20061110

stupid on top of silly, on top of ridiculous

i have never been a big fan of what i call "jesus junk." i have always been under the impression that the "wwjd" was the "top" of the "jesus junk" marketing pile - that is until lifeways [and i am still not sure how i got on their email list] sent me a email about this thing called "birth verse" and the catch line is "everyone's got one; what's your?" WHAT? when did that happen, when did i get a "verse" assigned to my birthday? it sounds like a christian horoscope way to make a buck.

for example, mine "birth verse sign" is ephesians 2:5 [because my b-day is feb 5th] - and reads: "made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." but my question is what makes that "the" verse for my birthday? i can think of some better ones, like 1 chronicles 2:5 "The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul" or how about that classic verse in ezra 2:5 - "of Arah 775" - the fountain of verses is endless. how about going a little more in the "ouch" section of scripture and pick romans 2:5 "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed." now, that one has a real bite to it, a real "in your face you sinner" kind of punch. but why not find one with a little more challenge to it, like philippians 2:5 - "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." that seems to have a handle on can hold on to.

to me, this is simply more "jesus junk" designed to make money off people in the church - i have been growing more and more insensitive to this kind of garbage, but it simply echos the point that "christians have deep pockets." i am amazed at the level we are willing to go to "make a buck on christ."

i can see it now; [wavy lines, wavy lines, wavy lines] the music is playing, to coffee is brewing and at the corner of the christian coffee house is a hot blonde. slowly, mark picks up his caramel mocha whip frap ['goliath size'] and heads over. as he approaches, he checks his hair in the reflection of the chrome cross; winking and smiling he says, "hey baby, i'm galatians 5:13, what's your verse?" i find the idea of a "birth verse" stupid on top of silly, on top of ridiculous

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Ya, it's completely stupid, but it's a bit of a meme. Right now, I'm wondering what my birth verse is and trying to resist the urge to google it.
Talk about a great way to advertise!

Kenneth Sheppard said...

One of my favourites is the harmless "Testamints". *Snickers*