Sneaky Food, Bacon Slides, and Melted Shoes

This afternoon I had the opportunity to hit up the Woodland Mall with a few of my friends. Despite the fact that I wasn't really hungry at the time, my first thought as I stepped through the door was "Wow, it smells really good in here. I want to buy something to eat from the conveniently located food vendors right in front of me." While I am still shocked by the 0.8 seconds it took me to want to buy something that I had absolutely no need for, I was luckily reminded of my purpose for our visit and did not fall prey to those tricksters. The Persuaders shed light on sellers who try to "give people what they want" which I think could more accurately be stated "give people clear access to what they didn't even realize they wanted." I had never realized how intentional malls are about appealing to all of our senses. I wanted to taste what I smelled, touch what looked interesting, and buy whatever "awesome" thing looked cool at the moment. (Don't worry, I resisted.)

While malls have never really felt "natural" to me, I was amused to see all of the greenery and trees and imitation sunlight that Pahl referred to in his work. He was totally right! What was most interesting to me regarding this topic, however, was the little playground towards the center of the mall that was seriously filled to the max with kids and their parents. Perhaps it was just the Minnesotan coming out in me, but I was dumbfounded that despite the fact that it was almost 60 degrees and sunny outside in the middle of January, these people were perfectly content playing on bacon-shaped slides in the mall rather than a real life-sized playground outside in the fresh air.

While I (barely) resisted the food, I must admit that I did buy a pair of tennis shoes. In my defense, I have been wearing a pair that kind of got melted at a campfire in November. (my feet were just so cold... whoops.) I checked out a few stores and found a pair on-sale at Payless, and they are purple too!!

I am so guilty of often devoting my loyalty to "stuff" rather than to God. Even more disheartening is the fact that I usually don't even realize I am doing it. However, this class is making it a lot easier for me to see the motivations behind my actions. I pray that God truly reshapes the whole of my imagination for the good of His Kingdom.