Each Friday morning our pastor emails a message that – if he
were a blogger – would surely garner comments. This one was too good not to
share!
Today's message:
I have a “burr in my saddle” this morning.
It’s been a long time since I used that phrase. Like I even
have a saddle or a horse to put it on. It has been some 46 years since I’ve
ridden a horse … and if I remember correctly … the two of us didn’t get along
very well. But as the phrase implies … something is bothering me this morning.
Now a lot of things “get on my nerves” … like when cling
wrap isn’t clingy …
… when
remotes have too many buttons …
… when
spellcheck is WRONG …
… when a
book has no chapters …
… when my
blue socks don’t match …
… or when
something is advertised as “new and improved.” So which is it?
Yeah … I know … these are little things … but they “get under
my skin” every once in a while.
But the thing that really bothers me this morning is the
plethora of pharmaceutical commercials we have to put up with on television.
When did our televisions get overtaken by medicine commercials? I don’t spend a
lot of time watching TV but in the brief times I do … I have noticed the uptick
in commercials for medicine. Even more annoying, these commercials spend
two-thirds of their time describing side effects and some of them are downright
embarrassing when watching with your kids or grandkids.
It seems we have pills for everything these days. Of course,
we’ve always had medicinal helps or headaches, flu symptoms and tummy problem.
But today … we have cute little Zoloft ads and coy ED spots that we don’t want
our teenaged children to hear … much less our grade school youngsters. We have
pills for arthritis, constipation, diarrhea, senility, blood pressure,
cholesterol, depression, emotional stress, acne, weight loss, body odor, joint
pain, asthma,
water retention, and on and on.
And the claims these ads make are … well exaggerated!
“Instantly take off 10-15 pounds!” “Stay sharp and mentally focused – even to
age 90!” “Be sexy into your 70s!” “Look younger longer!” “Eradicate crow’s feet
and facial wrinkles!” “Have smaller thighs in just weeks!” “Boosts immunity for
colds and flu!”
It’s like the “snake oil” salesmen of a century ago have
returned in the form of TV advertisements … enticing, wooing, luring, seducing,
tempting the viewer to try this or that product as a remedy for just about
anything … and everything.
Frankly, I think there should be some kind of medicines out
there to help with other problems we have. How about a pill for automatic
memory recall? Maybe a pill for improving your vision? Or for improving one’s
IQ? How about a pill for being more civil … more kind … or more loving? WOW!
That would be a major breakthrough!
But the pill I’d most like to see marketed is a prescription
medicine for Common Sense! There seems to be a real deficiency of this formerly
standard characteristic. And should this ever be discovered … the law of the
land should be that every politician be mandated to take two pills every day
and call us in the morning. Maybe … just maybe that would make a difference in
what comes out of our centers of government … at all levels.
Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your
life; don't for a minute lose sight of them. They'll keep your soul alive and
well … Wise living gets rewarded with honor; stupid living gets the booby
prize. [Proverbs 2:21, 35 – The Message]
Have a blessed weekend in the Lord … I know I will, now that
the burr is out of my saddle …
Pastor Rick
Note: In my research, I
found that only two countries in the world … the United States and New Zealand
… allow pharmaceutical companies to market their products directly to consumers
in commercials. And … not surprising to me … a new study finds that when
over-the-counter and prescription drug companies make commercials trying to sell
the public on their product, they’re not always the most truthful.
