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September 03, 2007 |
The Best Offense is a Good Defense
"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist." - Ephesians 6:14a
In "Brave New World," Aldus Huxley's 1932 novel that envisions the extent to which consumerism could go, people are conditioned from birth to accept predetermined roles. Using "sleep teaching," speakers underneath babies' pillows repeatedly broadcast quiet suggestions designed to shape their outlook on life "till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind."
Sleep teaching was a pure science: "One hundred repetitions three nights a week for four years. Sixty-two thousand four hundred repetitions make one truth."
One could argue that Huxley wasn't too far off in his vision of the world to come. Today's marketers buy advertising based on reach (how many people will be exposed to their message) and frequency (how often their message will be heard or seen). It is through repeated exposure to such messages that we come to believe we need certain products or brands to enhance our value and happiness.
Marketing messages come at us day and night, repeatedly pushing and pulling us toward the "truths" marketers want us to believe. There's no stopping them from coming at us. But there's much we can do to repel them.
Reading and meditating on Scripture helps us "stand firm" in the truth that our lives are not defined by what we own (Luke 12:15) and that our identity and security come from our relationship with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, Matthew 6:25-34).
Are you buckling on the "belt of truth" by regularly reading and meditating on God's word?
The Berenstain Bears Think of Those in Need
One of the greatest gifts we can give our kids is an education in how to use money with wisdom and joy. And those lessons can start early with the help of books like this month's Recommended Resource. In "The...
Recommended Resources
- Money Strategies for Tough Times
- Are you feeling the effects of today's economy? Who isn't? "Money Strategies for Tough Times" can help you successfully navigate the tough times, get to a better place with your finances, and stay there. In this new book you'll find...…Read the rest
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“Quite possibly the greatest failure of the modern church is to provide our culture with an alternative to how the world views money. If you want someone that is leading the charge to influence a culture back to biblical financial principles, Matt can help. With clarity, humor, and practical insights, Matt delivers a workshop that is geared towards changing people’s hearts and minds about money.”