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Have you ever been in a store and you see a big bag of potato chips that advertise the bold description across the front: “Zero grams of trans fat.” Or maybe you have bought the diet soda that boasts that you’re consuming “Zero calories”. Yes, we all have. Through their advertisement, we sought what seemed appealing to our health without even looking deeper into the contents that were offered. Because they had these particular labels on their products, we just “assumed” they were healthy for us, would benefit us, and was the product that we were looking for.

When I take a closer look at these products and read what they had in them, I see that there are things like “yellow #6” and other artificial colors, and chemicals that I’ve never heard of. I thought it was very ironic that these products were being advertised in such a way that makes me think that they are not harmful yet were full of empty calories and chemicals that sounded weird.

This made me think.

It made me wonder how many of us flash around our “no trans fat” or “no calories” label, trying to convince everyone that we are healthy and good. Yet we have no healthy elements to our lives. We all declare, “Look, we have no trans fat. We have no calories. We are wealthy, we have good families, we’re in love, we’re doing the right things, and we’re going to church, or this and that.” But if we really looked within ourselves, we would realize that we’re not all that we advertise ourselves to be. On the inside, we’re prideful, we’re greedy, self-centered, and only worry about what we do when “people are watching.” Obviously, it’s not about what you advertise that counts; it’s what you are really made of.

As I write this post, I take it in and do a self-evaluation of Dante’. I ask you to do the same. Trust me, I could sell anything to you. We all know how to lie and fool people. In the society we live in, words come and go, we all know how to say the right things, sometimes do the right things, or post the right things to give an appearance that we are doing “the right thing.” I did it so well.

I’m reminded of what one of my coaches Brian Mance would always tell me when I told him I was going to make the play. He told me, “Stew, don’t talk me to death.” I talked oh so well. I would say that I was going to make the play but I would take plays off here and there. I wouldn’t run to the ball. I wouldn’t be focused. When the time came to make the play, I wasn’t ready because I talked myself up more than I did to back up what I was talking.

In my Christian walk it was the same thing. I could fool you by doing the things that “good” Christian do. I wouldn’t go to too many parties. I would make sure that I didn’t swear. I would have regular attendance at church. I had an appearance that I was doing the “right” thing but my heart was far from God. Behind closed doors I was still doing my own thing. I wasn’t truly submitting my life to Lordship of Jesus. I was still doing it my way and trying to add Jesus to my life. I advertised that I was healthy but my true content was toxic.

How many of us can say the same thing? We all have and still do the same thing. It’s so easy to fool others into thinking that what we advertise is what we really are. I will tell you this: God is more concerned about who you really are. He’s more concerned about our heart and our lives rather than what we are going to accomplish in this life. We mix it up so much. We think, subconsciously, that our lives are more defined by what we say rather than the way that we live. We say that we care for one another but we talk against one another. We say that we care for the poor but we walk by them everyday. We say that we love our jobs but we go into work complaining everyday. We say that we are “Christian” but we want to hold on to our old ways of living. We say that we have goals and going to accomplish this and that but we only work at it when people are watching. If the consumer really knew the product that you were selling, would they truly benefit?

I encourage you today, advertise less and work more on the product. Really work toward living a life that matters. Really look into the mirror and evaluate yourself and see whether what you say outweighs the way that you live. I’m going to do the same. Remember, it’s not about what you advertise that counts; it’s what you are really made of.

– Dante’