Achan at the Checkout Line
by Denise Sproul

We've been making the case that it's possible and sometimes good to plunder the Egyptians. That Achan took the accursed thing doesn't mean that we should never seek plunder. But it does mean that we should be wary of the accursed. The devil's goal is to confuse us on this issue, and to disguise the accursed things as things that are permissible for plundering. Add to that our own sinful tendencies of rationalizing which things are acceptable and it can get pretty confusing sometimes what we should do.

We spend a great deal of time in these pages arguing that women ought to be women and not try to be men. Part of what that means is that we are called to be keepers at home. So wouldn't it make sense to plunder the Egyptians in this area, to glean from them wisdom on cooking, decorating, women's issues? We all know, I presume, that those magazines for women that tell us what men really like are nothing more than eye candy and at their worst can be downright pornographic. I don't expect I need to make the case against reading Cosmo or other similar trash. But there is a 'safer' version of the same thing out there that can be a trap. We want to keep better homes, so why not Better Homes and Gardens? We want stronger families, so why not read Family Circle (and I'm not referring to ETC's column)? How could the devil sneak in the accursed thing in a chicken recipe?

In the Vision column, RC suggested that sometimes the mud is too stuck onto the pearls and that we therefore ought to leave the pearls alone. It is true that pagans can have beautiful homes, make delicious meals and organize their storage spaces just right. But what do these pagan magazines come with in addition to all these wonderful ideas? There certainly isn't a Christian worldview. It may sometimes look like it; in teaching how to cook, decorate and basically keep a home, aren't they at least being "conservative"? Yes, but that isn't the same thing as being biblical.

Some of the extras that come with those seemingly innocuous magazines and television programs are an encouragement of the "Martha mindset," acquisitiveness, and a fostering of idleness. The Martha mindset that I've written about before and confessed a tendency toward is confusing hospitality with the incessant need to perform in our homes. Sometimes this can be a performance with an audience of one (ourselves) where we lean toward perfectionism and having to have things "just so." I am mentally raising my hand in confession of this one. When we take too much pride in handling the myriad details and chores in our homes, we can be seeking a standard for our own personal satisfaction rather than doing all in serving our families as unto the Lord. For some women there is an internal push to compete with other women to be the hostess with the mostest. I'm sure any of us that have perused those women's magazines can recall such statements as., "Wow your guests with this fine cuisine," or "Leave an impression that will linger." There is a thin line between wanting to beautify the home (good) and seeking the applause of other women or trying to beat them in this area (bad).

Women's magazines also foster acquisitiveness. Why don't I have this professional stove? Why don't I have these fancy antiques in my home? Why don't we have drapes made of silk or the newest hardware to tie them back? These thoughts are encouraged because incessant exposure to these magazines teaches us to think that that which wins decorating awards or monetary prizes for cooking is "normal." And don't we have a right to what is normal? It's not unreasonable to want to trade in my black fronted stove for one that is stainless steel, is it? My drapes are okay, I guess, (or I thought they were when we got them five years ago), but who wants to look at the same old thing day after day? Isn't variety the spice of life? I'm just trying to make things attractive for my family and guests. Madame Blueberry, anyone? Then of course, there are the ads. These are professionally designed to teach us to be less than satisfied. Ads and the whole concept of "Don't I deserve what's normal?" can easily encourage us to spend more than we should, and can therefore cause financial strain in our marriages.

Idleness can also, paradoxically, be encouraged. How so? Aren't those magazines encouraging us to try this paint technique, to plan our flower gardens with that arrangement or to shop for our Spring wardrobes in this fashion? Yes, but we enjoy the pretty, glossy pictures so much that we think, "Oh, I'll just flip through it one more time to get some more ideas," or, "I worked really hard today —I'll just sit down and relax with this magazine." So we either enjoy living in this fantasy world where there are no chipped plates and no beans and weanies or we get discouraged because we think we're not that talented or can't afford that kind of upholstery or don't have time to do ALL THAT. Either way, we are inactive and don't spend time where we should. We also forget to thank God for His many blessings and the things that He has provided that are way beyond what we deserve (namely, everything we have!)

If we are wise, we will understand that the devil is not just found in Sharon Stone movies, but he lives in that which is normal, conservative, middle-class. I'm not saying to never get a recipe from Family Circle or Good Housekeeping. But we need not only to be on guard against the temptations raised in these magazines, we also ought not to be overconfident in ourselves and our ability to avoid getting sucked into worldliness. We cannot think that being aware of temptations is the same thing as defeating them. I am saying, as we always say, that our assumptions must be checked against the word of God. That's the kind of reading material in which our noses ought to be buried.