Pastor Dan’s Musings
Friday,
February 3, 2012
Super
Super Bowl weekend. The sports media has been talking, writing and
blogging about it for two solid weeks now.
As big a sports fan as I am- and I will be parked in front of a
television somewhere on Sunday to watch the game- I’m more fascinated by how
the entire pageant reflects our culture. Can you imagine being someone from
another country, taking it all in for the first time? The paparazzi. Multiple media experts to
dissect every pre-game, during-game and post-game move in slow motion. Tens of thousands of people massed in a
gleaming stadium, and over 100 million more watching on TV. The halftime show-
glitz, pomp, fireworks, an aging legendary singer squeezing into tight leather
pants. For someone experiencing it for
the first time, it would be absolutely mindblowing. And I haven’t even made it to the commercials
yet.
Many people, even those who don’t care for football, at
least pay attention to the commercials. They
are fun! Corporations go absolutely
all-out to provide engaging, entertaining ads.
They spend millions making them, and they cough up about $3.5 million
more to run a 30-second spot during the game. The commercials may be the best
place for a bit of cultural critique and study.
When our kids were younger, I used ads to try and teach them to practice discernment. In fact, I probably overdid it with the boys. If we were watching a ballgame, and a
commercial came on, I would start asking questions: What
product is this about? What do they want
you to do? What is the message being
sent if you follow what they say? We
made a game out of it, and before long they could say in a sarcastic
heartbeat: “Oh, I get it…if I drink that
kind of beer, I will drive a really hot car like that one and date a beautiful
woman like her.”
You don’t have to be a cynic to play this game. We are all part of this culture, like it or
not. And there are many elements of it
that can point us to truth, beauty, friendship and faith. Still, discernment is
important. What is the message being
communicated, or the desire being tweaked?
Do I believe that? Do I want it
to influence how I live? The apostle
Paul once said we should be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” Part of that renewal is cultivated by being
discerning about what goes on around us, and what we allow to become part of
us.
So if you gather around a television, cheering or booing,
munching or chatting, New York or New England…pay attention. Be discerning.
In the end, I suspect the most significant part of the day will turn out
to be the people that you are with. So
don’t forget to enjoy them. An evening in front of a glitzy pageant? I can take or leave that. But an evening spent with friends? That would be super.
See you soon
Pastor Dan
