I Like That Commercial!
Have you ever heard it said that a number of the ads on TV are more entertaining than the programs? There are some that still bring a smile when I think of them. I especially enjoyed the “want to get away” campaign from Southwest Airlines. Do you remember the one where the rock star vigorously speaks highly of the place he has performed, only to be greeted with a silence and then the reminder that the city that he said he loved didn’t match his present location? That one probably resonates with me because I have been in situations where I called someone by the wrong name and “wanted to get away”! And who hasn’t enjoyed the Geico Gecko ads, with their frequent changes! The Caveman campaign, with its “so easy that even a Caveman can do it” line to sell the insurance was so fun, wasn’t it! The interesting thing about both of these ad campaigns for me is that though I looked forward to each new commercial from both the companies, I have never bought Geico Car Insurance and I have never flown Southwest! I have merely been entertained by the gifted people who create for them. My life has never been changed in any way by what I have observed, though of course, the intent of the companies is that enjoyment of their ads might result in a sale for them.
The Lord noted a similar thing concerning His people–His Words to them had become merely something that passed into their minds and changed nothing in their lives:
Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. Ezekiel 33:32
We too can fall into that same pattern. We may read the Bible, maybe even most every day. But how easy it can be for our reading to become one more activity, even one we like doing that has slipped into merely being “something we do” along with the other activities of the day. However, the Lord wants us to take in His Truth and allow it to change our lives:
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
And
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105
If we will treasure what the Lord says to us and allow His Truth to guide our steps, we will see that we truly are becoming changed. The Book of Proverbs reminds us how eagerly we are to seek Truth from the Bible and what the Lord will do for us as we do so:
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:1-6
Our lives can truly become different as we obey God’s commands, rest in His promises, know Him better and come to see who we are because He has set His love upon us. James reminds us that God’s Word challenges us to obedience, and that will impact the way we think and the way we behave:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-26
What a promise we have even in these verses–that God will bless us in what we do as we allow His Word to change us, according to how His Spirit leads and teaches us, as we take it in. Thank You Lord for Your Word which is living and active, Hebrews 4:12.
