Previous page | Main ALOVE site Archive   The Voices in Your Head ... : back to culture page    Tell us your thoughts on this article in our connect section ... ALOVE takes a listen to the voices of culture, and asks what they are really trying to say to us. Who are the people living inside your head? They come from all over the place, assault the senses from every conceivable angle, worm their way into the inner recesses of your mind and make a home there. Then they whisper sweet nothings into your ear, but from the inside. I am not talking about aliens beaming down instructions from the Mothership that is hovering in Earth’s orbit. If you believe you are receiving these types of messages, you should seek immediate help! Rather, I am talking about the whispers of the world, the messages that endeavour to tell us who we should be; what we should do; how we should think and feel, and what we should buy. Everywhere you go the fear-inducing message is being broadcast that you are simply not satisfactory. If only you had better breath, clearer skin, more hair, less hair, a better car, a better vocabulary, a higher-paying job, a hipper taste in music, a hotter love life, the newest game system, and just nicer stuff in general…well, you would have a more fulfilling, and above all more comfortable life. And your personal comfort is the highest good there is. These insidious messages are surrounded by entertainment that is designed to help you “escape.” Escape from what? The world of ‘got-to-be-better’ that has been created for you? You are being sold a reality in which you are absolutely the most important person, but you are also in need of constant improvement at a “reasonable” monthly cost. Even if you were to cut off the cable, ditch the computer, and swear off newspapers, you still wouldn’t completely escape these whispers, because they have become embedded in our culture. Almost everyone has bought into these messages to a greater or lesser extent, and they are passed along very effectively from person to person. This is the gospel being proclaimed in every high school, every mall and high street, nearly everywhere people get together. We have become so accustomed to the voices in our heads that we don’t even hear them when their words are coming out of our own mouths. So how do we silence the voices? The first step is to wake up from the sleep of comfort. I have a very comfy chair in my living room. As soon as I sit down in it, I am in danger of falling asleep. The goal of our consumer society is similar. Get us to sit down, get comfortable with all the things we possess and dream of all the things we would like to buy, while visions of celebrities dance in our heads. All the while people in our world are suffering horribly, injustice is going unchecked, the environment is being destroyed, and we are learning day by day to look for our fulfillment everywhere else but in God. I love sleeping in my chair, but I’d rather not be snoozing comfortably if the living room around me is going up in flames. We need to stop looking first to our own comfort and consider the needs of others before the wants of yourself. Hold off buying that next luxury item and use the money instead to bless children who do not get to eat on a regular basis. Write down how much you spend in an average month, and how much of that is on entertainment or comforts. Can you get by with less? Because millions of others in this world could possibly get by with a little more. If we are willing to make ourselves uncomfortable we are more likely to awaken to the reality that this world does not revolve around us, and that we have an active responsibility to care for those who are hurting and dying. Finally, if you want the voices in your head to be silenced you will need to fill your mind with something else. As Bob Dylan said, “You gotta serve somebody.” So fill your mind with the voice of Jesus. Start each day by reading his words from Scripture, and let those words speak all day into who you have been created to be. God is not trying to sell you anything. His life is sheer gift, and it is more than fulfilling. You will find that once you begin listening to the voice of Christ, all those other voices will sound utterly hollow in comparison. : back to top : back to culture page Youthwork - The Partnership ... ALOVE, Youthwork Magazine, Youth For Christ, Spring Harvest and Oasis are working together to equip and resource the Church for effective youth work and ministry.