Marketing peril

       How many times do you watch an add on TV, find it entertaining or clever, but in the end have no idea of what they are actually trying to sell? It seems so much of modern day marketing is the attempt to get you to be attracted to a product, not by focusing on the merits of the product itself, but by a whole series of other associations that may ultimately have nothing to do with it at all. So marketing is in many ways pure stealth with the aim of having you buy or sign up for something through a mirage of other associations. They are hoping ultimately, that you conclude the end product or cause must be worth buying and supporting having spent as little time as possible actually pondering it’s merits. It is terribly deceptive and some would say, it’s marketing at it’s best.

      If this is what our world is like then how easy can it be to do the same with Christianity? Paul is adamant in the opening two chapters of 1 Corinthians that he will not dress up the gospel by using the various expected techniques of the day. Basically in the first century you wanted an idea to go well you either had to be in power and force it upon others, or you marketed it well through oratory skill. And the greater your skill in entertaining and provoking your audience, the greater chance of acceptance. In other words, you mustered all your resources to dress up and add credibility to your ‘product’.

    Paul won’t go for this kind of gamesmanship and indeed if the former was 1st century marketing at it’s best, Paul knew it would be Christianity at it’s worst. The Gospel needed no dressing up and to do so was not only deceptive, but showed a severe lack of trust in God’s power. So he seeks to clearly and persuasively make the Gospel known. He’s at pains to be authentic, loving, humble and real. And he’s convinced that such an approach will see a true display of God’s power. Indeed the Corinthians are the very testimony to this.

      

     And so should we be as well. A community of believers clear on the gospel and seeking to be deliberate and clear about the significance of Christ crucified for the sake of others will be used powerfully by God. Even though weak and trembling (1 Cor.2:3-5) it will not be our powers of persuasion nor some sort of theological magic show that will have a lasting impact. Even the most intelligent of people prefer to be told important information clearly, simply and respectfully. And as people laboured to do this for our sake, it would be great for us to work hard at ensuring we are doing the same for others.

       But if the Corinthians began to lose sight of this and look for spiritual credibility in other areas (leaders, gifts etc) rather than have their confidence grounded in the wisdom of the cross, I wonder how we might be prone to also wonder? Where might we be likely to put our dependence so as to legitimate the success of our church and our Christian lives? What a tragedy it would be to have a mirage of various Christian ‘associations’ filling our vision, but to not be experiencing the power and wonder at the heart of it all.

       In short, marketing dresses up a product to make you buy it when you don’t really need it. To have the same approach to the Gospel will actually cause us and others to miss it ….and how we really need it!