Friday, April 24, 2009

The Cleveland Cavaliers Tell the Truth

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I prefer words over image but in the case of the Cleveland Cavaliers recent video shoot their pictures are worth a thousand words about our present culture. I watched this video clip with my children this week and laughed, and then I lamented about the truth it tells about us. Watch the clip for yourself and then return to this post and think about the truth it portrays.

Cleveland Cavaliers Playoff Spoof

The video is a spoof of a Heineken commercial that is presently aired on T.V. But whereas the beer commercial pits male beer drinkers against females with a shoe fetish. The Cavaliers spoof is a more telling tale of American culture. The women in the spoof are rightly ecstatic about the fact that one of them has been engaged to be married. The engagement being a picture of a man's commitment to lead this woman into the covenant bond of marriage. Marriage is a mystery but it is God's doing that it may be a theater for the display of his covenant love toward his church through Christ Jesus (Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:22-32). Therefore the picture of their excitement over the engagement is a picture of the church who rejoices over the new covenant love God displays toward her in making her his own forever by cleansing her and promising to glorify her.

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all the peoples. - Psalm 96:1-3

However their delight expressed in shouting is soon drowned out by the shouting and screaming coming from the locker room over new shoes for the playoffs. Labron James and teammates are then pictured in a frenzied joy over having received new shoes. Suddenly the glory of man and his crowning shoes have overcome the women's joy. But this to is a picture of man exalting himself with his pride of life and possessions that define him in the earth. It is a clever and funny spoof, but it is also a clear picture of our culture. We are living in the joy of the glory of man and whatever he can attain for himself to make more of himself. Therefore we are forfieting true joy by shunning the Lord of Glory and the giving of himself to us for the true satisfaction of our souls.

The Cavaliers are making themselves ready to accomplish their goal of winning by putting on new shoes. The church is the bride of Christ who is to be continually making herself ready a bride awaiting the appearing of her bridegroom. She should be rejoicing in his covnenat love toward her in worship while living before him ever ready for his appearing through repentance and faith. While she delights in him he will give her the desires of her heart, and those desires being his desires will never fade, rust or rot. Does the church look like our culture or does she look like a bride that loves only her husband and therefore is effecting culture?

No comments: