I ordered a new face plate for my cell the other day. Found a great deal on the web and they shipped it to me straight away. On the outside of the box (as well as the invoice) was the name of the company followed by "where Jesus is Lord." Inside, not only was my face plate, but a "The Lord is my Light" mint. For some reason I can't get the image out of my head of someone packing boxes and yelling to the back, "hey, we are out of 'Lord is my Light' mints. Where the hell are they?" :)
Inside, used as packing was shredded paper, which is great recyling--except for one problem. On one of the strips of shredded paper, you could still read the routing and account number from a check! Probably need to shred those checks the other way.
All in all, I am making a little fun, but they did a great job. I am not sure about the open proselytizing on their packaging, but have no problem with it. I don't know what it does. I am of two minds on this. On one hand, I really am fearful that some people so combine their capitalist efforts with their faith that they can't tell the two apart. That could be good, but it could also lead to "profits are up, God loves us" kind of thinking. I have seen people who combined the two have real difficulty when they had to make business decisions.
On the other hand, one of my criticisms of the "personal relationship" model is that it has allowed people to compartmentalize their lives. They have that relationship with God, but that has no impact on how they deal with other people (kind of what I think happens with GWB). So, people go to church on Sunday, but actively pursue business or other dealings that are counter to their faith.
So, with those criticisms in mind, I am glad my face plate arrived, and appreciate the mint. I would work on that shredding, however.....
2 comments:
I have to say that I would have been annoyed at the packaging. When I fly Alaska Airlines, I'm annoyed at the little card that comes with a meal, a card that has a quote from Scripture on it.
I ended a consulting deal with a company once because in a renewal contract they required me to commit to using a Christian mediation group if a conflict arose. I was already annoyed at having to listen to Christian music every time they put me on hold.
At a piano bar the other day, I got really annoyed when I recognized the hymns the pianist was playing.
My feelings about Christianity and faith are complicated and not without pain. I feel sucker punched when I'm doing business or unwinding over a beer and I'm suddenly faced with subtle or not so subtle proselytizing. I'm not looking for any regulations preventing it. But I won't do business with those companies. And I complained to the pianist.
One Christian I talked to was convinced that my reaction was "conviction" - a sign that I know God is speaking to me. I wish it were that simple - I'd rather listen to God than the pablum his people dish out with their products. Yeah, this is pet peeve.
Kathy, thanks for your thoughts. I completely understand, and wish that more conservative Christians would listen to this. Compassion and humility are lost traits, I am afraid.
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