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I John 5:14 b states "....if we ask any thing ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he heareth us:" I know sometimes when I want something really bad, I leave out part of that verse, according to His will. Also, the remainder of that verse simply states "he hears" us. It does not say he will grant us our wishes like some genie out of a bottle.

I am convinced, after seeing television, billboards, magazines, newspapers, media of ALL types and movies, that I am being sold a bill of goods. THEY all tell me I cannot live without this certain thing, or that special whatever. I find if I happen to catch a few minutes of television, and view commercials for any length of time, I want to go home and throw rocks at my house, my wardrobe AND my family.

I used to say, "Oh, that stuff will not affect me, I’m stronger than that, I know what I can take". However, I noticed every week, after getting that little flyer in the mail from Wal-Mart or K-Mart or whatever Mart was having a "sale", that I would mentally walk through those ad pages and start WANTING what I did not have. Or maybe I really NEEDED it and it became the most important thing for me to GET THAT ITEM right then, to the exclusion of all else.

I heard a sermon one time on desire and lust, using James 1:15 as it’s reference. ("Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death"). The speaker who brought the message made a statement that I will never forget.....He said that if you have a problem "wanting" something, then don’t put yourself into a position to want it.

Well, if I wanted that doo-dad or even a different whatchamacallit every time I looked at those flyers, maybe I ought not look at those little flyers. So, whenever one would come in the mail, I would not even open it, I would just throw it into the trash can.

That sounds so severe you say, couldn’t you just control yourself? Psalm 101:3a states " I will set no wicked thing before my eyes".......if lusting is a sin and looking at something causes me to WANT it (lust), then would you agree with me that that would be a wicked thing?

I applied that same theory to what I watched on tv, but I am sure there are many other areas you can think of where this type of technique would apply. It didn’t take me long to figure out that whenever I saw that ad for that house, or that vacation, or that car, or even that plastic bin on sale at the Dollar Store, I had much the same reaction I had when I looked at those little flyers that came in the mail.

So, I thought, I would just turn off the tv when commercials came on. But that feeling remained. Even in the most innocuous of sitcoms, I see things others have that make them look like "they" are happier than I am. Have you ever noticed the bathrooms in any of those shows, if they happen to show them? I mean, I’m talking about the ads for a cleaning product on the toilet that doesn’t even look like it NEEDS a cleaning product. I don’t know about you, but I think I would have to scrub the floors, sink and tub three times a day, or never make use of those items, to make them look as wonderful as they are there.

Hollywood often advertises it’s newest family situation comedy as "down to earth" or "real life". Have you ever seen a show with the new puppy AND the chewed up sofa and, well, you know, it’s "oops" on the floor? Or the laundry room the way it REALLY looks in YOUR home, with cat food scattered on the floor along WITH the kitty litter AND last months science project on the utility table, right next to the saw your hubby used on last summers project?

I KNOW I am not talking to any Martha Stewart’s out there, and don’t get me wrong, I’m sure something I’ve got in my living room or kitchen has her label on it, so I LIKE Martha Stewart, I just know that the other 98% of us live in reality, not a tv set, and I don’t think we realize what a subtle pull this has had on MANY of us, me included.

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