How to stop wanting more things | Chapel Hill Online | Gig Harbor
Have you ever found yourself shopping, but never satisfied? Or finding that no matter how much money you have, it’s all gone at the end of the month? Wanting more things and more stuff is a way of life. No wonder, with how much effort companies put into marketing! It’s not just bad for your wallet, but for your soul too. Join Pastor Ellis White as he explores this issue of sin, and how to overcome it.
Discussion Questions:
What effect do adverts that you see have upon you? Do you ever notice yourself coveting what you see in those adverts?
Read Joshua 7. How is sin both an individual and a corporate issue?
In what areas are you tempted to treat sin as a little thing? Where do you need to repent and receive forgiveness?
Pastor Ellis encouraged us to stop spending, covet Christ and give gratefully for 30 days. How could you put that into practice?
Transcript:
Many of you know one of my favorite TV shows is Ted Lasso, and in fact, my wife, Rachel, and I have enjoyed several shows on Apple TV+. But as we’ve watched more shows, I’ve begun to notice something. How often the characters are using Apple products. The use of iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and AirPods seem somewhat excessive at times. And I’m not the only one. A Wall Street Journal reporter recently found that in one episode of Ted Lasso, which is 29 minutes long, there were 36 shots of Apple products.1 That’s more than one every minute!
And perhaps more interestingly, Apple never puts its products in the hands of what we might term “bad guys.” Like Jo in Mythic Quest, who uses an unbranded laptop when everyone else is using MacBooks. Or Bradley’s estranged father in The Morning Show who uses a generic flip phone when everyone else has iPhones. I’m sure you see what is going on here… Apple is trying to convince us that everyone, or at least, everyone who isn’t a bad person, uses Apple products, and therefore, since you aren’t a bad person, you should use Apple products too.
And this isn’t something new. To be honest, this is the water we swim in every day. It’s estimated that the average person is the US is exposed to between 6,000 and 10,000 adverts every day.2 And what’s behind this? As Dave Ramsey says, “Marketers are trying to get you to buy stuff you don’t need, with money you don’t have, to impress people you don’t like.” And at the heart of it all, is something we call coveting: desiring to possess something that isn’t ours.
Incidentally, it’s one of the 10 commandments: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, servant, ox, donkey, phone, car, clothes, jewelry, or golf clubs. Actually, those last few aren’t in there, but the words “anything that belongs to your neighbor” are. But how bad is it really, right? Even if you’re on the diet, you can still look at the menu, right? Today’s story from the book of Joshua is going to tell us otherwise.
Good morning, and welcome to Chapel Hill. My name is Ellis White, and I’m the Pastor of Creative Ministries here. So glad you are joining us in-person, or online. We are continuing our study through the book of Joshua in a series we’re calling “Not Your Fight”. We’re following the people of Israel, over 3200 years ago as they seek to enter and take the land that God had promised to them. Last week we heard about how they fought the battle of Jericho, or rather, the Lord fought for them. This week, though, things look very different. We’re picking it up in Joshua 7, starting in verse 2. [Read v. 2-5]
…to read more, visit chapelhillpc.org/listen