Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have.
—Hebrews 13:5
Two teenage girls were watching a TV commercial at Best Buy. I laughed when I heard one of them say, “I don’t know what it does, but I want it.”
The primary goal of advertisers is to plant the seed of discontent. They want us to be dissatisfied with how we look and what we have. Buy what they’re selling, and they promise you a ticket on the magic carpet to satisfaction.
I counted 266 ads in a trendy magazine. Thirty-one of them pushed residential properties and furnishings. Ten promoted vehicles. Forty-four pitched entertainment, electronics, travel, and banks. And a whopping 181 plugged food, drink, clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care—and plastic surgery.
Shrewd advertising departments will see to that none of those will give permanent satisfaction.
How much is enough?
Preoccupation with possessions
prevents peace of mind.