Category: commercials

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On Honesty and Sincerity, As Seen in a Commercial

021315The word honesty comes from the Latin honestas meaning an honor received from others, a kind of “standing in honor” before others (honor + stas (to stand)). It’s interesting that most people are willing to be a little phony in order to get vague appreciation or to be thought well of. (The whole cosmetics industry is based on this.) But when one is actually “honored” in a formal way by others, there is an elevated sense that we need to truthfully deserve the honor. And thus honor calls forth honesty.

A similar concept is sincerity. The word sincerity comes from the Latin as well: sine (without) + cera (wax). It seems that sculptors in the ancient world often used a hard, resin-like wax to hide their errors. But every now and then there was the perfect carving, with no wax needed, nothing phony about it, no cover-ups.

I thought about these words as I saw this commercial. In the ad, the “honor” of engagement draws forth honesty and sincerity. The honesty of one person brings forth the honesty of the other and they both end up more relaxed.

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The Passing of Things as Seen on Television

Below is a link to a commercial that must have taken weeks to film. Regardless of its intent (selling home insurance), there is something of an admonition in both the visuals and the music, that life and the things of life slip away.

While the music sets forth the theme, “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow; don’t stop, it’ll soon be here,” the objects in the house start to get up and leave the house and its owners. The owners themselves begin to be swept away as well. By the end of the commercial, all that was within, and all who were within, have been swept outside.

This is a paradigm for life. No thing and no person in this world will survive the passage of time. All will be swept away; all will pass. Even lofty mountains were once on the sea floor, and to that floor they will eventually erode and return. Jesus said, Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Mat 24:35).

Scripture also says,

  • For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come (Heb 13:14).
  • The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray (1 Peter 4:7).
  • But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).

This commercial is not morbid, but rather almost joyful. Indeed, though earthly glories fade, Scripture says (in many different passages) that trouble doesn’t last always (cf Psalm 30:6).

The commercial ends with a photograph being taken. Ultimately, each moment in life is but a snapshot in time. Time itself and all things are moving downstream and slipping away. God alone remains forever. Our only hope is to be anchored to Him. He is our rock, our firm foundation. His Kingdom is our lasting city. All else fails and slips away.

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Goldilocks or Gratitude

It wasn’t so long ago that food was scarce, and we had to be satisfied with eating what was set in front of us. These days the sheer number of choices available in the local supermarket is mind-boggling. One doesn’t just select peas; there are multiple varieties of peas, each available frozen, canned, or fresh. There is every sort of beverage in several different formats. One can buy beef, pork, chicken, or lamb, not just in every cut but even packaged separately based on how the beast lived: grass-fed, free-range, hormone-free, etc.

Accustomed to this, we are quick to complain if the exact product is not available in precisely the format we want. Our “problem” is clearly a first-world one. Sadly, there are still places in the world where there is not only a limited variety of food but a limited quantity.

Variety is a good thing in itself, displaying the genius of marketing and the efficiency and effectiveness of our economic system. The danger lies in our becoming a little too picky, or even worse, ungrateful. We become like Goldilocks; everything must be “just right.”

Every morsel of food we receive is a precious gift from God. We do well to curb our resentment and annoyance when everything isn’t “just right” and recall how grateful we should be for even the humblest of food.

Enjoy this humorous commercial, which skewers our tendency to be “fussbudgets.”

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Of Letting Go, as Seen in a Commercial

The commercial below should make us ponder what we might need to let go of. In it, a man is so attached to his prized video arcade game that he’s willing to risk his life to keep it.

As this commercial shows, we often hang on to things even when we can see how they burden us and endanger our ability to thrive. It’s so easy to get attached to things that end up holding us back!

What is holding you back? What is distracting you so that you don’t focus on more important things? What do you need to let go of?

 

https://youtu.be/USBpfVyey8I

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The Power of God’s Breath and Spirit, as Seen in a Commercial

The commercial in the video below is a strange and fanciful one. In it, Nike claims that it collects the “air” of the best athletes in the world and makes it available to you in their Nike Air shoes; but what it promises is something that only God can deliver.

Unfortunately, as Scripture rightly notes, our air or breath is passing: What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14).

In contrast, God’s breath sustains and gives life:

  • The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Gen 2:7).
  • The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4).
  • This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these dry bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life (Ez 37:5).
  • And when Jesus had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained” (John 20:22-23).
  • But after three and a half days, God breathed life into [the two slain witnesses], and they
    stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them     (Rev 11:11).
  • All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, … (2 Tim 3:16).
  • By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host (Ps 33:6).

What this Nike ad promises, only can God deliver. He is the true “Nike.” (In Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of victory.) God’s breath gives us new life and empowers us to new things. Ruah Adonai (the Breath of God) gives life, empowers us, and bestows upon us new strength. Come, Holy Spirit! Come, Holy Breath of God!

Nike makes fine shoes, but God is the author of all that is fine.

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An “App”ocalypse, as Seen in a Commercial

The commercial below demonstrates, in a limited way, the chaos caused by becoming “unplugged” from a mere computer. In it, a new employee unwittingly unplugs a main computer, causing everything to go haywire around the globe.

Imagine how much worse things are when we unplug from God. Actually, things wouldn’t be worse, they just wouldn’t be at all! God is ipsum esse, the very act of “to be” Himself. All being depends on Him.

Scripture says of Jesus, For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17).

The mere loss of a major computer can cause havoc, confusion, chaos, pandemonium, and death. As our age unplugs from God with increasing fervor, we see these things: havoc, confusion, chaos, pandemonium, and death.

Think about that as you watch this commercial.

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Why Does It Take So Long to Build and Almost No Time to Destroy?

One of the questions I have asked God is, “Why does it always take so long to build something up while it only seems to take moment to tear it down or destroy it?”

Destruction is always so much easier than construction. Decades, centuries, even a millennium of building a culture (e.g., Christendom) seems to have vanished overnight.

All I get from God is, “Never mind, just keep working.” It would seem that God finds value in the work, not just in the results. Even so, my question (my frustration, actually) remains. However, I will do what He asks and keep on teaching, building, and working.

The following commercial speaks humorously to my concern. Months of mathematical analysis is destroyed in a moment by a tuned-out man who does not recognize the beauty or value of what he erases.

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Picture This! A Reminder About Evangelization in a Commercial

evangelizationThe commercial below reminds us of an important insight for evangelization. It features a barber shop where business is slow. Things pick up quickly, however, when they begin to post photos of recent customers sporting their new haircuts. The pictures showcase the good results of a haircut and bring “getting a haircut” from the world of abstraction, ideas, and possibilities, into the world of visual reality. In effect, they’re saying, “Here’s what happens when you come into our shop!”

For us who would evangelize, it is not enough simply to present teachings and ideas. We must provide to others a real picture of salvation in Christ. Even if through our words we can get people to acknowledge that the Lord has saved them and can transform them, they might still respond, “Well that sounds good, but how do I know it’s true?” That is when we must be able to say, “Just look at me!”

In other words, having an evangelization committee, displaying a rack of pamphlets, or offering a class is not enough. We must be witnesses of what the Lord has done for us and showcase what He can still do for others. We must be able to say, “Picture this!”