Madness in Their Hearts

Mad Men ad on the side of a New Zealand skyscraper

The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live... Ecclesiastes 9:3

A generation ago, I grew up in a Christian Church atmosphere where preachers and Sunday School teachers counseled the flock to avoid movies and TV. In the 21st century church, preachers use clips from popular shows to illustrate their sermons and name their preaching series after hit programs.

This sea change of attitudes reminds me of several quotes from Don Draper, the fictional adman in the hit TV show MadMen.

"Change is neither good, nor bad, it simply is." 

Some might quibble with the "neither bad or good" part of that statement, but the point is well taken: Change happens, and in today's world it happens quickly.

While some Christians try to dig in their heels and resist change, the fact is that an ever-increasing majority of church members are paying for cable or satellite or Netflix in their homes. Believers can choose to rail against the change, or they can find ways to constructively respond to it in a way that keeps the church focused on God's mission.

"We're flawed because we want so much more. We're ruined because we get these things and wish for what we had." 

The Christian's battle isn't against the consumer culture itself. We need to look deeper. At the root is the same poison that has always infected hearts: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Our mission isn't to attack the symptoms, but to introduce people to the Physician who has the cure.

 "The reason you haven't felt it is because it doesn't exist. What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons." 

While Hollywood and Madison Avenue sell us a counterfeit love, Christians know the source and meaning of true love. We should be highlighting and applauding depictions of sacrificial love in the media and turning the conversation toward the greatest example of "no greater love."

"If you don't like what's being said then change the conversation."

In the context, Don Draper was talking about how to handle bad publicity about a client’s product (in this case, the bad effects of cigarette smoking). People would always be talking about smoking in connection to Lucky Strike cigarettes, but his job was to get people talking about some other aspect of smoking.

If people in your congregation or workplace are gossiping about the latest celebrity scandal, get them to see those celebrities as real people who are hurting, and talk about the temptations they must be facing. Once people begin talking about the pressures celebrities face, it's a short step from there to talking about the temptations we face and how to handle them.

“People want to be told what to do so badly that they'll listen to anyone."

Advertisers are in the business of telling the masses what they ought to desire. They're convinced they want carbonated, caffeinated soft drinks more than they want water. The absolutely magnificent iPhone 5 is no longer good enough when there's an iPhone 6 available.

The scriptures are in the business of cutting deep into the soul and spirit, exposing what people really want, and then telling them what – or Who – they really need. In any discussion about contemporary culture, the goal should always be to get people to discover that God and His Word offers them what they've been searching for.

"The day you sign a client is the day you start losing one." 

Never assume the faithfulness of any Christian.

This may seem like a pessimistic approach, but it merely acknowledges that all people are subject to temptation. The lure of the consumer culture in the 21st century is pervasive and targeted and is capable of entangling anyone.

Turning people into "clients" of an alternate Christian-themed consumer culture isn't the answer. The only lasting strategy is to move people beyond a lifestyle and onward to an abiding relationship with God