If manufacturers depended on me to watch their commercials and buy their products—they would go broke. I ignore commercials. I simply don’t notice them, either in printed form or on television.

When I need something, I go to a local store and buy it. Just it. I’m a big believer in supporting local businesses. And I hate shopping. I’m not one to wander through stores going “ooh” and “aw” and deciding that I need something because it is attractively packaged.

Conversely, I have a friend who is a sucker for commercials. She simply has to have everything advertised as “new” and “improved” including toothpaste.  She has an unopened box on her bathroom shelf. Details on the box shout how exceptional it is. It declares that it will whiten teeth, repair enamel, improve gum health, and stand on its head and play brass instruments. I may have added the last part.

The point is—the toothpaste is on the shelf. It is available. Yet my friend has not opened it. Her teeth are still discolored from drinking copious amounts of coffee and tea. She complains that her teeth hurt when she eats ice cream. She complained this morning that her gums bled when she brushed her teeth. Yet the new, improved, exceptional toothpaste sits on her shelf unopened. The toothpaste may work all the miracles it advertises—but it has to be opened.

When my aunt Edris died she left me her colorful family Bible. It sat on the coffee table in the living room when I still lived at home. No one ever opened it. We were being raised as atheists. The Bible maintained its focal point in the family room only because the pictures on the cover were colorful and beautiful. I know now what I didn’t know then. The answer to every troubling question people face is in that book. But it must be opened.

Lonely? Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Tempted? Resist the devil and he will flee. Fighting fear? Jesus says, “Do not fear. Do not worry. God takes care of the birds, animals, and flowers—He will take care of you. Problems in a relationship? Women are instructed to revere their husbands and husbands are instructed to love their wives as Jesus loved the church. Jesus died for the church. A relationship with that much love will not fail. The Bible guarantees that a three-fold cord is not easily broken. When Jesus is in the marriage equation it always comes up with the right answer.

If you are looking for answers, they are in the Bible. But you have to open it. Don’t wait for it to stand on its head and play a trombone.

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