Marketing to our Flesh this Holiday Season

So we are now in the full holiday swing with commercials from companies trying to get you to spend money you don’t have on crap that you probably don’t need.  I normally don’t watch commercials because my wife and I have been lured in quite firmly to using DVR and recording all of our shows. My dad and nephew were with Yolanda and I this past weekend for Thanksgiving and I noticed a couple of commercials while we were watching football games that really made me sad and concerned for the marketing that is being used to encourage people to buy their product.  One was for the new Nintendo WiiU which seems harmless enough, but what Nintendo was promoting was disappointing.  They had a kid in his room playing his video game and a mom came in to tell him to turn the game off and she stood in front of the TV so the kid could not see.  The kid then proceeded to just use the handheld touchscreen on the WiiU controller and keep playing after his mom told him to stop.  The kid looks at the camera with a sly look and the mom just laughs like, “you sure got me son.”  So essentially to promote the large playable touchscreen on the WiiU remote they were essentially saying that even if your parents stand in front of or turn the TV off then you can just keep on playing and ignore their direction.  Very disappointing that this angle was taken to promote the game console and flies in the face of the scripture “children, honor your mother and father.”  I know this may seem like a stretch, but it just struck me as wrong and a HUGE signifying factor about where we are as a culture and the relationship now with kids and parents which is equal and not at the proportion God intended.  The other commercial was for the Buck Lacrosse.  It starts out with a guy buying his wife a new small different brand of car with a bright red bow on it and he surprises her and she hugs him and is completely happy.  Then, as she is hugging her husband, a Buick Lacrosse drives by behind his back and she stares at it and all of the sudden is not happy with the car her husband bought her.  He tries to hug her again and get her attention away from the Lacrosse but she keeps staring at the Buick with her arms at her side.  What a classic example of not being content with what you are given.  That is really what our culture is all about; being unhappy with what you have, to spend money on something you don’t need.  I was again disappointed in Buick but should not expect more considering the core desire of our flesh which is to want things that we don’t have and not be content with what we are given or what has been sacrificed for us.  We do the same thing with Jesus in each of these instances.  He steps in and tries to give us direction and we get distracted or “go around” what he is saying to keep doing what we think is best.  He gives us something and we are not happy with it and desire something else that is not in our possession.  Don’t let this holiday season be about distractions and greed for something more than you have.  I pray that you get the same kind of revelation I received from watching two simple commercials and considering where I am in my mind and life.  Let us be only focused on Jesus and grateful for the things he has given us.  Please share this link in Facebook or Twitter if you know someone who would benefit from this post.  Thanks and have a great day!