We Care Too Much About the Wrong Things

I feel the compelling urge to go on a brief rant this morning, something that is not typical of me. Rarely do the talking heads on CNN or Fox News get me stirred up about politics or the economy. However, a few recent new stories compel me to make the following claim:

As a general rule, we care too much about the wrong things.

Perhaps you saw  the early release of the godaddy.com Super Bowl commercial. It featured a lost puppy that finally finds its way home, only to be sold to someone else. Public outcry caused Go Daddy to pull the commercial from the Super Bowl, I presume because it was insensitive to puppies and their owners.

For years now, Go Daddy has been running sexually explicit ads that objectify women. Where was the public outcry demanding that Go Daddy pull those ads? It didn’t happen. Do we truly care more about protecting puppies than honoring the women in our culture?

Sure, Go Daddy may have been strategic in this campaign, benefiting from all the free publicity they’ve gotten in the last few days. But still, it is a poor reflection on our culture and what we declare is worth fighting for. 

We care too much about the wrong things.

We live in a world where a successful NFL quarterback can be banned from the game for years because he abused and mistreated his dogs. Yet professional athletes who are convicted of violent crimes against their wives and girlfriends get nothing but slaps on their wrists. The Ray Rice case might reflect a shift in thinking, but the standard has been terrible for many years.

Some might argue that defending our pets requires more attention because they are unable to defend themselves. Unlike an abused woman, we have to speak out for the plight of animals who don’t have a voice of their own.  

If that is the case, then why hasn’t there been more attention given to recent developments in the defense of unborn life? While standing on the biggest platform he has (The State of the Union Address), our Commander in Chief declared that he was unwilling to defend unborn human life even after it has been growing in a mother’s womb for 20 weeks. He declared his commitment to a policy that enables our culture to take life at the same developmental stage that I have seen committed nurses fighting for in the NICU. Why isn’t anyone talking about this? Oh yeah, we’re too busy discussing the air pressure in a football.

We care too much about the wrong things.

I pray the day will come when people’s hearts will break for the things that break God’s heart; a day when we will put more emotional energy into defending the value and dignity of people than on things that don’t ultimately matter.

Christ cares about puppies, but He gave His life to rescue humanity. May we give our lives (and emotion and energy) to do the same. 

 Adapted from infoforfamilies.com, a ministry founded by Barrett and Jenifer Johnson. After serving in the local church for 25 years, Barrett and Jenifer launched INFO for Families as a ministry designed to encourage people through speaking, personal coaching and resource development. Barrett served for 15 years in youth ministry before serving for 8 years as the Family Minister at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Atlanta, one of the largest churches in the South. He has degrees from Texas A&M University and Southwestern Seminary, but he and Jenifer have received their best education through the no-holds-barred nature of everyday family life.