Did you know that we use our eyes more than any of the other five senses? This is probably why billions of dollars are continually spent on 'image' advertising. Between movies, TV, the Internet, billboards, commercials, etc., we are constantly being saturated with a social media view of what showcases the ideal life image-wise. (If you have ten minutes, I suggest you view the trailer for the new documentary film, Miss Representation. View it through this link here: http://vimeo.com/28066212)
I see photos and ads of people having a great time, and they definitely look appealing. The people for example are usually sexy and beautiful, and they look happy. The images are designed to appeal to all the senses; their enchanting, enticing... The media (as you will see in the Miss Representation trailer) is a huge influence on what we know in this world. Sex sells for example—we see it in the movies we watch, the stories we read about, even in the news. Image is everything it seems. Image is who you want to be—image, has become who you are. Who wouldn't want to look like a supermodel, or acquire tons of money to do whatever we wanted with? We humans are usually willing to do just about anything as long as we are socially accepted. Yet sadly few of us will stop to consider the implications and responsibilities that will accompany every decision…
Course, if you're a devoted Christian you would tell me you wouldn't want that life because you have God who fulfills all your needs. And maybe you truly mean that. But, even I will humbly admit the tempting offers of those portrayed lifestyles. Most of us know what such lifestyles lead to and/or entail; often times being cool for the wrong reasons can still leave you feeling alone and empty inside. Yet such projected images are what most of us will still go for anyway. Is it because the risk is worth even fifteen minutes of fame? Do we so long for attention that this exploited picture of our society is truly what we are painting for ourselves?
This demeaning nature we are employing on our livelihoods is creating suspicions that we humans are becoming less and less interested in truth, value, knowledge, and the like, and more interested in the external image, and the fluff that accompanies it. Are these lifestyles rapidly becoming our only realities, our only truths? "The media portrays a world of surface shine with nothing but emptiness beneath," wrote Chicago resident, 57, in our survey. "Unfortunately, this is how people are becoming, maybe without being aware of it: beautifully painted and clothed with an empty mind". ~The Narcissism Epidemic, by Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell
We all know that someday, when we leave this place, all that we know will not last nor accompany us. So why do we spend so much time investing in it? I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 Some of it of course helps to show who we are while we are here. Stuff, image, doesn't have to be bad. But if our motives behind it are not to ultimately pursue God, then we need to reevaluate. One could argue we are becoming less interested in pursuing Him and more interested in everything else. "People say they love truth, but in reality they want to believe that which they love is true." ~Robert J. Ringer
It seems we are devaluing ourselves every day no matter who we are. If we say to love others for example, why does our 'Godly love' seem more of a 'tolerable love' only? Is it because we are showcasing a Christian image only (void of depth and meaning), and part of that image means showing love as we were commanded? Have we become Christ-followers in order to be accepted by the Christian community, or are we because we want to know the truth and long to have God first in our lives?
As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it. 2 Corinthians 8:23-24
I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Philemon 1:6
Most of those who attend church are good and wonderful people to be sure. But, at the same time I wonder if they only go because that is what they have always done—tradition for the sake of tradition. The images of tradition and routine aren't necessarily bad. But they can become an obstacle in our growth if they lose their meaning. This is when I say it is a really good idea to question our motives—why do we do these things? What do these things mean to us? Are they beneficial, and if so why?
Most of us probably don't take the time to do our own research. Instead we often will develop biases, or dogma beliefs based on certain kinds of authority (like Oprah, Dr. Phil, Jillian Michaels, etc). Jillian Michaels looks physically great, and even though she doesn't have a degree, we feel we can trust her. Her name connects us to image results—with advertising products, would you buy a treadmill with no known endorser, or a Jillian Michaels treadmill? Not all of what we see and hear should be taken so literally at its word, even when it seems legitimate, and yet it's so enticingly easy to do so…
All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:8-9
It always seems easier to go with what we see at face value; and I know how that is, because I like what's easy too. But easy doesn't always mean "better". That doesn't mean Jillian Michaels is necessarily wrong--either way it is still a good idea to determine the meaning in your own life (we are all different after all). This is when we should ask our "why" questions. Why doesn't have to be seen as negative—if it means it will help our growth in a positive way, then asking such questions is a very good idea. Always assess your motives in all that you do.
Questioning can also help us from becoming too insensitive about the world we live in and who we are. (Caring makes up a large part of what it means to be human). I'm afraid we are becoming too addicted to what is considered easy—technology has helped with that—so we need to realize and understand what all is occurring in our society.
I don't always take the time to consider others and their accomplishments due to my often being caught up in my own world and attentions. Yet I become frustrated when few take interest in mine. Are you like that? When we become so caught up in what we want ourselves to be like (i.e. want attention), we often forget about more important things (i.e. like building relationships). We must be careful we do not become too selfish in such ambitions. Ask yourself: who are you becoming and why? Why do you do the things that you do? Or as philosopher Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living".
Hard questions I know, but necessary ones. I do not want to see us lose what little of our originality we have left. Who are we placing first in our lives? God created us in His image—are we honoring that by seeking out these 'images' over meanings?
"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them…" Exodus 20:3-6
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. 3 John 1:5-8
What if there's a bigger picture
What if I'm missing out
What if there's a greater purpose
I could be living right now
What if I'm missing out
What if there's a greater purpose
I could be living right now
Outside my own little world
~Matthew West, Song "My Own Little World"
Stop. Think. God gave us brains so that we might have the ability to reason. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. Hebrews 11: 17-19
Who are you becoming in God's presence?*
It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:3-4
"Be not simply good; be good for something." ~Henry David Thoreau
Lighting the Beacon,
Whitney
