So I open the latest issue of SI (Sports Illustrated) and there, on a full two page spread, is the ad for the latest offering from Nike in their sport shoe line-up -- the Air Max 360. Sleek, innovative, technologically supreme... you'd think this more an ad for Germany's "ultimate driving machine" than for a "tennis" shoe.
I'm from an age when tennis shoes really were just tennis shoes. Now, specialization has taken over and only the best and most sport appropriate shoe will do. I have seen kids wear $130 sport specific shoes in rec league play. What's up with that? Does an 11-year-old really need the same shoe the people who get paid millions of dollars to play are wearing (and, by the way, sports heroes don't buy their shoes, the manufacturer gives them away)? Strange world, indeed.
What happened to the days of Converse All-Stars/Chuck Taylors and PF Flyers? Yeah, you can still buy them, but they are only fashionable among the "Emo" crowd or with retro rock bands. You're surely not going to see a pair running down the court at this year's NBA Finals! (Go Mavs!).
While we're talking technology for the body... have you noticed the technology in toothbrushes lately? Man... talk about a "snooze you lose," "dog eat dog" market! I'd hate to be the toothbrush R&D guy trying to come up with the next latest and greatest toothbrush. I mean, how much more utilitarian can you get? Put a pea-sized dollop of paste here... move the brush back and forth. (Oh, excuse me... up and down... up and down... see, I did listen in health class). Not complicated, but imagine the research going into new brush technology!
Now we have toothbrushes than could pass government issue standard as tactical weapons only a few decades ago. These things are amazing... pulsating bristles, rubber plaque eliminating probes, integrated tongue scrubbers, comfort grips, ergonomic angular design... WOW!!! How do I get one for myself? $5.50 for a toothbrush? I'm there, man! What a deal!
I'm from an age when tennis shoes really were just tennis shoes. Now, specialization has taken over and only the best and most sport appropriate shoe will do. I have seen kids wear $130 sport specific shoes in rec league play. What's up with that? Does an 11-year-old really need the same shoe the people who get paid millions of dollars to play are wearing (and, by the way, sports heroes don't buy their shoes, the manufacturer gives them away)? Strange world, indeed.
What happened to the days of Converse All-Stars/Chuck Taylors and PF Flyers? Yeah, you can still buy them, but they are only fashionable among the "Emo" crowd or with retro rock bands. You're surely not going to see a pair running down the court at this year's NBA Finals! (Go Mavs!).
While we're talking technology for the body... have you noticed the technology in toothbrushes lately? Man... talk about a "snooze you lose," "dog eat dog" market! I'd hate to be the toothbrush R&D guy trying to come up with the next latest and greatest toothbrush. I mean, how much more utilitarian can you get? Put a pea-sized dollop of paste here... move the brush back and forth. (Oh, excuse me... up and down... up and down... see, I did listen in health class). Not complicated, but imagine the research going into new brush technology!
Now we have toothbrushes than could pass government issue standard as tactical weapons only a few decades ago. These things are amazing... pulsating bristles, rubber plaque eliminating probes, integrated tongue scrubbers, comfort grips, ergonomic angular design... WOW!!! How do I get one for myself? $5.50 for a toothbrush? I'm there, man! What a deal!
I wonder what brush your favorite sport hero uses? Or do they have someone brush their teeth for them? We never see them endorsing toothbrushes now, do we? Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
What once took me only 20 seconds to do at the grocery store, now takes market research and an issue of Consumer Reports. To pick out which brush will really effectively eliminate my nasty plaque issues, scrub my tongue and freshen my breath at the same time? This is important stuff, man!
This all got me to wondering about faith. What do toothbrushes, tennis shoes and spirituality have in common? Perhaps not much. Until you look a little deeper...
Is innovation really all it's cracked up to be? Do we really need $160 basketball shoes (the MSRP for the Air Max 360 Basketball shoe)? Does my toothbrush really have to have "superhero" plaque fighting abilities and cost more than lunch at Wendy's?
The thing is, the world is changing. Toothbrushes and tennis shoes are changing. But the way we "do faith" for many of us hasn't changed in a long time. While our soles are better supported, not much has changed in our soul nourishment. Same teeth, same feet... same heart, same spirit... what's the connection?
Why are we so complicit in the consumption of an ever-demanding techno world, but so slow to accept change in our own spiritual development? It is an interesting tension, don't you think?
What once took me only 20 seconds to do at the grocery store, now takes market research and an issue of Consumer Reports. To pick out which brush will really effectively eliminate my nasty plaque issues, scrub my tongue and freshen my breath at the same time? This is important stuff, man!
This all got me to wondering about faith. What do toothbrushes, tennis shoes and spirituality have in common? Perhaps not much. Until you look a little deeper...
Is innovation really all it's cracked up to be? Do we really need $160 basketball shoes (the MSRP for the Air Max 360 Basketball shoe)? Does my toothbrush really have to have "superhero" plaque fighting abilities and cost more than lunch at Wendy's?
The thing is, the world is changing. Toothbrushes and tennis shoes are changing. But the way we "do faith" for many of us hasn't changed in a long time. While our soles are better supported, not much has changed in our soul nourishment. Same teeth, same feet... same heart, same spirit... what's the connection?
Why are we so complicit in the consumption of an ever-demanding techno world, but so slow to accept change in our own spiritual development? It is an interesting tension, don't you think?
Maybe the difference is that one type of change is innovated for us and all we have to do is merely consume it. The other requires the R&D that I initiate and that may demand a higher price than I am currently willing to pay. What kind of faith are you wearing today? Air Max 360 or PF Flyers?
It might be time to shell out some spiritual cash and go for a new brand of spiritual technology. What do you think?
3 comments:
Well, if the toothbrushes are such a good deal.... and as you put it, "$5.50 for a toothbrush? I'm there, man! What a deal!", then I think you should buy 2 of them! You always buy 2 of something that is a really good deal!
Seriously though, I think sometimes we as humans rationalize that if the Word of God never changes and if God is the same today, yestserday, and tomorrow, then we won't need to change our spiritual focus. Of course this is not acceptable!
Anyone who has read a specific scripture and reads it with new understanding at 48 years of age than they did at 25 years of age, knows that the scripture didn't change, they did! Life experience, study, and aging gives us more information than we had at 25. The awareness and study of anything new (like shoes and toothbrushes) may seem exciting and fresh, but so is the study of scripture seen with fresh eyes.
And, no, I don't think the average sports player needs $160 shoes that the endorsed player receives for free, but Madison Avenue will continue to attempt to convince you otherwise.
Interesting thought... If God is immutable and we remain the same in our spiritual journey, isn't that tantamount to making ourselves gods?
Thanks for the comment.
If we are growing in Christ, we are changing. We can't be where Christ is and stay the same. So if we aren't changing spiritually, maybe we aren't dwelling where Christ is. (I think I hear a song in there!) Great post!
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