I recently read about the effectiveness of an advertising campaign that you probably have heard about.
In the annals of US advertising history, one of the most efficient slogans ever is the California milk producers’ two-word question, “Got milk?” With that phrase, the group captured almost everyone’s attention. In surveys, the slogan was recognized by more than 90 percent of the people polled.
If “Got milk?” is so good at reminding people to drink “cow juice,” perhaps we can create some two-word slogans to remind ourselves to live more godly lives. My Sunday Bible study class is going through the book of James. While we are only into the second chapter, chapter four has some great two-liners that can help us live a godly life.
- Give in! James 4:7 tells us to submit to God. Our sovereign God loves us, so why not let Him run the show? Submission to God helps us resist the devil. I love the fact that when we submit to God and resist the devil, the enemy will flee from us!
- Get close! James 4:8 reminds us of the value of drawing near to God. It’s up to us to close the gap between us and God.One old saying is that when we feel as though God is far away, guess who moved?
- Clean up! James 4:8 also reminds us to make sure our hearts are clean. That happens through confessing our sins to God. It’s about being committed to purity in speech, intention, thought and deed. We are sinners by nature and by choice, which is the reason for our separation from God. So purify the heart, because our lives reflect that which is in the heart.
- Get down! James 4:6, 10 says we need to be humble before God, which includes viewing our sin as something to weep over. We won’t strut into the presence of God, we will come to him in humility, knowing that there is no human reason he should allow us into heaven. We come to him by his grace alone, through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), trusting in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Christ.
Give in! Get close! Clean up! Get down! I believe James is getting to the point, and being very concise. These pairs of words may not look as good on a T-shirt as “Got milk?” but they sure will look good on us.
[print_link] [email_link]