I am most disheartened by the newest Pizza Hut commercial. Let me describe it: a man answers the door, gets his pizzas from the delivery guy and then--as soon as he closes the door--says, "Honey, the pizza guy made a mistake again and gave us three pizzas for the price of one"...or something like that. My outrage kept me from remembering the quote precisely. Why does this bother me, you may ask? The whole add is based on deception....stealing, really. The man in the commercial is rejoicing that he "pulled on over" on the delivery guy and got more pizza than he actually paid for. The thing that REALLY bothers me about this commercial is that a whole group of advertising executives had to sit around, at some point, and decide this was a great way to market a product. Then they "sold" it to the Pizza Hut corporation, who obviously liked this idea as a way to push more pizzas. Did no one, at any point, stop and think that immorality might not be the best message to convey to the buyer? I guess showcasing our culture's moral apathy is what sells these days. True, it would be boring to watch a commercial where a man stands at the door, talking to the delivery guy, and says something like: "Are you sure I have paid you enough money? I think I owe you some more." Then then delivery guy could answer: "No, we just have really great prices!" Instead, it is more exciting to glorify cheating.
Perhaps this would not bother me as much if I'd not had another encounter, recently, with our world of moral decline. A few months ago, I signed up for a website that said it was looking for "essay writers" on a variety of subjects. I filled out a lengthy application, complete with writing samples and was accepted as a "writer". Once I actually entered the site and looked at the "jobs" offered, I realized something was terribly wrong. I thought the site would contain jobs from lesser known publications, looking for fresh voices and insights. Instead, it was a glorified "pay someone to do your homework" site. The assignments--identified by numbers, not names--were obviously college level papers (some even graduate level papers). For example, I could have taken a job writing a 4-page paper on Hamlet's moral dilemmas. The pay for that particular paper was $10. Not only was I being asked to cheat for students, they wanted to pay me Third World wages for the effort. Students had actually uploaded their class notes in some cases, because the professors required reference to those notes in the assignment. The most ironic thing about the whole situation was the site's lengthy anti-plagiarism statement for its writers. Heaven help us if we would plagiarize someone's plagiarized paper!!! We would hate to be the cause of a student getting kicked out of school for cheating!!! I am not making this stuff up.
I wrote an email to the administrators of this website, sharing my distaste for what they are doing, and asking them to take my name out of their database. I heard nothing back. I did, however, recently receive a reminder e-mail from the site, telling me that I had not logged on in quite a while and they hoped I would come back soon. So much for writing a letter to change the world!!! Maybe I am alone in this, but I think that when a person receives a diploma, it should be because s/he actually worked for it and deserves it. I know, I am an idealist.
We seem to live in a world of compromise, where people make little allowances for cheating or lying. The majority of people would agree that major cover-ups (i.e. Enron and the like), embezzlement, adultery, etc. are bad things. But we are more lenient about little lies or smaller indiscretions. I maintain that if you start making small, tiny, (seemingly) insignificant compromises along the way, it is much easier to make bigger, more consequential compromises down the road. I get that from Jesus, who said that one who is faithful with little will be faithful with much. The reverse seems true as well: one who is unfaithful with little, will be unfaithful with much.
I recently "stole" two containers of hummus from Wal-mart. It was not intentional. They ended up under my purse and I didn't put them on the conveyor. I realized my treachery as I was putting my cart away, picked up my purse, and saw two un-bagged, un-purchased items. Because I was running late for something (the story of my life), I thought, "I will have to come back tomorrow". So, the next day I walked into the Wal-mart customer service department and confessed my grievous sin. The woman behind the counter was shocked that I came back. She told everyone else within earshot about the customer who came back to pay for merchandise. Apparently, it was a momentous occasion! They all responded with sentiments like: Really? You came back? What a nice surprise! This led me to believe it's quite a unique thing to come back and pay for something you accidentally stole. I am certain this has happened to other people. Maybe they didn't discover something hiding under a purse, but what about receiving too much change or realizing, after examining the receipt, that you weren't charged for an item? What a sad world we live in when people don't right their wrongs. I blame Pizza Hut!!!
This does not mean I am an exceptionally moral person. In fact, it is just the opposite. I feel within me the same tug that we all feel (if we are honest). I want to take the easy way out, to cut corners, to do what is fastest. It would be very easy for me to be the pizza guy who rejoices in his cheating. Who doesn't want something for nothing? That is our nature as humans. Yet, I have enough sense within me to fear the consequences of compromise. The world sees church leaders fall on a regular basis and it seemingly confirms their belief that "Christians are such hypocrites". I don't think Christians are hypocrites. I think Christians are human and capable of human frailties and faltering. When you start to make small compromises, it is easier to make the big ones later on. For me, returning to pay for my hummus was not an act of a "goody two-shoes" (as some of my family members call me). It was a desperate attempt to save my soul from a slipping, slopping road that I hope I never walk down.
I have a pastor friend who recently said--in discussion about the Ted Haggard scandal: "I want to live in community in such a way that I could not end up in that kind of situation without bold-faced lying...and even then, I hope I have been real enough with those around me that they would catch me, and call me on it, before I fall". We all are tempted to do what is fast, easy, and seemingly inconsequential. But little choices lead to bigger choices.
May we become honest people, moral people, people who choose to do right even when no one else is looking...otherwise, when the bigger storms come, we won't know how to make the right choices. So, if you get more pizza than you paid for, make sure to make up the difference! It may not mean that much right now, but your future will thank you for it.
Perhaps this would not bother me as much if I'd not had another encounter, recently, with our world of moral decline. A few months ago, I signed up for a website that said it was looking for "essay writers" on a variety of subjects. I filled out a lengthy application, complete with writing samples and was accepted as a "writer". Once I actually entered the site and looked at the "jobs" offered, I realized something was terribly wrong. I thought the site would contain jobs from lesser known publications, looking for fresh voices and insights. Instead, it was a glorified "pay someone to do your homework" site. The assignments--identified by numbers, not names--were obviously college level papers (some even graduate level papers). For example, I could have taken a job writing a 4-page paper on Hamlet's moral dilemmas. The pay for that particular paper was $10. Not only was I being asked to cheat for students, they wanted to pay me Third World wages for the effort. Students had actually uploaded their class notes in some cases, because the professors required reference to those notes in the assignment. The most ironic thing about the whole situation was the site's lengthy anti-plagiarism statement for its writers. Heaven help us if we would plagiarize someone's plagiarized paper!!! We would hate to be the cause of a student getting kicked out of school for cheating!!! I am not making this stuff up.
I wrote an email to the administrators of this website, sharing my distaste for what they are doing, and asking them to take my name out of their database. I heard nothing back. I did, however, recently receive a reminder e-mail from the site, telling me that I had not logged on in quite a while and they hoped I would come back soon. So much for writing a letter to change the world!!! Maybe I am alone in this, but I think that when a person receives a diploma, it should be because s/he actually worked for it and deserves it. I know, I am an idealist.
We seem to live in a world of compromise, where people make little allowances for cheating or lying. The majority of people would agree that major cover-ups (i.e. Enron and the like), embezzlement, adultery, etc. are bad things. But we are more lenient about little lies or smaller indiscretions. I maintain that if you start making small, tiny, (seemingly) insignificant compromises along the way, it is much easier to make bigger, more consequential compromises down the road. I get that from Jesus, who said that one who is faithful with little will be faithful with much. The reverse seems true as well: one who is unfaithful with little, will be unfaithful with much.
I recently "stole" two containers of hummus from Wal-mart. It was not intentional. They ended up under my purse and I didn't put them on the conveyor. I realized my treachery as I was putting my cart away, picked up my purse, and saw two un-bagged, un-purchased items. Because I was running late for something (the story of my life), I thought, "I will have to come back tomorrow". So, the next day I walked into the Wal-mart customer service department and confessed my grievous sin. The woman behind the counter was shocked that I came back. She told everyone else within earshot about the customer who came back to pay for merchandise. Apparently, it was a momentous occasion! They all responded with sentiments like: Really? You came back? What a nice surprise! This led me to believe it's quite a unique thing to come back and pay for something you accidentally stole. I am certain this has happened to other people. Maybe they didn't discover something hiding under a purse, but what about receiving too much change or realizing, after examining the receipt, that you weren't charged for an item? What a sad world we live in when people don't right their wrongs. I blame Pizza Hut!!!
This does not mean I am an exceptionally moral person. In fact, it is just the opposite. I feel within me the same tug that we all feel (if we are honest). I want to take the easy way out, to cut corners, to do what is fastest. It would be very easy for me to be the pizza guy who rejoices in his cheating. Who doesn't want something for nothing? That is our nature as humans. Yet, I have enough sense within me to fear the consequences of compromise. The world sees church leaders fall on a regular basis and it seemingly confirms their belief that "Christians are such hypocrites". I don't think Christians are hypocrites. I think Christians are human and capable of human frailties and faltering. When you start to make small compromises, it is easier to make the big ones later on. For me, returning to pay for my hummus was not an act of a "goody two-shoes" (as some of my family members call me). It was a desperate attempt to save my soul from a slipping, slopping road that I hope I never walk down.
I have a pastor friend who recently said--in discussion about the Ted Haggard scandal: "I want to live in community in such a way that I could not end up in that kind of situation without bold-faced lying...and even then, I hope I have been real enough with those around me that they would catch me, and call me on it, before I fall". We all are tempted to do what is fast, easy, and seemingly inconsequential. But little choices lead to bigger choices.
May we become honest people, moral people, people who choose to do right even when no one else is looking...otherwise, when the bigger storms come, we won't know how to make the right choices. So, if you get more pizza than you paid for, make sure to make up the difference! It may not mean that much right now, but your future will thank you for it.
1 comment:
Hey, I did a random search for something and your blog came up. I have been reading through it, and I happened upon this post. It convicted me to be more honest in my life, even with the so-called 'little white lies', so thanks for this post, and God bless you!
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