By Ann Mann
When I was growing up, my parents had a weakness. It wasn’t chocolate or potato chips. It was television commercials.
If someone on TV enthusiastically declared, “But wait… there’s more!” my parents were already reaching for the telephone.
Over the years our house accumulated all sorts of treasures. There were Ginsu knives that could allegedly cut through a tomato and then a soda can without losing their edge. One Christmas, my brother, sister, and I each received a Ginsu knife. I suspect there must have been one of those “buy one, get three free” offers.
Years later, after my parents had passed away, my siblings and I were cleaning out the house when we discovered a rotisserie chicken cooker. Still in the box. Never opened.
Apparently, somewhere along the way, life got busy enough that cooking a restaurant-quality chicken at home didn’t seem nearly as exciting as it had at two o’clock in the morning while watching television.
At the time, I laughed. Then social media happened. Now I am the one clicking on advertisements. Recently an ad appeared promising relief for eczema. The miracle ingredient? Beef tallow. Beef tallow!
Mixed with honey and a few other ingredients, it supposedly calms irritated skin. Mine arrives later this week. Whether it works or not remains to be seen, but I confess, I bought it. Hook, line, and sinker.
Then there was the supplement that promised to suppress my appetite while simultaneously making my hair thicker and my fingernails stronger. It accomplished none of the above.
Yet every advertisement manages to whisper the same message: This time will be different.
The marketers understand something about human nature. They know we long for easy answers. We want the shortcut, the painless solution, the overnight transformation. They don’t really sell products nearly as much as they sell hope.
The older I get, however, the more I realize that most worthwhile things simply don’t happen overnight. Healthy relationships require forgiveness. Strong bodies require discipline. Meaningful friendships require time. Character is built one choice at a time. There really aren’t many shortcuts.
Faith is no different.
Sometimes we treat our spiritual lives the way we treat miracle creams. We read a quick devotional before rushing out the door and expect it to sustain us through every challenge. We hope for instant peace, instant wisdom, instant spiritual maturity.
But faith isn’t a product we consume. Faith is a life we practice.
Jesus asked His followers, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Those words remind us that discipleship has always been more than believing the right things. It is following Christ day after day, allowing Him to shape our hearts and our lives.
When our faith begins to transform us, something changes. We don’t simply read about God, we want to worship with God’s people. We don’t merely say prayers, we begin to depend upon prayer. We don’t simply count our blessings, we thank the Giver. We don’t merely talk about loving our neighbors, we begin serving them.
None of those things happen instantly. They happen over a lifetime.
Who knows? The beef tallow cream may actually work. If it does, I’ll gladly tell you all about it. But even if it doesn’t, it has reminded me of something far more important. There may be a cream for itchy skin, but there has never been a shortcut to a transformed heart. That work belongs to God.
And unlike every advertisement I’ve ever clicked on, His promises never disappoint.
(Ann Mann is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, now serving as pastor to Barnesville First United Methodist Church. You can email her at annmann@comcast.net. Her books, “Hope for the Journey,” and “Finding Hope in the Storm” are available on Amazon.)
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