Most consumers purchasing athletic clothes aren’t exercising in them at all; they are taking part in a fashion trend often called “athleisure”, because the aforementioned athletic clothes are often worn by people who aren’t working out. For instance, the Wall Street Journal found that sales of yoga apparel grew approximately 45% in 2013, but yoga participation that same year only grew 4.5%. In many social circles, it has already become the norm to wear athleisure clothes in everyday situations, and one could an analogous connection between a half-hearted spiritual life and the symbolic nature of portraying one’s self as active. Projection versus reality, passive facade versus beneficial behavior.

Do you love Christmas and all things that go along with it? Does it ever seem like you go way over the top with gifts, decorations, and excitement when it comes to the holiday season? Guilty, as charged. Jesus claims to be the light of the world, and in a way, this is an accurate statement! Take a look around at all the decorations on homes and trees, and say you can’t find the correlation between the two.

Have you ever experienced “friendvy”, the portmanteau of “friend” and “envy” as a way to epitomize the jealousy one feels regarding the haves of a friend versus your have nots. This can emotional, material, or stretching to the absurd such as the amount of Facebook “likes” someone has amassed. But what about when someone pulls out the latest & greatest Apple phone, and you’re left clutching what is in comparison archaic technology?