Purely You
I received a card today from Dell computers. Isn’t it nice when corporations take the time to send personalized cards to you? (As my 7yr. old son would say, “That’s sarcasm, right Dad?”) The outside of the envelope has the following words on it, “It all begins with you.” Inside the envelope is a card that thanks me personally for “choosing Dell.” Dell, you see, is all about choices and they have some new “choices” they would like to tell me about. On the back of the card there is a bunch of small print, a Dell logo, and right next to the logo these words: “Purely You.”
Advertisements masquerading as personal mail and caring gift cards make me want to laugh, cry or barf. I want to laugh because the very idea that Dell (or any other company trying to sell me stuff) is all about me is laughable. I want to cry because millions of lost people live their lives as if it is all about them and their choices. I want to barf because apparently these sort of marketing techniques work. How do you market the message of Christ in such a culture? Christ says, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” Is anyone buying that?