“Ad” Nauseam

  I tend to watch a lot of sports on television, so I also tend to watch a lot of commercials.  While I love recording shows so I can skip through the commercials, it just seems wrong to not watch a sporting event live, so I have to muddle through the ads.  I might not be so bad if they weren't the same commercials over and over.  What’s worse they are not even good commercials.  Mostly, they’re not all that funny, or entertaining.  Why do they keep showing them the same old things over and over again?

  Well, years ago my father explained to me a little something about the nature of advertising.  The key is not necessarily to entertain, or to get noticed but to be remembered!  For example, there might be a lot of buzz about the funny ad that ran during the Super Bowl.  People can tell you what the ad was about but nothing about the specific product. It was a car ad but which car company? You see that ad was noticed but not remembered.  What a company should want most of all is to remembered!  Repetition may not be as entertaining but it tends to make the product stick in the minds of the consumer, so when time comes time to make a purchase they think about that product.

  It reminds me of what Peter said in 2 Peter 1:12-13,

“Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.  I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,”

  Certain lessons must we must be constantly reminded of less we forget and loose vital principles.  The truth about the nature of the gospel, the uniqueness of the true church, the essentials of salvation are lesson we should never grow tired of hearing.  Even if we know what it takes to be saved or the traits of the one true church of scripture, we shouldn't  get upset that those lessons are often brought to remembrance.   They are too important to be forgotten about.

  It’s truly sad to ever hear of a once sound church that has fallen away.  How does that happen?  So many times when a church turns away, the reason was not that what came from the pulpit was wrong but it neglected to deliver the whole counsel of God. Those core principles were not taught.  After a while, they were forgotten and Satan used that lack of knowledge to pull them away from the truth.

  The most important element in the lessons we hear isn't that it’s cutting edge or entertaining or shows of great oratory skill, but that something is learned and remembered.  Paul said in 1st Corinthians 14:19, “…I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.” Speaking in tongues was an impressive gift, but Paul said it would be better to get a little bit of instruction than a lot of “wow”.  The goal of our teaching should be to keep us faithful, not keep us entertained!