Led by God

It's raining very heavily right now and I just saw an ad on a website for Wells Fargo bank. The ad showed a mug of frothy hot chocolate. 

For a second I thought how good a mug of hot chocolate would taste. Maybe up north where rain equals cold this ad would make sense. In Florida we rarely have rainy days. We have rainy 20 minutes. Even now, near the end of September, it's still not cold. This rain will just make the air sticky and humid.

As soon as I had that thought I also thought how ridiculous it was. I wasn't desiring hot chocolate or any chocolate at all before that, and I don't need any. I've already had some chocolate today and it was plenty.

As ads go, I suppose it was successful. Well, almost. It almost made me want to get a mug of hot chocolate. But it failed in that if I had, I would've made it from what I already have at home, not gone out and used my Wells Fargo debit card to buy some and pad my savings account by taking an additional $1 from checking and adding it to savings.

See, in just the time it took me to compose this email, the rain has stopped. And I've had no hot chocolate, my own or store bought. 

What's the point of this post? That I've overcome garbage like this? Maybe. Most times. That advertising and images are powerful and suggestive? They definitely are, or at least can be. Sex sells. So does food. Two of our most basic needs/wants.

 

Romans 8:12-14 -Dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. ¹³ If you keep on following it, you will die, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds you will live. ¹⁴ All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

My sinful nature urged me to do something, but through the power of the Holy Spirit [Really, I did nothing. I just let God take care of it.] I turned from it. I was led by the Spirit of God, which is proof that I am a child of God.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!