I struggle with how to find other ways to help people feel worthfull. Religion seeks to deal with the whole of life. The first of our Unitarian Universalist Principles speaks of affirming the worth and dignity of every person. Our culture, primarily through the advertising industry, tells us that all needs can be met materially. We are told not only that buying things will bring us happiness, but that it is right, it is good to buy, because consuming fuels the economy.
Religious groups meet for one hour per week to consider the deeper questions.
If we want to balance this plethora of advertising with other messages, We need to incorporate this into our lives in more than one hour per week. It begs for some personal time set aside to reflect on the deeper questions. Unfortunately, the message of advertising is often, if not a lie, only part of the truth. Every child knows by the age of four the emptiness of getting something we desperately want, only to be disappointed with it an hour after we've gotten it. As the writer of Ecclesiastes knew 15 centuries ago, all the material things in the world can leave us feeling empty.