Size doesn’t matter.

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Margaret

Internet advertising has become big business, despite the short-lived nature of the tiny on-screen ads. If I open my email, there on the right is a mini-box promoting a subject such as financial investments, college degrees, or dating. When I click to open one of my email messages, that ad disappears and another takes its place. If I click the “back” button, a different ad appears. I can click, click, click, and every single time the ad-box will refill with as many new ads.

If I never read them, which I don’t, advertising money has been wasted. However, if you asked me to recite what the ads were for, I could probably list their contents, so maybe I’ve been looking after all.

Some of the little ads are downright captivating with their bright colors and wild animation, and almost all make demands for my attention. Ad creators are hoping I’ll move my mouse in their direction for one curious click, which will put them one step closer to making money on their investment.

Every company has an advertising department to which a sizable portion of their budget is allocated. Artists, animators, techs, marketers, publicists, and others are all on the payroll, practicing the sophisticated science of persuasion.

On the matter of persuasion but on a different topic, how much effort/time/creativity/money do I allocate to advertising my Christian faith? Do I dedicate myself to that pursuit as enthusiastically as business dedicates itself to advertising its product or service?

The weightier question is, if not, why not?

Maybe I tell myself I’m just one person among millions, so my “ad” would be too small to make any difference. Or maybe I hide behind the excuse that my miniature statement of faith couldn’t possibly catch anyone’s attention because most people already have too much on their minds. In the past I’ve even abdicated my responsibility to speak up on spiritual matters because I knew I didn’t have the gift of evangelism.

Now I see how even brief encounters can be opportunities to share the importance of my relationship with God. The size of it doesn’t matter, because when I speak up for him, he moves in and puts supernatural power behind it in whatever way he chooses. It’s his touch, then, that gives my tiny “ads” a possible impact.

This internet space is, in a way, a small “ad” for him, and I’m always hoping he’ll bring his larger-than-life influence into its few words. And thankfully, even as life click-click-clicks along, the ad message of the Gospel always stays the same.

“Let your light shine before others.” (Matthew 5:16)

P&Q

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Margaret

When my younger brother was 7 years old, he was helping Mom wrap Christmas gifts when he said, “What can I get for Dad?”

“What he really wants,” Mom said, “is a little peace and quiet. Too bad you can’t give him some of that,” and she laughed.

But on Christmas morning, that’s what Tommy gave, and Dad opened a basketball-sized square box with a scrap of paper in the bottom that said, “In this box is peace and quiet.” It was a huge hit.

Most of us need a bit of P&Q every so often and suffer if we don’t get it. I marveled at my kids when they were in high school, simultaneously managing homework, music, snacking, and instant messaging. Maybe I’m using old age as an excuse, but lately I’m with Dad, appreciating peace and quiet.

Sometimes I worry about the years ahead. What about the physical chaos of old age that seems to keep peace and quiet at bay? Will I be able to think straight, much less produce anything during those years?

When I was a child of about 10, I had a dress made from fabric imprinted with artwork by a woman affectionately known as Grandma Moses. This hard-working farm wife bore 10 children and then began a painting career in her late 70’s, doing her best work in her 90’s. (Recently one of her paintings sold for $1.2 million.) She died at 101. When I worry about losing my powers of concentration, I think of her and hope I can do as well. Scripture tells me I can.

Anna, a temple prophetess, had a thriving ministry of prayer and fasting well into her 90’s (Luke 2), and Sarah, Abraham’s wife, delivered a baby and breastfed him at 91 (Genesis 21). Joshua and Caleb of Old Testament fame were as strong and energetic in their 80’s as in their 30’s (Joshua 14), and Moses retained good vision and high energy up until he died at 120 (Deuteronomy 34). I wonder if any of them said, “Lord, I can’t continue on without an environment of peace and quiet.”

These examples and others are included in the Bible for an important reason: to remind us that God is the one who empowers us to complete whatever task he assigns us to do, regardless of age or of having the perfect atmosphere of peace and quiet. When we’re physically spent or overwhelmed by a must-do job, we’re instructed to “trust in the Lord” for the energy we need (Isaiah 40).

But what about a little peace and quiet along the way? Would that be too much to ask? The truth is, God is more interested in the P&Q of our inner lives than what’s going on around us. Even when turmoil is swirling, he can provide peaceful quietness in the midst of it (at any age) and enough oomph to do whatever needs doing. According to the Bible, old-age success is sure to come if we do one thing first: obey God. And he says if we do that, then we’ll “flourish in old age, remaining vital and green.” (Psalm 92)

“My flesh and my heart may fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)

Ignorance is bliss.

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Margaret

Recently in the news we learned of a 17 year old boy so eager to own an ipod and ipad he was willing to sell one of his organs to get them. Through an internet chat room he arranged to sell one of his kidneys for the equivalent of $3500 and underwent major surgery without telling his parents.

In China where he lives, organs are highly prized and going like hot cakes through a well organized black market. Wang’s kidney sold for $32,000, and most of that money went to pay off a gambling debt. I’d say the biggest gamble was buying a youth’s kidney and hoping not to get caught. All 5 people involved are under arrest for illegal organ trading and unintentional injury.

As for Wang, he recuperated in the beginning without too much trouble, and his mother was none the wiser until she saw him working with his new Apple products. When she quizzed him about his money source, he ‘fessed up. Today, one year after his surgery, Wang is struggling with kidney failure and overall poor health. His prognosis isn’t known.

Young people aren’t the only ones who make bad decisions. All of us occasionally succumb to our emotions and choose poorly, usually bringing a heap of misery on ourselves in the process. If we wrote down all the cause-and-effect relationships in Scripture, the list would be as long as toilet paper off a roll. But ignorance is bliss, and often we’d rather not know. That kind of bliss can be costly.

Sometimes God saves us from our own foolish choices, but other times not. When he decides to let us take care of our own risk management, he does it with our eventual good in mind. I can imagine him smiling at the complicated messes we make, knowing that when it’s finally all been cleaned up, we won’t soon forget what we learned through pain and suffering.

When Nate and I were poor newlyweds and he was still in law school, the local blood bank paid $25 for a donated pint. We were in there as often as allowed, usually signing up to give again before the compulsory 6 weeks between donations had elapsed. If we’d seen an ad for kidney purchase, we probably would have signed up for that, too.

In Proverbs 12 we read, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.” With hindsight being 20/20, we all know the truth of that. But foresight? That’s a little harder to come by.

And besides, it always seems like such a good idea at the time.