Category: Wildman Journey (Page 26 of 87)

Do you ever feel like your spiritual life has hit a brick wall?  Especially this past year, have you found yourself depending on others to feed you spiritually, while inside you are thirsting for something to sustain you?  Are you afraid of others getting a glimpse of what is really going on in your soul?  Are you on spiritual “life support”?  Well, there is hope – if you are willing to take the plunge.

Sometimes music and poetry can grab our attention, getting us beyond the “control tower” of our minds to speak to our hearts about what is really going on in our lives.  Recently I came across these words from the German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke: “You are not dead yet, it’s not too late to open your depths by plunging into them and drink in the life that reveals itself quietly there.”  They were the inspiration for this blog.

Jesus was hard on the Pharisees for their outward show of religion, while they were empty on the inside. They were all about religious performance, giving little attention to their soul life.  They were disturbed with Jesus because he saw through their performance.  Listen: “You’re hopeless, you religious scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh…you’re total frauds” (Matt. 23:27-28 – Message).

For our own spiritual health, we all need to look “under the hood” sometimes.  That means we need to take the plunge. Jesus is at the center. Yes, he is in heaven, but He has come to live in our hearts.  I am assuming you are born again and a new creation in Christ. If so, Jesus has made his home in you.  “My Father will love him and will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23).  Paul reminds us, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).  

When you take the plunge, fix your eyes on Jesus.  I am not taking about introspection or digging up the “dry bones” of the past.  I am talking about developing an intimate relationship with the God who loves us.  He is the ever-inflowing God.  As you take the plunge you will find living water, to quench your dry and thirsty soul that you know is on life support.  Jesus promised, “indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13).  

Jesus promised we would not thirst: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:38).  So, if you are on life support, I encourage you to take the plunge – and heed what he has to say.  

Jeremiah warns us about forsaking living water:  “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jer. 2:13).  He portrays for us, “a picture of absurd agricultural stupidity, and a…picture of wrenching physical futility” (The Bible Speaks Today).  You have living water flowing in you. Why go through all the religious performance?  

Men, we sometimes have to admit we are on life-support and by faith take the plunge and “drink in the life that reveals itself quietly there.” Jesus waits for you in love.  Simply confess that you’re thirsty – and ask him to help.

My bride and I had a disagreement on a recent Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church.  We came to an agreement and went off to the service. But I did not let go. I shut down emotionally. We both knew the oneness of spirit was missing.  I nursed my wounds all day. Monday morning helped me see the light. I repented, knelt before Judy, and sought her forgiveness.

As I reflected on my relational “stumbling,” the words, “You abandoned your post” came to me. I was convicted of my lack of sensitivity to my wife’s emotional and spiritual needs.  I realized that in acting childishly and nursing my self-pity, I simply walked away from the emotional space I am to help provide in our marriage.  I abandoned my wife, leaving her alone and emotionally vulnerable.    

I believe, accept, and desire to live out my role to lead in our relationship (Eph. 5:23).  Part of my responsibility is to cultivate and protect her emotional space.  But what I did was abandon my post.  I have done that before; this time, however, I saw how damaging it was to my wife.  I could see it in her eyes and in her tone of voice.

In our marriage, our oneness makes me complete in the Lord.  I can say with Adam, “Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh!  Name her woman for she was made from man.” (Gen. 2:23 – Message).  I need to treat Judy as I would treat myself. “So men ought to give their wives the love they naturally have for their own bodies.  The love a man gives his wife is the extending of his love for himself to enfold her” (Eph. 5:28 – Phillips).   

After 55 years of marriage, I am becoming increasingly aware of my bride’s emotional needs and how I can take our relationship for granted.  My role is to cherish my wife, giving her space to grow in the Lord. It helps me to see her as a blooming flower. “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens” (Song of Songs 2:2).  Praise the Lord for this newfound sensitivity.  I have missed so many cues over the years.    

For what it’s worth to men reading this blog, here is some of what I am learning.  I still fail, but I’m learning to create emotional space. 

First, put my wife’s needs first. This means to not take our relationship for granted.  “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand its own way” (I Cor. 13:4 NLT).    

Second, have a caring, loving attitude.  My wife can easily detect insincerity.  Only the Spirit of Christ can help me be consistent. “Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly” (Col. 3:19 NLT).

Third, use words to build up. Words can either build my wife up or subtly cause her to doubt herself and fade as a beautiful flower. “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry” (James 1:19 NLT).

Fourth, watch your tone of voice.  I never knew how vital this is in communicating and really have to work at this. It is so easy to sound negative and condescending.  Love “is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged” (I Cor.13:5 NLT).

Last, be quick to admit failure.  “…Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed…” (James 5:16). My ego must go first. That’s what a good leader does (Matt. 20:26-27).

I have been blogging now for over 12 years. I never imagined I would still be blogging in 2021.  A lot has changed in those years and in my own personal journey.  But in my retirement, I am grateful for having a blog site. It has given me an outlet for my spiritual motivation, which is to be that of a “truth teller.” I have spent many hours in the prophets, seeking discernment for our day. It has not been an easy journey, given my temperament and insecurities. Yet it seems I cannot escape the call.  My continuous prayer has been, “Lord, help me understand what you are saying to your church through the voice of the prophets.”

A special word for me has been Amos 3:8, “The lion has roared – who will fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken – who can but prophesy?” I realize there are others much more qualified than me to share God’s word to his church through the prophets. Yet I sense I must respond to the call to be a watchman on the wall. “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Is. 62:6-7).

Little did I realize that ten years after I began “The Wildman Journey,” I would be led to embrace the role of a “watchman.” But my spiritual journey has formed this role in me. It is a hidden ministry that finds expression mainly in this blog. In the fourth quarter of my life, the “truth teller” role seems to give me a focus for ministry.

I have no idea how many readers out there in the blogosphere pay attention to my blog. But at this stage of blogging, I find myself simply thankful to the Lord for giving me this outlet as a ministry. I am just a 79-year-old Lutheran monk living with his wonderful bride (my nun) of 55 years in our monastic cell in a senior living complex in northern Minnesota – and my “soul mate” and others seem to confirm my calling.

I firmly believe God is raising up prophetic voices to address the contemporary church. As for myself, I sense a greater clarity in applying the Word of God found in the Old Testament prophets to our day. I humbly pray that I may speak the truth, so that others will see Jesus amid the confusion of our day. “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10).

As I pray and continue to read the prophets, I identify with the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “…His word is in my heart like a fire, and fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer. 20:9).

I am the least likely follower of Jesus to take up the mantle of a “truth teller,” with a burden to give expression to the voice of the prophets and the state of the church in today’s culture. So how much I will write about the prophets is an open question for me. It will be a work in progress. I write today simply to inform you of my struggle with this call. But I have learned this principle over years of ministry: when a man leans into his calling before God, he will be fulfilled and energized spiritually. It will have its difficulties, but obedience has its own rewards.

In an “Institute for Family Studies” article, Philip Zimbardo and Nikita Coulombe have a very informative essay on the place of young men in our culture. “We determined,” the authors state, “that in our culture today, “boy energy” is at best not valued and at worst demonized.  In response, young men are deciding that it’s not worth it for them to invest their time and energy back into society.  Many are asking what is in it for them and only hear crickets.”  

Boys in our day are getting left behind.  They are “failing to launch,” evidenced in such symptoms as “a disenchantment with education, lack of motivation to work towards real-life goals, opting out of the workforce, self-imposed social isolation, and excessive video game and porn use.”  The authors make reference to fatherlessness being on the rise.  “… even the boys that have fathers in their lives,” notes the authors, “only spend a fraction of their time in one-on-one conversation with them versus the time they spend in front of a screen, where they see men depicted as emotionless warriors, deadbeat dads, or losers.”

Could the lack of “boy energy” reflect the absence of fathers and male mentors in the  lives of boys?  I think it points in that direction.  My intention has been to be an encouragement to men, especially fathers. 

Men need to evaluate the God-given position they have before God.  “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it” (Gen 2:15 NLT).  From the beginning, God first gave man the primary responsibility of rightly ordering relationships.  Then he gave him a help mate.  In the fierce “gender wars” men have vacated their male relational leadership post.  Who will watch out for young men?    

The authors place the blame on society for the lack of boy energy.  “…it is society that is not providing the structure, guidance, means or places for young men to develop themselves and thrive.”  They describe, “Boys going from female-dominated home environments to  female-dominated school environments, back to female-dominated home environments – where boys are being told to behave.”  Can godly men admit to themselves and those closest to them that they might have abandoned the place God has for them  in society?

If you are a man reading this post, and sense you have abandoned your God-ordained place in relationships, it is not to late to return and stand.  What can you do?  In repentance and humility come before the Lord and admit that you have left your post as a man.  Cry out to God for grace and mercy.  Resist the desire to leave your relational responsibility.  If it is sincere, God will delight in your request in wanting to stand where your belong.  Don’t give in and flee.

The lack of “boy energy” is  confirming  a theme mentioned consistently in this blog.  Energy is something that is caught and passed on from older men to younger men.  “Masculinity is caught, not taught,” has been a consistent mantra.   How do you pass on this energy?  By opening your heart and spirit and just being you.  Walk in integrity and honesty.  “He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). 

As a man with an open spirit, you have male energy flowing through you.  In relating to younger men, you give them “father energy.”  It is something that is desperately needed in our society today.  You don’t have to fight or argue; just walk it out.  

Recently, while going through some old papers, I came across a poem by D.H. Lawrence that spoke to me some years ago.  I was amazed at how it still speaks to my heart today.

I am not a mechanism, an assembly of various sections

And it is not because the mechanism is working wrongly, that I am ill.

I am ill because of wounds to the soul, to the deep emotional self,

And the wounds to the soul take a long, long time, only time can help

And patience, and a certain difficult repentance,

Long, difficult repentance, realization of life’s mistake,

And the freeing oneself from the endless repetition of the mistake

Which mankind at large has chosen to sanctify.

When I re-read these words almost 20 years later, I realize the spiritual journey is a process of going deeper into the same wounded emotions, diseased attitudes, and default patterns of sin.  Paul knew this well. “It happens so regularly and it’s predictable.  The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up.  I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight.  Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge” (Rom 7:21-23 MSG). 

In his frustration Paul cries out, “Is there no one who can do anything for me?” (Rom. 7:24 MSG).  Then he answers his own question with thanksgiving for God’s provision. “The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does.  He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different” (Rom 7:29 MSG). 

Over the past 20 years, I have learned to embrace my fallen nature without falling into ditches on either side of the road.  One is trying to understand and “fix” my faults out of my own strength. The second is resignation and despair in not being able to make a certain spiritual grade.  Even as I write, I sense the freedom to acknowledge, “I am ill because of wounds to my soul.”  These wounds take a long time to heal.  Lawrence’s poem talks of patience, allowing for “a certain difficult repentance.” 

I want to encourage each man reading this blog in finding freedom from “the endless repetition of the mistake.”  I exhort you to keep your eyes on the One who loves you unconditionally and to not fall in line with the patterns of the culture which “mankind at large has chosen to sanctify.”  Accept that you are still a work in progress.  

My focus at this stage of my journey is not on my incapacity to do God’s will, but my capacity in Christ.  Paul says it well, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).  That’s capacity.  Instead of sulking in my incapacity, I put my trust in God, who gives me the capacity to accomplish his will (it’s all grace).  

For too long I have limited the horizon of my spiritual life, having spent years shriveled up in a corner, nursing my self-pity and fear of exposure.  Now I am learning to celebrate the depth of God’s love for me despite my failures.   

My cry is for God to be merciful as I continue to find freedom “from the endless repetition” of my mistakes, God is giving me the capacity to receive not his condemnation but his love.  There is a new capacity to just be me… in Christ.

An unknown author recently described this past year: “Year 2020 has been a brutal, perfect storm of a pandemic, a contentious election, racial unrest, financial troubles and conspiracy theories.”  One way of visualizing this storm is to see it as a rising flood.  

The approaching flood waters are a warning to wild men (men of faith) reading this blog.  The water will continue to rise before our very eyes. It will not level off for some time. God’s intervention in history has often been portrayed as a flood. The Psalmist prayed, “Surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him” (Ps 32:6).   

A flood describes God’s retribution of his own people. “See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong.  Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour he will throw it forcefully to the ground” (Is. 28:2).  Here God is speaking of the king of Assyria bringing destruction on Israel.

Committed followers of Jesus will need to be prepared for a flood of opposition and confrontation coming from those who have gained influence in our culture. Our experience could be similar to the Psalmist, “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of the deep waters” (Ps 18:16).  This blog could very well be speaking to more than one man who feels almost overcome by the flood waters of our destitute culture.   

In Psalm 69, David’s prayer give expression to being overcome by a flood. “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.  I have come into the deep waters, the flood engulfs me (vv1-2).  You might not identify with David at this point in your journey, but trust me, many of you will face a torrent that will cause you to be anxious, doubt, and become discouraged.   

Each man needs to realize that God has allowed such floods throughout history in order to bring renewal to his people.  We are going to experience the flood and possibly its aftermath.  We need to be praying as Jeremiah did, knowing that he would endure the judgment of God. “So correct us, God, as you see best.  Don’t lose your temper.  That would be the end of us. Vent your anger on the godless nations, who refuse to acknowledge you and on the people who won’t pray to you” (Jer. 11:24-25). 

To endure the coming flood upon our land, we first and foremost must make a choice. We are either all in for Jesus or we could be swept away by the flood.  This does not mean physical loss, but the loss of soul.  Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”.

Secondly, take inventory of your priorities and commitments.  Are you building on the rock or on sinking sand?  If you are honest, you know the difference.  “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock… (Matt 7:24).

Thirdly, be sure you are in the ark.  This of course is the body of Christ.  The ark is built on relationships.  Make sure you are part of the body, and not a lone wolf. Fourthly, when you feel like you are sinking, cry out to Jesus for mercy.  Remember Jesus words when he comes to his disciples in the storm.  “Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

Jeremiah is known as “the weeping prophet.”  He kept warning the people of Judah of God’s approaching judgment at the hands of the Babylonians.  They ignored his warnings.  God even instructed Jeremiah not to pray for the people. “Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah.  Do not weep or pray for them, for I will not listen to them when they cry out to me in distress” (Jer. 11:14). The pain and sorrow that God felt for “hardened rebels” was experienced by Jeremiah himself. 

Jeremiah knew he would live in the midst of God’s judgment.  That is the background of his prayer in 10:23-5. “This prayer of Jeremiah entered into the prayer life of the exiles as well.  This is clear from the way the words are built into Psalm 79, a psalm of lament that clearly comes from the stinging trauma of those who survived the destruction Jeremiah foretold” (Bible Speaks Today).  “Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need” (Ps. 79:8). 

Jeremiah’s prayer can be instructive for us today, living in what Eugene Peterson called “disruptive times.”  Could our current cultural crisis be a sign of God allowing his judgment to come upon us as a nation?  If so, believers will be caught in the middle of this collapse. Jeremiah can help us as we journey through any dark days ahead.

Jeremiah then affirms God’s sovereignty and the limits of finding our way through the darkness.  “Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps” (Jer. 10:23).  Proverbs 20:9 also reminds us, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  

Remember that history is God’s story.  He sees the beginning from the end.  Isaiah reminds us, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please'” (Is. 46:10).  The future of our nation is in his hands.  He will guide our steps through whatever He allows to happen.  Begin to see yourself as part of the faithful remnant (Rom. 11:1-5).

In the midst of what he saw coming, Jeremiah prays for himself.  “So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.  Do not correct me in anger, for I would die” (Jer. 10:24 NLT).  Jeremiah in his prayer identifies with the people.  He asks the Lord to be merciful in the midst of judgment.    

We may very well be experiencing the judgment of God on a culture that has turned its back on him, but we can pray for God’s mercy to see us through whatever he sends upon us. Referring to the deeds of God in the past, Habakkuk prayed, “Renew then in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” (Hab. 3:2b). 

Finally, Jeremiah appeals to the justice of God.  “Vent your anger on the godless nations, who refuse to acknowledge you, and on the people who won’t pray to you” (Jer. 10:25 Message).  The prophet asks God to deal with the enemies of his people.  He is leaving the judging of the nations in the hands of God, since God knows the intentions of the heart. 

In the end, we cry out for God to be merciful, knowing that God in his justice must bring judgment.  We leave those opposed to God in his hands.  We are not responsible.  Vengeance belongs to God, not to us. 

“A contact sport.”  When I saw this theme for a United Methodist Men’s national gathering, I thought to myself: “Blog.”  “The practice of discipleship is a ‘contact sport’ and cannot be ignored,” explained the event’s organizers.  “Most members of the United Methodist Church can recite the mission statement of our church… What appears to be missing in many places is a systematic way within local churches to make disciples that are transforming the world.”  This is certainly a challenge for each man reading this blog, including myself.

Being a former high school “jock” (Class of ’59), I think of the smell of sweat when I think of contact sports.  That sent me to II Cor. 2:15: “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.  But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.  To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.  But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume” (II Cor. 2:15). 

So, what kind of aroma do we give off in our relationships? “As the gospel aroma is released in the world through Christian testimony, it is always sweet-smelling, even though it may be received differently.  Ultimately there are two kinds of people: those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (NIVSB).

Here are four observations about aroma (sweat) and men.  First, we need to know Jesus personally.  If we are to be the aroma of Christ, Christ must be absorbed through relationship. Facts and methods will not do the job. We need to have an open spirit so Jesus can pour His presence (and aroma) into us.  Only then can we give off the aroma of Christ. You can’t fake it; it has to be real.  

Second, when I think of how men are brought to Jesus, it is usually through another man or a group of men.  There is something that is assimilated or absorbed that opens a man’s heart to God.  It was true for me.  As a younger man, I was drawn to men who simply had Christ’s presence about them.  They were giving off the aroma of Christ without knowing it.

Third, find a group of men that “gives off the aroma” of Christ. This is especially important. Remember, masculinity is not something that is primarily taught; it is rather caught and assimilated.  A group of men committed to Jesus, wanting to be honest and transparent, and willing to reach out to a “wounded” brother*, can mean the difference between life and death in a man’s life.

Fourth, there is something powerful about a group of guys who have worked up a good sweat, giving all they have for a good cause.  That is how brotherhood and unity are built. Picture a group of guys that senses, “in the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade.  Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ” (II Cor. 2;14 MGS).  Wow! This is real “mojo!” 

Men, take it from me: You are going to smell like something.  With all your heart, desire to give off the aroma of Christ.  Think of a group of guys doing the same thing.  I picture a football team coming out together to start the game, running through the smoke, with flags and cheerleaders urging them on. 

That’s who we are.  We are going into the conflict already knowing that we are ultimately going to win.  We want other men, even “wounded” soldiers*, to join in that “triumphal procession.

* See: Rescuing a Brother, Dec. 21, 2020

In a recent Breakpoint article, John Stonestreet noted, “Our politics is cracking under the weight of a thinning civil society… For decades, sociologists have warned just how thin American civil society has become, replaced by a growing individualism that isolates Americans from the relationships and loyalties that once nurtured a thick social fabric.”  Stonestreet maintains as a result of this thinning, “The cultural weight lands on politics.”

The concept of thinning could well be applied to a thinning of the spiritual life of our churches.  The cultural weight of civil unrest, coronavirus ethics, and contentious politics have divisively affected our churches.  In a time when church should be a place of refuge for the weary, it has too often become a victim of the culture wars.  Disagreements and factions have weakened church life, thus thinning its impact on the culture. 

It seems that darkness has invaded the fabric of life together as followers of Jesus, who is the true light.  Remember Jesus words, “A new command I give you:  Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).  What the world needs to see is a thickening of the Church through love. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).  It is a perpetual debt we owe to one another. “Keep out of debt altogether, except that perpetual debt of love which we owe one another” (Rom 13:8 – Phillips).  

A lack of love has produced a spiritual thinning evidenced in people living in darkness and spiritually stumbling.  “If anyone claims, ‘I am living in the light,’ but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person still lives in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause other to stumble.  But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness.  Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness” (I John 2:9-11 NLT).

Here’s how I apply this as a member of my church.  First and most important, I remember the enemy wants to sow seeds of discord in the body of Christ.  He lives in darkness but comes as an “angel of light.” A negative “person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by darkness” (v 11 above cf. John 8:44). 

Secondly, I keep a check on my spirit. “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (I John 1:6).  Negativity drowns out sensitivity to the Spirit’s direction.  Am I being honest in my responses or am I faking it?  Do I have an open or a closed spirit?  Am I praying continually, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth” (Ps. 26:2-3).

Thirdly, I ask others to help me monitor a “negative” or “critical” spirit toward others.  If I get stuck in negativity, I walk in darkness, and I can cause others in my church to stumble.  There is no room for grace and mercy in the darkness.  Do I ask trusted believers to point out behaviors that seem unworthy of the gospel of Christ? (Philippians 1:27)  And do I take their feedback to heart?  

When my spirit is open and loving I am walking in the light. Men, we can know the difference.  Negativity brings a heavy spirit, while love brings lightness and freedom. 

I watch Super Bowl ads to better understand the mood of our nation.  Some of the best minds in advertising have been hired to analyze the national mindset – with the intent to manipulate our purchasing behavior. This year the consensus seems to favor the need for relief.  If the ads have their intended effect, you will come away with a happy, positive attitude.  It’s “let the good times roll” and “cast your cares away.”  

Ad agency executives sense the country is looking for a reprieve from its problems, including the surging coronavirus, an uncertain economy, and political divisiveness. Susan Credle, FCB’s Chief Creative Officer, notes, “People want to laugh and they want to feel normal again.” Sarah Long of Mars Wrigley believes people “want to smile, they want to be positive.”  

In recent years ads have tackled heavy issues like cyberbullying, domestic violence, and gender stereotyping. This year the ads will pay little attention to the pandemic because people have been bombarded with “stay safe” or “we’ll all in this together.”  “Every marketer is being very careful right now because of all the tumultuous events around the world,” observed John Patroulis of WPP PLC’s Grey. “You don’t want your ad to be misconstrued or be controversial,” he added.

I must admit the ads in these last few years have been much easier on the male ego, since culture seems to have accepted the idea of “toxic masculinity.”  As you watch the ads and enjoy the game, however, my suggestion would be: think the opposite. The ads tell us to avoid our pain; I say, “Stand in the pain.”  See yourself as “a wounded healer.” 

First, Super Bowl ads can tell us something about life but they cannot deliver the “Good News.”  It’s all make-believe.  Ads only touch the surface of our lives; they are like bandages trying to hide the wounds of broken hearts and wounded souls.  Our nation needs deep soul care. We desperately need Jesus the gentle healer. “… It was our pains he carried – our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us… it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him – our sins! (Is. 53:4-5 MSG). There is a place to go with pain. Bring it to Jesus. Only he can truly heal the hurting heart.   

Secondly, the ad industry might discern the state of our nation better than the Church. But it only covers up the pain. If we are to bring healing to our fractured nation, we need to address the wounds of the heart. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). 

Thirdly, don’t use ads as an excuse to escape from reality.  We are to stand in the pain as men in our ordained places as husbands and fathers. The enemy wants to take us out. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).  But we are called to stand in the gap.  “I looked for a man… [to] stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none” (Ez. 22:30).   

Fourthly, deliberately make fun of the ads, knowing they are in conflict with your spirit.  They accentuate our struggles, warring against our spirit. “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other…” (Gal. 5:16-17).