P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

LAST BUT NOT EASIEST #7

JERRY'S MIRACLE CAN OF SODA

Somebody once observed that the absolutely dumbest thing to advertise on television is . . . a color television. "Look at the incredible picture on THIS baby," the announcer croons. Well, if you're watching on a lousy TV, or, heaven forbid, on a black-and-white set, you can't even SEE the luscious color on the HDTV set they're trying to sell you. And if you CAN see the beautiful color picture, that means you already HAVE a great color TV, and you don't NEED the one being advertised.

But you know, the drive continues to have bigger and better and MORE televisions, until you have surround-sound theater perfection in every room of the house and even in the toolshed and in Bowser's doghouse out back. Because, of course, that's what the neighbors have.

We've been talking last week and this week about the sin of coveting, of wanting or craving something that isn't yours. Bigger and better THINGS. Bigger and better adventures. Bigger and better crowds patting us on the back, describing to us our value. Let me share with you in a moment a bit of Seinfeld wisdom, but first this verse from Proverbs, written by a man who was the toast of Hollywood in his day, and was probably on the RECEIVING end of some covetousness. Here's what Solomon writes in chapter 14:

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."

That's quite a metaphor, isn't it? "Envy rots the bones." Have you ever felt the actual physical sickness, the real PAIN and hurt, that comes from having that unquenchable THIRST, that raw HUNGER, for the treasures of another person? That other person has the thing that you want so badly, and "badly" is exactly how you feel.

Now here's Mr. Jerry Seinfeld's observation about coveting, from his book, SeinLanguage:

"To me the worst thing about television," he writes, "is that everybody you see on television is doing something better than what YOU'RE doing. You never see anybody on TV just sliding off the front of the sofa with potato chips all over their shirt. Some people are having a little too much fun on television. The soda commercial people – where do they get this enthusiasm? Have you seen them? ‘We have soda, we have soda, we have soda!' Jumping, laughing, flying through the air. It's a can of soda!" Then he asks: "Have you ever been sitting there watching TV and you're drinking the EXACT same product that they're advertising there on TV? And THEY'RE spiking volleyballs, jet skiing, girls in bikinis. And you're sitting there. ‘Maybe I'm putting too much ice in mine. I'm not getting that effect.'"

It's been pointed out that advertising is basically designed to remind us of a void in our lives. We simply CANNOT be happy unless we drink that kind of soda, and get the volleyballs, jet skis, and bikini girls that clearly go WITH the soda. In fact, one humorist pointed out that the typical male can watch a TV commercial where there is a set of socket wrenches. And right next to the socket wrenches is this beautiful woman. And the man thinks: "Socket wrenches – beautiful woman. The woman is right next to the wrenches. Therefore, if I go out and buy that brand of socket wrenches, ipso facto, I will soon be standing next to that very same beautiful woman, or one just like her. It COULD happen."

As reported in the journal Educational Forum, Louis Goldman writes:

"The typical U.S. consumer is the recipient of 3,000 advertisements DAILY. The general message in this merchandising is that all of our problems can be solved immediately by the consumption of the proper product."

In other words: soda. Socket wrenches and soda.

There's a wonderful book I'd like to recommend to you; it's entitled The Ten(der) Commandments, by Dr. Ron Mehl. In the chapter on covetousness, which he titles "True Contentment," he seconds Jerry Seinfeld's theory about television.

"We live in a consumer society," he writes, "and today's sophisticated marketers spend BILLIONS of dollars and work around the clock for one purpose: to make you UNhappy and DISsatisfied with what you have."

And that's absolutely true, isn't it? It's their GOAL to make you covet, to put in your heart a spirit of DIScontent with what God has given you.

Just one page later, Ron puts one line down on paper, which he suggests is a revolutionary thought. Here it is:

"OUR VALUE DOES NOT LIE IN WHAT WE POSSESS."

Period. Your value doesn't come from those things, he says. Cars, houses, attractive companions, money. Cans of soda. Socket wrenches. That's not what makes you valuable, having those things.

Well, then, what DOES? What is it that makes us worth what we ARE worth? Here's his answer:

"Our value doesn't spring from what we wear, what we drive, or where we live. Our value is wrapped up in the amazing fact that Jesus Christ, the mighty Son of God and Creator of the world, loved us enough to die for us. He is the One who gives worth and value to our lives. He paid the price and purchased our salvation."

You know, I want to add my word of testimony to that statement. Because ALL of us are hit by the other things: the material goods, the honors and words of praise from our peers. Three thousand times a day, the TV and the radio and the newspaper ads remind us that we will be valuable people if, and only if, we will call this toll-free number right now and order such-and-such gizmo. Operators are standing by RIGHT NOW, and you deserve it. Own THIS, and you will be a valuable man.

But friend, what a dead-end street that's always going to be. In fact, that's precisely the phrase Ron Mehl uses: "coveting such things is a dead-end street, . . . extremely deceptive." There will always be other people with better cars, more clothes, more money. There will always be Christian preachers who have a larger audience, more baptisms, a higher profile, more authored books to their credit. I can't catch up and neither can you. No matter how hard we try.

But this one paragraph on page 236 of The Ten(der) Commandments solves everything. Why am I worth anything at all? Because Jesus died for me. And how much am I worth? Well, whatever price tag you can assign to the fact that the King of the entire Universe laid down His life for me – and that He would have gladly done it JUST for me. ONLY for me. And how lasting is that worth? According to the Word of God, because Calvary is forever, my salvation is forever, and so my worth is forever as well. The fizz goes out of soda, and pretty houses are torn down, and beautiful female companions may lose that early blush and glow. Stock prices may go down, and socket wrenches will only satisfy for a season. But if your value comes from being a child redeemed by the blood of Jesus, then that value is inestimable and incalculable and indestructible.

Friend, I firmly believe that release from the deadly downward spiral of the Tenth Commandment – meaning, when we live OUTSIDE of it – is only found here at Calvary. You simply CANNOT find contentment anywhere else. Because television commercials will blare in your face no matter how rich you get. As we said the other day about money, it will never be ENOUGH. But Jesus IS enough. One more soundbite from Dr. Ron Mehl:

"What God really intends for us is that we would be contented . . . contented with who we are . . . contented with what we have . . . CONTENTED WITH HIM."

It's like that praise song we're all singing in church these days. You know, As the Deer? "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after YOU. You ALONE are the real Joy-giver." And in the next verse: "Only YOU can satisfy." NOT gold and silver. Only Jesus.

Dr. Mehl tells a wonderful story, playing off the idea that phone telemarketers sometimes call you with a Tenth Commandment-type of pitch. "What are your dreams? Tell me what you'd really like to have for you and your family." And certainly, they're thinking in terms of an addition to your home, a 20-foot ski boat, a cruise, a college fund. Which, of course, if you sign with them and their team of financial advisors, they will try to deliver.

Well, a friend of Dr. Mehl got this very pitch one day on the telephone. "What would you like? What are your dreams? What would give your life lasting VALUE?" And this guy said to them:

"Well, what I really long for doesn't have much to do with money. What I want is a family that loves the Lord and walks with God. What I really want for my children is a heart that is faithful to Christ, no matter what their finances or their circumstances."

And there was this long pause on the phone. I suppose the person on the other end was frantically digging through the telemarketing script. How do I answer THIS? And they finally said, "Uh, I'll have to get back to you. Like, later. WAY later."

But isn't that the perfect answer? "Mr. Melashenko, what do you really want in life?" Well, I want contentment. I want a satisfied heart, for now and for eternity. And the only way to get that, for me and for those I love, is to love the Lord and walk with God. And if a telemarketer doesn't have an answer for that, well, then maybe I ought to be calling him instead of the other way around.