Thought for Today
Exodus 34:26 The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God.
Ezekial 7:24 I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their holy places shall be profaned.
Luke 15:22 But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe-- the best one-- and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Mark 2:21 "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
“Use the comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs when comparing two things; the superlative degree only when comparing three or more things.” (Essential English Grammar, Dover Publications Inc., 1966, pg. 125) “There are two regular methods of comparison: with the endings -er and -est, and with the words more and most. (ibid., pg. 60)
In junior high school, I did not enjoy English grammar. As I have gotten older and especially as I have studied other languages, I have come to have a much greater appreciation for grammar, rules of grammar and the ability of their proper use to enhance and clarify communicating ideas.
We are currently in the midst of a political campaign season. Much of what I am seeing and hearing emphasizes that fact. It also emphasizes that communication can be positive or negative. Comparatives can be positive or negative as can superlatives.
For much of my adult life, commercial advertising, when it does make any comparisons, has primarily used excessive, positive comparatives and superlatives. Political advertising has increasingly used excessive negative comparatives and superlatives. Why the difference? Is it more efficacious to say product A is better than product B than to say product B is worse than product A? Is it more efficacious to say candidate A is worse than candidate B than to say candidate A is better than candidate B?
I am confident that the advertising industry has done studies on the most efficacious way to promote products and candidates. I have read that negative political advertisements are more effective in influencing voters than are positive advertisements. I do remember in the dim halls of my memory that when I studied advertising, it was considered ineffective to mention a competitor’s product name in an advertisement.
How does any of this impact us as Christians? First, we might ask ourselves why negative advertising, especially in politics, is more effective in convincing potential voters (including us?). Is there some preference inherent in our humanity for the negative?
The Old Testament 10 Commandments are all phrased negatively. They are collectively the ‘shall nots.’ They are prohibitive in nature. It is instructive to see Jesus’ response when he was asked which is greater. Jesus phrased his understanding of what God demands of us positively, “You shall . . . “ (Luke 10:27)
When Jesus tried to shift our focus from the ‘shall nots,’ He said, "You have heard that it was said . . .” (Matt. 5:21ff) Jesus outlined the meaning of the ‘shall nots’ in terms of how God demands we treat each other.
In the parables, Jesus offers us positive ways to respond to the love of God. Read the Parable of the King in Matthew 25. Jesus explained final judgment in terms of positive Kingdom of God behavior, “25:40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'”
Maybe in advertising and in life, we should focus our thoughts, our words and our actions on the positives, on the doing of that which Jesus commanded us, loving God and loving each other. Maybe we might focus on which candidate is better or the best, irrespective of what that candidate says about how better the opponent is. Maybe we should demand the same of ourselves, that we be the best Christians we can be.
Stay safe, make sure they know we are Christians by our love, trust God,
Pastor Ray