Do you think that the advertising industry is only promoting products, or do their messages attempt to influence your values, lifestyle, and worldview? I spoke a lot about money, for where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also. So there is a connection between material things and spiritual things. Will an appeal to pursue material things be successful if it isn’t attached to a values and worldview connection that opens the door? I’m not opposed to you making purchases, but are you aware of the linkage between commercial appeals and the value systems that they represent?

What is your central identity marker? Most people have strong commitments for both faith and politics. In some circles these topics are avoided because they can be polarizing and divisive. Which of the two occupies the top position for you? Does your faith change to accommodate your politics, or do your politics change to accommodate your faith? If you are open to growth and change then it is reasonable to expect transitions and you should know the order of your priorities so you know what direction the changes will flow.

Can you read? This demanding skill is the first thing you learn in school because it opens the door for the acquisition of knowledge. Once you can read all recorded history, literature, and other written information is available to you. Are you easily threatened and heavily defended? This has the opposite effect of knowing how to read. It keeps you from being open to anything you don’t already know. If you can get over being easily threatened and heavily defended it will open doors for you in much the same manner as learning to read. There are things you don’t already know. Go find them.

Do you know that the Bible teaches you to judge yourself? Do you think that this applies only to examining your life for sinful behavior? What about the way you view the world; your assumptions about the way things work? Your view of the world is connected to your faith. Did you receive it as a list of doctrinal positions from your church? Have you had to alter any of your positions on these matters as a result of life experience? Do you defend your positions as an extension of your identity or do you continue to subject them to judgment?