September 25, 2013

Revelation 3:17-18 — Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

I fear I’m turning into a grumpy old man. See what you think as you read what follows …

I took a couple of days off work this week after my travels, so I happened to be watching an early news segment on NBC2 (any copyright duly acknowledged!). The script contained the following gem:

Did you know – The way you dress can often affect how much you pay for big ticket items?
One expert believes that when buying a car, if your goal is to negotiate the price point it’s safer to dress down than up.
Some real-estate experts say high end clients typically dress down when shopping for homes.
As for jewelry, dress similar to what you’re going to be buying. One expert claims dressing well mean a better or worse price, but the salesperson is more likely to take the time to answer your questions.

I’m not sure what bothered me most — the idea that people would try to give a false impression of their circumstances to manipulate sellers, or that sellers would look differently on people if they seemed more or less wealthy. Did I hear you saying “that’s human nature”? Well, yes. Is that good?

This kind of sneakiness seems to me to be in line with a growing culture of dishonesty that seems to be pervading our society. While I’m picking on the TV folks let me offer up a couple of advertisements that make my point. (Again, any copyrights freely acknowledged!)

First example: A Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial shows a little boy eating KFC’s original recipe bites. His dad tells him to wait and suggests they play hide-and-go-seek. When the boy hides, the father tucks in.
Second example: A McDonald’s commercial — a man buys his friend a drink. The friend thinks it cost $3.75, instead of the actual $1. Instead of correcting him, the first “friend” just keeps the extra.

Both of the commercials seem to suggest that there’s something clever about the dishonesty.

Do you think I’m making too much of all this? If you do, let me ask you to think back over the past 50 years or so, and see if you can identify any moral evils that have crept into modern life having started their “careers” as “harmless fun”. If you can’t, get in touch and I’ll be happy to suggest a few. If you can, then perhaps you might want to think again about “clever” dishonesty.

If you see my point about all this perhaps you’d like to join me in the grumpy old man (or woman) club! If you’re with your kids or grand kids and one of these commercials or news items comes up, point out the moral mud pit. Help them to understand what is real gold, and where they can get it!