There are two illustrations that come to mind as I am inundated by the chorus of agreement that follows the Chief Voice:
- the stuff we want/"need"
- the lies we believe
#1: Does anyone else feel overwhelmed by the choruses of agreement that follow the Chief Voice of "buy, buy buy"? Bigger, better, more. We thought the wii was fun, but it’s nothing compared to the Kinect! Remember when power locks were cool? Now we have automatic doors, heated seats, split-screen DVD players, and remote start. For Pete’s sake, you can now get your sunglasses polarized, HD, built from bomb-proof Grilamid 8, with Prismatic Polycarbonate lenses. I’m not even kidding.
And then what happens when you don't have what is expected? Don't get me started on the pity I receive for the fact that my three children share a room - what unnameable torture!!
Does it ever feel like you are being followed by the Other Voices saying, "Keep it up, keep it up! You couldn’t have a better plan than that, Chief!" or "Hear him, hear him. That’s our Chief. You can depend on what he says. He’s telling you the truth, he is."
Which leads to #2: Is that Chief Voice telling us the truth? Hmmm, that’s a good question, if I do say so myself. I’ve picked on "stuff" as my first example – but we believe lies about so many things – especially ourselves. And once again, as soon as the Chief Voice sells us a lie, there are 50 other lies right behind it in the chorus. Lies encourage each other and multiply like rabbits.
- My friend doesn’t care about me. "No, she doesn’t! Did you see that look on her face? Did you notice how she didn’t even TRY to help you out? Can you believe how long it’s been since SHE called ME? I’m always the one who has to make the first move. And after all those times I’ve overlooked what she does to me! That’s right, that’s right – you’ve got it! She doesn’t care at all! Couldn’t have said it better or truer myself!"
- I’m just not good enough. "Nope, no way, not a chance! I can’t believe you said that, and don’t even get me started on your nose, your hair, your butt. You should eat less, exercise more, talk less, talk more, read more, pray more, volunteer more, be more patient with your kids, be less competitive, be more competitive, work less, work more, try harder, don’t try so hard… And definitely, don’t tell anyone about THAT! They would NEVER give you chance if they knew…"
If you think the chorus of lies does make sense, let me point out an example from the end of the chapter which shows the fever pitch of insanity that can be reached: the Chief Voice realizes, "Why, bless me, if I haven’t gone and left out the whole point." And good grief if the voices don’t just encourage that too: "That you have, that you have," roared the Other Voices with great enthusiasm. "No one couldn’t have left it out cleaner and better. Keep it up, Chief, keep it up."
Beware the voices!
What is the Chief Voice saying to you? What never-ending chorus do you fight for the truth?
Garrett -- Another brilliant post. How thoroughly you have hit the nail on the head. That you have! No one could have hit it more square on than you. (Just Kidding)
ReplyDeleteI all seriousness, the voice materialism is incredible. I could list three examples of things people have recently told Ashley and I we need. Within minutes Ashley and I were convinced. We drove home feeling sorry for ourselves. It wasn't until later that we realized...WE DIDN'T WANT THOSE THINGS! We like what we have! Amazing how easy it was for us to believe we were lacking.
I continually find it amazing that I can believe two diametrically opposed "voices" at the same time. "You work too hard. You don't work hard enough. You try too hard. You don't try hard enough." The enemy doesn't care so much which lies he gets us to believe, but just that they paralyze us.
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