By Cindy Walker Burton
Three Super Bowl commercials became my instant favorites: the Budweiser Clydesdale and bald eagle ad “American Icons,” the Lay’s potato chips ad featuring a retiring farmer and his daughter called “The Last Harvest” and “There’s More to Life Than More” from the “Jesus – He Gets Us” ad campaign.
The latter impacted me greatly. If you haven’t seen it yet, please view it on Youtube. It is a relevant discussion piece amidst today’s status-saturated, more is more cultural climate.
At first blush, the ad glorifies how “more is so much more” – more toys, thrills, technology, notoriety, beauty, fashion, adventure, thrills, wealth, pleasure. It ends with a woman peacefully gazing up at the sky, then walking toward distant mountains. Next, a tag line appears: “There’s more to life than more. What if Jesus shows us how to find it?”
It’s Rockefeller’s Fault!
Some perplexing philosophical questions sprang to my mind after seeing this thought-provoking ad. When did more of everything become the measure of happiness? Why is excess equated with success? When did superabundance replace plenty? The burden of proof may lie squarely on the first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller. In the early 1900’s, a reporter asked him, “How much money is enough?” He replied, “Just a little more.”
When More is Honorable.
I believe “more is more” qualifies as honorable when its purpose is for serving Christ and others, educational goals, personal betterment, professional development, freedom, and related endeavors. Internet blogger Marvin Williams encourages these honorable mores: a more intimate relationship with God, more quality time with family and friends, and more self awareness.
Consequences.
Daniel Thews’ 2016 article “Effects of Wanting More” states five consequences related to the persistent drive to acquire more: fatigue, debt, worry, conflict, and dissatisfaction. He cites Ecclesiastes 6 verse 9: “It is better to be happy with what you have than to always want more and more. Always wanting more and more is useless. It is like trying to catch the wind.”
More to Life.
More and more power, pleasure, prestige, and privilege isn’t lasting. Jesus is everlasting. There’s more to life than more.
