Contend: Turn Off Reality, Turn On Indifference, by Philip Revell

So I was at the mall tonight, tagging along with a couple friends who had to buy some clothes.  Isn’t it weird how the mall becomes a lot less glamorous when you’re not 14?  Maybe it’s just me.  But the alluring smell of Annie Anne’s and the temptation to drop all of my allowance at the arcade has subsided a bit.  Anyway, I walked past Lucky Brand Jeans tonight and couldn’t miss their new ad campaign sign in the storefront window: “TURN OFF NEWS, TURN ON MUSIC”.

The sign immediately made me stop and evaluate.  Granted, there is nothing inherently wrong with the slogan.  I think it’s entirely appropriate to take a break from the world around us and unwind with a favorite album.  But I believe there is an underlying principle that needs to be addressed.

We all do it – let’s be honest.  There are a million things we don’t want to think about or deal with on a daily basis.  Take the issue of the economy, for example.  We would rather veg out and watch a movie or have a night on the town than wrestle with difficult issues.  I think to a certain degree, this is ok.  We all need a break now and then from reality.  Reality can be difficult-no, it IS difficult.  The world around us is terribly stained by sin.  Creation groans for redemption.

The problem is that people often completely ignore what goes on in the world because it’s filled with evil, heartbreak, and need.  Rather than think through, confront, and address problems in the world, some ignore and suppress them with immediate distraction that comes from entertainment, sex, drug and alcohol abuse, staying busy, and “living in the moment”.  In going from one thing to the next, people can easily ignore the reality of a fallen world.  People don’t like thinking about things that make them uncomfortable or that demand action.

As Christians it is important for us not to fall into this temptation.  When the national economy is less than ideal, we trust the Lord because our confidence isn’t in the stability of a nation.  When we see oppressed refugees of Darfur on the news, we pray for God’s justice and mercy, and take action in any way we can.  When a murder goes on in our own neighborhood, we do not retreat, but pray diligently for our community and use the opportunity for the spread of the gospel.

But this principle of denial runs even deeper.  We know that people often hate to talk about religion or philosophy, especially within the public eye.  Its much easier to lay all beliefs on an equal playing
field.  The problem is that there remain fundamental questions in life that need to be answered:

• Who are we?

• Where did we come from?

• What’s wrong with the world?

• How do we fix it?

• Where are we going?

The bottom line is that these questions demand concrete answers.  But there is so much controversy on these issues that many people choose to do away with them altogether.  Rather than address the issues,
people claim ignorance and “turn on music” instead.  We must recognize, however, that these issues must not be avoided.  A believer can account for such questions:

• We are creatures made in God’s image.

• We were created by the Trinitarian God of the Bible.

• Sin alienates us from God and each other.

• Only Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross can restore our relationship with God.

• We are going to spend eternity either in the eternal presence of God or eternal separation from God.

Questions need answering.  Reality must be dealt with.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
-Socrates