its funny how i don’t go to the mall as much as i used to. the main reason is because i really don’t have the money … but then again, i wonder if i ever did, since i am probably still paying off debt from years ago – clothes i no longer own, cds i have long since traded … yeah. anyway, i think the other reason that i infrequently visit the mall these days is how it makes me feel. it’s weird because it never bothered me before, but for some reason, now it does. tonight i seriously slowly walked through my not favorite stores [just to see what they are up to these days]. it really continues to amaze me the subtle ways that these store use sex[uality] to sell their wares. they foist their slick marketing campaigns with thumping dance music onto the clueless minds of their teenage consumers (and their even more clueless parents). and it annoys me. it annoys me that we buy the lie, buy the lifestyle, live the image.
i know that i can’t accurately convey or describe what i see as i walked through these stores. i guess i would say it is like an oppressive force of evil that oozes from the walls. yeah that sounds a little out there, i am sure. but lately, i have been seeing things differently than i used to. i think, perhaps, my spiritual eyes are seeing much more clearer than they once did. we live in a christian subculture of naivety. we think that we can be so close to the world and somehow, because we claim Christ, that we will be unaffected by it. however, nothing can be further from the truth. the evil one who rules this earth has his own agenda – and if we think for a moment that commerce is not a part of his plan, we are sadly mistaken.
so as i walked through the mall tonight, i could sense the despair and pain of the various people. not everyone … but i could sense that many were just there … to cure the bordom … to get away from the hurt for a little while … never knowing that there is a better answer to the pain. it’s like jesus let me feel just a little bit how he feels when he sees this world running about its vain strivings and how fast and far people are running from the truth. he loves each of us so much. even as i write this, i know that those mere words can’t even slightly convey the amazing love of jesus for us. know this tonight… jesus loves you.
I know what you feel. My heart aches sometimes of the blindedness we have as a people but myself personally. I go through this life half-awake mopstly stumbling between the reality of the kingdom and this life. I jolt up every now and then to see that my heart is tricked into the cares of this life. This time spent in KC has made me aware of the desperate times I live in and how numb my heart really is. I’d despair unless I found the hope for change in the Word.
I know what you feel. My heart aches sometimes of the blindedness we have as a people but myself personally. I go through this life half-awake mopstly stumbling between the reality of the kingdom and this life. I jolt up every now and then to see that my heart is tricked into the cares of this life. This time spent in KC has made me aware of the desperate times I live in and how numb my heart really is. I’d despair unless I found the hope for change in the Word.