The Word We Study Has

The Conversation Of Most Middle-class Americans, We Are Told, Revolves Around Consumption: What To Buy, What Was Just Bought, Where To Eat, The Price Of The Neighbor's House, What's On Sale This Week, Our Clothes Or Someone Else's, The Best Car On The Market This Year, Where To Spend A Vacation. Apparently We Can't Stop Eating, Shopping, Or Consuming. Success Is Measured Not In Terms Of Love, Wisdom, And Maturity But By The Size Of One's Pile Of Possessions.

The Cultural Propaganda Embodied In Two Liquor Advertisements, "living Well Is The Best Revenge" And "sip It With Arrogance," Have A Curious, Perhaps Demonic Appeal. Consumerism Indeed Has Its Own Spirituality.

Sin And Forgiveness And Falling And Getting Back Up And Losing The Pearl Of Great Price In The Couch Cushions But Then Finding It Again, And Again, And Again? Those Are The Stumbling Steps To Becoming Real, The Only Script That's Really Worth Following In This World Or The One That's Coming.

The First Step In Faith Is To Stop Thinking About God At The Time Of Prayer.-

In My Experience, Self-hatred Is The Dominant Malaise Crippling Christians And Stifling Their Growth In The Holy Spirit.