If Men’s Health magazine was true, you would never need to buy more than one issue. If the articles that promised flat abs and less stress and better sex really worked as promised, you’d never need to have a subscription because every issue is the exact same thing. This was the thought I had while standing at the magazine rack at Wal-Mart watching my daughters read My Little Pony books. (Long live Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie by the way. Toola-Roola is a punk. I don’t even know what Toola-Roola is into, at least Rainbow Dash is all about rainbows.)
As I stood there, though, I noticed something else kind of weird. The promises that the front cover of men’s magazines make were eerily similar to the promises that the back cover of Christian books make. So I thought it might be fun to play a little guessing game and see if you can figure out which is which:
1. “Build your perfect life and strip away stress for good”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
2. “The Secret to Effortless Success”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
3. “Total Health Starts Here”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
4. “967 Secrets of Happiness”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
5. “Supercharge Your Brain”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
6. “Keep Yourself Happy”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
7. “Gain control over your mind”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
8. “Uncover the proven process that will lead to a life of success and total fulfillment”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
9. “The Anatomy of a Successful Life”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
10. “Stress Proof Your Brain”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
11. “Living Life without Limits”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
12. “10 keys to fulfilling your destiny”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
13. “10 Essential Success Secrets”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
14. “Hold on to your hair – 5 new cures”
A. Front Cover of Men’s Magazine
B. Back Cover of Christian Book
OK, that last one was easy, but it reminded me of that Richard Marx song, “Hold on to the Night,” and I promised myself I’d make at as many Richard Marx references as possible, sooooo one down. (Click here for the answers to the quiz.)
I didn’t use the titles of the books because I’m not trying to denigrate those authors. I haven’t read what’s inside the books and, ultimately, those are often just marketing sentences written by someone other than the author. But standing there that day in the midst of My Little Pony land, seeing how similar the two types of headlines were, I wasn’t convicted about the books. I was convicted about my own motivations.
Am I that different from the world?
I’ve got God, the very power of Christ inside of me, so why are my own desires so interchangeable with what the world says are the most important things in life?
Do I ever go to God with a laundry list of better demands? Give me a better marriage, a better ministry, a better life, a better job, a better everything?
Do I chase the blessings of God sometimes more than the presence of God?
Do I ever treat God like a really good self-help guru who is there to meet my needs?
Do I look weird scribbling this all down in a small moleskine notebook by the magazine rack in Wal-Mart?
Yes, yes I do. But I don’t want God to simply be a vehicle for the things I want. I want God to be who I want.
I want Him to be enough.
(This post originally appeared on SCL on January 7, 2009)
