us do good to all" (Gal 6:10). We should therefore be quick to give a kind smile, to speak an encouraging word, to help with a loving deed.  Mow the lawn or help with gardening. Or shovel snow for an elderly neighbour.  Offer transportation to someone who can't drive but needs to go to the doctor or get some groceries.  Be kind to a single mother you might know.

Actions speak louder than words. They open doors that break down the selfishness of society today. Instead of crying about the recession and coldly sacking employees to make ends meet, why not try to find them alternate jobs elsewhere so that they can at least continue to earn a decent living?  It's just the Christian thing to do. It is a seed-sowing activity rather than a destroying activity. We sow good deeds and God makes the seeds grow and produces the harvest.