Plan B

I listen to Christian radio and news talk radio most of the time in my car. And lately I've noticed a disturbing trend in the advertising I'm hearing on on both. Let me explain.

I listen to KLTY (94.9 FM) here in Dallas, Texas. It has lots of contemporary Christian music that makes for easy and uplifting listening. But when the commercials play there are two that sound like fingernails on the chalk board.

The first is Sona MedSpa and their laser hair removal. I swear, it sounds like they are the most prolific advertiser on this station. Between removing unsightly hair forever and blasting away cellulite, nobody could miss their aim. And it sounds like it's really grounded in worldly values. Ugh!

Then there is the Slim 4 Life weight loss program. Frank, the announcer on KLTY, lost 45 pounds with them --- a long time ago --- and he's "keeping it off!" (Let's face it folks, the only slim for life program that really works is when Jesus is in control of your eating!)

Now it might seem that Christian radio takes the brunt of my disgust with advertising. Oh, but not so fast there. Today, on talk radio (570 AM - KLIF) I heard two different sets of commercials that were really disturbing.

Now mind you, KLIF is always playing the commercials to get its listeners to invest in gold - because of the coming collapse of the global economy. Now they're taking it one step further.

The advertisement was for "food insurance." That's the term they used. It consists of freeze dried food and water purifier tablets that will last for 7-10 years. Apparently we buy this and keep it on hand in event of emergencies. And it's supposed to last a few weeks until "other food sources can be found." I don't know about you, but if say a nuclear holocaust occurs --- I don't expect to find any "other food sources" any time soon!

Then another ad started by talking about the people who are warehousing pure (non-hybrid) seeds in warehouses near the Arctic Circle. We were encouraged to become like them and order our own pure seed supplies. They're called "survival seeds." And the ad promised we would be shipped enough to be able to plant a one-acre "crisis garden" in the event of world chaos. I think I've read in the past that something like 80% of the world's people live in cities --- and don't have access to an acre where they could plant such a garden. So who is the target audience for these "survival seeds?"

Now here's the thing. The alleged value proposition that these clowns are pushing is that the world economy is going to melt down and we'll all be scrambling for survival. This may in fact be true. The book of Revelation (New Testament) promises us that things are going to get mighty ugly in the End Times. But nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to store up pure seeds in a warehouse in the Arctic Circle, buy food insurance, invest in gold (because currency will be worthless) or any of these other hare-brained schemes.

This stuff is surely not Biblical. Christ-followers are to put their trust in the Lord. If the world economy melts down, or the U.S. is pelted with atomic bombs it will be bad. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord ... right to the very end. And if He allows these calamities to strike us, He will have prepared us to endure them --- or readied us to succumb to them. Either way, we win.

I believe it was the Apostle Paul who said, "To live is Christ, to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Perhaps the doomsayers should consider what that really means.

And Christians who hear these stupid commercials should remember what it means! For it will only have value or meaning when we do.