We Are a Shallow Breed: Fitting in Society

This topic really grinds my gears..I look around and see what makes the world tick. I see what drives people..what inspires people and I think to myself, what happened to society.

We live in a time where people will only call you if they need something, they will never ever waste any of their time helping others, unless there’s an incentive.

People live for themselves, they drown themselves in useless activities, just to make an excuse that they are busy.

Where does this originate from? Why are people so careless, so selfish, so Godless?

As I look around, I see this entire society conditioned to think as certain way…I see media feeding everyone how they should perceive the world. I know this perception very well, because I was taught this strategy.

One of the Majors I graduated in is marketing. Marketing is a very interesting field. It essentially makes or breaks a business. However, marketing can also be perceived as unethical. Many people see the most unethical jobs as lawyers, plastic surgeons, IRS tax collectors, etc..But people forget that society has been molded because of marketers. Okay, for instance, that fancy Iphone that you are carrying, or that Macbook Pro that you have…you know why you love it so much? Because Marketers told you too!

Marketers influence society

Big companies do a very good job telling society what to buy! In marketing- the idea of needs and wants is different than people think. For a product to become successful you have to make people need it. This becomes a challenge because most things in life are needs not wants, and needs outdo wants; based on our disposable income (Meaning you only have enough money typically to purchase what you need not what you want). For instance, groceries in most cases are a need- but within the genre of groceries there are wants and needs. Milk and eggs is a need, but a fancy cheese is a want. Same goes in all the other sectors of the industry.

Why do you like BMW’s, Mercedes, Audi’s, Ferrari’s, etc…because society has told you that it is the ultimate goal to attain. Why do women like Micheal Kors, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc..brands? Because those brands are associated with high status, upper class society.

Why are people attracted to celebrities? Why are people attracted to models? Why is the most ideal look for both men and women, to be anorexic? Well, because once again society has told you to be…

Okay, lets explain why..I’m sure you guys already know this, but being perfect is impossible! However, why do people still try? Because society has told you its possible to attain a certain image!

The reality is, its impossible! To be able to realistically afford a really nice $1,500 purse…$80,000 car we have to either be from a upper class upbringing, or somehow make it big in life. Even for a person that graduates from college with a BA in Engineering, his average salary will be $65,000 a year (not enough to afford anything extravagant). Plus he isn’t guaranteed a job. For a person to have 2% body fat he has to meal plan and workout 4-6 days a week (minimum)!We all know this is impractical, especially for a family man/woman. So why does everyone try so hard? Because they are heavily influenced by society! And who controls this world? We should all know that! Satan does! We even see that when Jesus is tempted on the mountain, bow and I will give you this world!…Jesus obviously didn’t because he didn’t conform to this world like many of you do!

So why do we keep striving to be more rich, look better, be more popular, etc…Because society tells us that’s what we are to do! I know this sounds like a broken record, but this is the clear explanation. My sophomore year in college, I took a class for marketing- Consumer behavior. This class talked about how shallow everyone is. The reason we like the latest trends, because companies spend millions of dollars advertising beautiful women/men using the products! So we start to associate the product with a certain look! We are brainwashed to be attracted to all the latest trends. Ads use things like; sex, looks, status, acceptance, to push their products- this makes everyone vulnerable.

 1 Timothy 6:9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

The reason companies set unrealistic standards is obvious; because you will never attain that standard! If you are the average person (who they are typically targeting) you will not make enough money to drive a Ferrari, wear Gucci shoes. You will not look like a model, so they will try and sell you; diet plans, pills, exercise equipment, healthy food, etc…Then they will tell you what clothes is the most fashionable…not only will it break your wallet, it only fits a certain size and only looks good on a certain body type, therefore you are forced to try and reach their standards! So you are back to the diet plans, pills, blah blah blah….Then, when you realize you aren’t good enough, they will make you feel insecure, which will give them more control over your spending habits! This my friends is the power of marketing. I was told once; The key is to make people believe that they needs the product! That they can’t live without it! That they will not fit in with the others!

As I look around, I see this everywhere! This is the start of Satan’s plan! We are controlled by media, and we are conditioned by society. I was at a gathering this weekend and I was blown away how many people had Iphones (Not excluding myself, I do too). When you ask people about the Apple product, there is this arrogance, this stigma of selfish ownership! People are proud they are Iphone users, because society has made them believe that there is no other way to live! Anything else is not the social standard! Not good enough. We don’t even realize that this phone has consumed our lives. We sit on social media half the day. We post updates about everything; because apparently if you didn’t post it, it never happened!

Do we even notice this? NO! We don’t. Because our heaviest influence is not Jesus but this world! We are pressured to like what others like, we do what others do, people fear not fitting in because they fear being outcasts! Well, I don’t care, I want to be different. I want to talk about God…

I want to remind people that trends and fads are things that are not for the Christian population, if you purchase a purse, or shoes, or car…If you are buying anything for any other reason other than being practical, then you are making yourself vulnerable to sin! If you buy clothes to get attention then you are allowing Satan to manipulate you! If you are spending an entire paycheck on a pair of jeans just to look cool, you are being controlled by society!

We mustn’t focus on the worldly things- We are called to be world changers not world chasers.

1 Peter 2:10-11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

I know its hard sometimes, but if your heart is in the right place, God will bless you beyond your belief. If you are looking for a mate in life based on- social status, success, looks (must be a model), and any other naive grading scale, you will be disappointed with what you find. Find a guy/girl that seeks God…They will love you for who you are, not for who you want to be…They will love you genuinely, because God has given them the ability to love through him- For God is Love-  They will love your imperfections, because they know they aren’t perfect themselves. If you try to build a life on a shallow relationship with a fool, or a prideful individual they will only love themselves, because they are incapable of loving others…If someone does something nice for you be grateful, if someone is giving you a hand don’t take that for granted- there aren’t very many people in life like that!

Don’t think you will be happy with a person that worships this world. I can guarantee you will never be happy if you chase after world…..

Titus 2:11-13 After all, God’s saving kindness has appeared for the benefit of all people. It trains us to avoid ungodly lives filled with worldly desires so that we can live self-controlled, moral, and godly lives in this present world. At the same time we can expect what we hope for the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.