| Wednesday, December 15, 2004 |
| "Stop Putting Words In My Mouth" -God |
Apparently Moe's Southwest Grill is a great place to get a burrito; at least God thinks so. It seems this Orlando-based restaurant has caused quite a stir with it's latest attempt at advertising. Complaints have been rolling in for people who are offended by a billboard that simply says this:
"Eat at Moe's" -God
I'm sure you recognize the spoof of those ever popular billboards [black background with white text], aimed at convicting people with a message from God. Some examples of these messages are:
"What part of
'Thou Shalt Not . . .'
didn't you understand?" -God
"Keep using my name in vain,
I'll make rush hour longer." -God
"You think it's hot here? " -God
Angry Christians are responding that Moe's advertising makes light of the powerful name of God. A local pastor was quoted saying, "You just don't use God's name that way. It should not be taken lightly and casually. It is sacred. There are consequences to doing something like this. Judgment can come on these who use the Lord's name in such a vain fashion." While I agree with those first three sentences, I'm wondering if this guy thought those original billboards were acceptable. I'm sure he did. Yet it's not like those original God billboards are straight out of the gospel of Luke. Why do we get so offended at things like this Moe's billboard, but when we put words into God's mouth in the form of cute, trite sayings we're totally OK with it?
We ourselves don't have enough respect for the words and name of God, and then we're dumbfounded why the world doesn't. If all that God's word is good for is an advertising slogan or t-shirt logo, we're probably missing the point. I just look at how the Jews handle things. They will not say the name YHWH so as not to take it in vain. They go even further: in writing His name in English, they'll print "G-d", minus the "o" vowel, to avoid coming close to irreverence. And if they write "G-d" on a sheet of paper, they won't just throw it away, but will burn it and say a special prayer. Finally, my personal favorite, they won't read the Bible in the bathroom because that's getting sacred [God's Word] around something that's unclean [excrement]. That would kill my personal devotion life.
I'm not saying we need to do things like the Jews, but we should take the words of God that seriously. The next time you begin a phrase with "God said . . . " make sure you're really quoting Him, and not stating your opinion about what you think He said. For it does reveal in Scripture that He hates to be misquoted [Revelation 22:18,19].
I chuckled at the Moe's ad, not because it makes light of God, but because it rips on those original billboards. I think that those Christians are so angry because it mocks the advertising campaign they hailed as so creative. But maybe they're just too sensitive. I mean, where in the Bible does it say that God hates Tex-Mex food?
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yet another musing of steve-o @ 9:25:00 AM  |
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