Sold on Faith, Not on Sales

Spirituality Column #223
February 15, 2011
Current in Carmel - Current in Westfield - Current in Noblesville – Current in Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Sold on Faith, Not on Sales
By Bob Walters

Looking back on the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, are you at all weary from being in the cross-hairs of America’s high powered marketing mechanism?

Be the MVP, we’re told. Everybody’s a VIP. Sit on the 50-yard line. Buy a big TV. Win love with a gift. Say it with flowers. And on, and on.

Back in the late fall there was all the election hoopla, followed by Christmas. More marketing. Vote now. Buy this. Consume that. Experience the magic.

As consumers we are bombarded with sales messages encouraging us to maximize our personal feelings of importance. That’s the coin of the realm these days – personal esteem – and oh how it’s laid on thick, aimed at our hungry egos.

Is it any wonder that churches often struggle to create effective marketing plans? The whole world is telling people how to buy personal specialness and importance, and the message of Jesus Christ – of humility and service – is just the opposite.

Our world, or at least our nation, is filled with people whose profession it is to make sure we have fun and they make money. Through a trade, purchase, transaction or “deal,” our personal prestige is a commodity vigorously sought, bought and sold. We learn to be savvy, to trust no one, and to look out for Number 1.

Antithetically, Jesus Christ tells us to have faith, love God and love others. Our faith and love become our Christian life, loving the Christian community and serving mankind as best we can. No marketing, just trust.

For a consumer, that’s not much of a deal. But salvation is a gift, not a transaction. There’s nothing in it for the marketer; you can’t make money on free gifts.

In Philippians 3:20 we read, “Our citizenship is in heaven …” I haven’t always “gotten” what that scripture meant. But I recently read an interesting theological/political commentary which described “consumers” and “citizens” as opposite sorts of creatures. A consumer waits for the best deal and looks out for himself. A citizen focuses his or her own life on selfless service to others.

The difference is the basis of relationship. As a consumer, it’s money, pride, “me” and maximized value. As a citizen, it’s love, truth, service and the right thing.

Our relationship with Christ is a tough sell, because it’s not a sale; it’s a gift.

No purchase necessary.

Walters (www.believerbob.blogspot.com, email rlwcom@aol.com) spent most of his career in public relations, frequently at odds with marketing people.