The sexy idol on a pole
It was a small naked woman on a pole.
She represented the power of the female … sex … abundance … wealth. …
And her influence eventually caused the downfall of a nation.
You probably didn’t come here for a Sunday school lesson, but here’s the short version: When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, second on the list was, “No graven images.”
Not adultery, not murder. Right after, “No other gods before me” was, “No graven images.”
God’s infinite goodness and power, his eternal presence, could not be captured in a man-made depiction. So, no images.
That included images of rival idols for Israel’s heart. Enter the Canaanite deities. All of Israel’s neighbors worshiped them. Baal, El, Asherah and others.
Asherah is the one we discuss here. She was often depicted naked. The Bible implies that her idols were set up to be worshiped in “high places,” possibly near trees considered sacred, and that temple prostitution may have been employed.
Powerfully seductive images that led Israel away from worship of the true God. Israel’s history can be seen as a long slide away from a loving, invisible God to pursue what people thought these images could give them: security, pleasure, wealth, etc.
“Judean pillar figurines” exist throughout the former Israelite kingdoms. The image above was rights-free, so that is what I am using. But you can see many more, often voluptuous and seductive.
Funny thing: After Israel fell and was exiled, the figurines disappear from the archaeological record.
Anyway. Lucky for us, we modern, scientifically minded people would not allow an influencer to use sex in such a way.
Well, I mean, at least we don’t use poles anymore.
Image is influence
Maybe you don’t spend a lot of time on TikTok or YouTube. But I suspect you, like me, are still getting influenced. How much of your news do you get through video? Someone chose to depict those images in the way you received them–and that impacted if you received them negatively or positively.
And perhaps you spend time hoping your organization will go viral. Why would you want that if you weren’t noticing the influence of viral sharing in your life?
I work with a lot of teens. My observation is that the smart ones are aware when a movie or film is pushing an agenda. But the agendas baked in as assumptions? They go unnoticed.
A silly example I’ve used here before: The cult teen sitcom from the ’90s, Saved by the Bell, featured background characters who were nerds. Over-the-top glasses, pocket protectors and unfashionable clothing were part of the depiction. They were meant to represent the unpopular classmates.
Except they were actually beautiful. One of them was Tori Spelling, who went on to 90210 fame.
If you really need me to spell it out: A generation grew up believing that in high school even the nerds were supposed to be “Hollywood beautiful” and to spend every night going out on dates with their significant other.
And I promise you: Teens I’ve served paid the price for believing that. It has only gotten worse now that the video influence has gone from TV to pocket device teens can view privately all night long.
What does this have to do with my business?
I wanted all of the above to be a cautionary tale for you. I think there are two lessons.
None of us are above the influence. Eventually, the power of social media-plus-video shapes how we think and what we believe about the world around us. Israel wasn’t immune, my teens weren’t immune, you aren’t immune. We need to be wary of how we let it shape us.
The good news is that Gen Z is interested in actively fighting it–while still under the influence. TikTok “de-influencers” are encouraging Gen Z to buy less. They are calling out hypocritical influencers who just hawk goods for cash, and they are calling out hyper-consumerism in general. (But note: The only reason we are talking about this is because de-influencers went viral–so they could influence!)
I see amazing opportunities for businesses who avoid connections to hypocrisy and instead focus on taking care of local customers.
Who cares if Kim Kardashian visits your restaurant or car dealership? What about a grandma who shares a picture of your establishment and brags on you to her followers, mainly church friends? What about a 9-to-5 employee who texts his buddies, all of whom are your dream target customers? What about a mom who posts a public thank-you to your employee for helping take care of her kids when she visited?
Public relations talks about paid media vs. earned media. Ads get you in the media, but only because you paid for it. A news story talking about you? That’s earned.
Society is getting wise to the fact that mega-influencers can be just paid media. And that will make it less and less successful.
But that grandma or homeschool mom? Those posts are authentic. Smaller, but more impactful.
How can you pay attention to each and every client in a way that encourages them to share you with their world?
It goes beyond QR codes on the table asking for a review, or a selfie-station with a suggested hashtag.
It’s about good, old-fashioned customer treatment.
If your internal meetings and communications focused on approaching each and every customer with that mindset, we’d set the world on fire.
I don’t care how many idols (on poles of any kind) are against you.