Page 4 - MyFaith Mag March 2017 flipbuilder

editorial

OUR
CONTRIBUTORS

Waldo Malan EDITOR
mediadirector@myriver.com

FROM THE Jayson Duncan GRAPHIC DESIGNER
EDITOR graphics3@myriver.com

I was wondering the other day about how different our life experience Johandré J.v. Rensburg GRAPHIC DESIGNER
would have been had we not been subjected to the consequences of graphics1@myriver.com
sin. The Bible retells the story of man’s transgression through disobedi-
ence and the subsequent closing of the garden. But what if it never Rudi le Roux GRAPHIC DESIGNER
happened? graphics2@myriver.com

For one thing we would still be frolicking naked in a lush garden, play- Anadore Kenny ONLINE PUBLISHING
ing with lions and eagles, fed by God, walking with God, doing no work social@myriver.com
that would break a sweat and have all our children delivered pain-free.
Sounds like paradise, doesn’t it? Compare this idyllic picture with your Pat Kruger ADVERTISING
every day life and the divide becomes a chasm that is impossible to advertise@myriver.com
span. A while back I watched the film “2012”, and in it were some seri-
ous craters, fissures and tears in the crust of earth to remind me just how Publishers RIVER MEDIA
far these two worlds are separated from one another. Address: P/Bag X9027 • East London
5200 • South Africa +27(0)43 711 4800
A striving after success drives the world we live in, and the culture of
the day demands that we satisfy those needs. Most people go to work, WEBSITE
not because they would love to go, but because they are driven there myfaithmag.com
by fear. This fear finds its expression in relevant questions such as, “Will I
have enough money to pay the bills?” and also in the more superficial, FACEBOOK
“I need a bigger car and better house.” Fear of not being able to pro- facebook.com/myfaithmag
vide for our families will drive us to work, and once there, to succumb to
the demands that “success” places on us. TWITTER
twitter.com/myfaithmag
This culture is supported and perpetuated by the media around us –
newspapers, television, billboards, flyers and peer pressure. I think of it No staff member, direct family or an advertiser and their
as a “Media Culture”. For me it refers to the constant pressure it places direct family may participate in any of
on us to have bodies that look a certain way, dress an acceptably la-
belled way, relax in a comfortable way, move itself around in fashion- MyFaith Magazine’s compititions or giveaways.
able transport, and rest itself in a suitable home. Branding has literally
become the gospel to marketers around the globe – a product without The views expressed in articles, letters, and pictures are
branding is dead in the water. the responsibility of the respective authors and are not

Branding in itself isn’t really the problem, but the associations that are necessarily those of MyFaith Magazine - the
made with it are. Some associations are obvious and in-your-face, acceptance of advertisements does not indicate
while others slip through more unobtrusively. Be it from bikini-clad la-
dies lounging on the bonnet of the latest model car or motorbike, to in- editorial endorsement
nocuous looking cartoon characters that really are demons in disguise.
The dangers of our media-saturated culture are real and we should be
aware of them and take precaution.

Our striving after success will drive us from guru to therapist and back
again; it will force us into behaviour patterns not consistent with those in
Eden; it will make us living contestants in a Fear Factor show called life.

The truth is that while the gate to Eden is shut, the road to peace and
tranquillity is still available – we read encouragement after encourage-
ment and find ourselves uplifted in the pages of a living Word. And so
it is possible for us to exchange fear for faith, and Earth for Eden (in a
manner of speaking). Let us test the things our culture holds up as nor-
mal and acceptable in the light of our conscience and faith, and let us
keep that which builds up peace and discard the seeds that produce
a harvest of dread.