Loudest Words - Buy Me PDF Print E-mail
Written by Rev. Peter Cusick   
"Are you listening to me?"  I recall one of my secretaries asking me that question--often.  It's the glazed look in the eye that is the give away.  It's the same way when I meet someone new.  They look at me and introduce themselves, "Hi, my name is Stu."   I, with absent mind, simply shake his extended hand and say, "My name is Peter."  Now the conversation begins, and I want to call him by name but realize--I wasn't listening!  What's a matter with me!  Why do I do that?

It's the many voices that I'm bombarded with; voices, words, music, sound, text message arrivals, phone calls on the land line, phone calls on my iphone, news, sportscasts, noise, noise, and more noise.  Now I have a choice.  I have to choose whom to listen to.  Do I have to hear every noise--every voice--all the time?  My brain can't process all that noise.

Ah!  I have an idea.  I'm going to listen to the loudest words--that's easiest.  I won't have to sort things out by priority, age or any such thing--I'll just listen to the loudest words I hear.  So, I've been thinking who has the loudest voice, or what are the loudest words that I am hearing?  I'm guessing in our culture it is these words:  "Buy me!"  You see, I need a newer car.  I need granite counter tops in my kitchen.  I need more T.V. programs.  Actually, come to think of it--I need a bigger T.V!  Which brings me to this conclusion--I need a bigger house for all my bigger and better things!  

So now I need to buy credit--more cards, more lines of credit to satisfy this loud voice I keep hearing--"Buy me!"  But, it is now come to me.  Perhaps the loudest voice in our culture should be told to "Shut up!" 

Apparently the average Canadian household debt has recently hit $100,879.  Mortgages account for two-thirds of that amount, the other is consumer debt.  Why are we spending so much money?  It's that loudest voice!

Think of how out of touch Jesus was.  Listen to what He said:  "And He said to them, Watch and keep yourselves from covetousness. For a man’s life is not in the abundance of the things which he possesses."  And that, is something to think about.