January 2006

It has been said, by others, much wiser than me, that when humanity chooses to live continually in a consuming, self centered state, that it has an overall negative impact on the world.  The results of that impact are so strong that the earth’s ecological and weather systems are even effected.  It’s almost as if the earth is ”groaning”, or “singing a sad song.” 

In the last year, the groaning of the earth reached very loud decibels in the form of two of the world’s most devistating natural disasters.  Generally, sad songs stir emotions in us that elicit some kind of response.  There was an interesting article in the USA Today this week.  http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-01-25-freshmen-survey_x.htm 

There is a way we were created to live.  It’s in our design.  Even the very planet God created for us to inhabit is rooting for us to live for something greater than ourselves. 

    

On a plane ride home from Los Angeles a year ago, I was reading the in-flight magazine. I spent a few minutes flipping through pages of pictures and articles about tropical places to vacation, advertisements for the world’s finest dining, and a list of the must haves in new technology. I then glanced over to the woman sitting beside me. She was flipping through People magazine and I noticed pictures of movie stars and popular musicians and articles about what was going on in their lives.

The message being sent about these two magazines was loud and clear, yet subtle in it’s attempt to lure me in. This is it. It’s about you. These are the things that will bring you happiness. This is what being human is all about. You are the center of the universe. This message is the one that is at the heart of most popular media. Whether it is intended or not, we are being lured away from how we were originally created to live.

What if… the message changed. What if the majority of popular media began communicating the truth about what it means to be human. Magazines, songs, movies, television shows, all designed to remind us that making a positive difference in someone else’s life, is the purpose behind being human.