Thursday, July 31, 2008

Is it only about Me? - July 31, 2008

Good morning! The weekend weather forecast is not exactly what I would like to see. I don't think that anyone likes to see triple digit temperatures, not even the desert folks. However, we will endure. I can only think of all the football practices that are starting up in the heat. Wow! No thank you to football at 102ยบ!

Is it only about me?

Today, I saw an advertisement on one of my usual news websites for an astrology reading. Now this didn't seem at first to be a problem. I would simply ignore it and let them have their free speech rights. However, that got me to thinking. What if that advertisement had been directed at one of my personal weaknesses? Somewhere out in the world is a believer struggling with temptations in the area of the occult or astrology. This advertisement on a news website could hit that person when or where he did not expect to see a temptation of that type. Often, each of us judges the appropriateness of an advertisement by how it affects only our own self. While we might protest an ad as inappropriate when it affects us, we are unmoved by one that does not hit a sensitive area of our own life. Perhaps today I gained a bit of understanding into those believers who are called to protest a new liquor store in a rundown neighborhood, or an adult pornography shop in a family suburb. I have never felt that call myself, but you may have and I hope that you will gain some encouragement from my gaining a bit of wisdom in this area. I can only imagine how an alcoholic might feel if opening her favorite tech magazine to find advertisements for liquor scattered throughout the pages. Some types of expression are inappropriate in some settings, and we are right to protest such decisions. How else will editors, producers, and politicians know that someone does mind placing beer ads outside a high school or a casino billboard by the Gambler's Anonymous meeting hall? Yes, we don't have to sit back and let it happen. If you feel the call to protest, do so in prayer and love for others.

Please do not sit out the next election. I have heard one famous Christian leader promise to do just that, and I would have to disagree with that form of protest. There are more candidates than just the two major party nominees. A dark horse candidate winning a majority of the popular vote would send a message too!

May God bless us on these hot days to come!

Bucky

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