Oh, Lifeway! Why?

I just got a copy of "The Source," the sales paper for Lifeway Christian Stores. On page three are some ideas to "honor the dads in your church with key reminders of their faith." There is a leather bookmark and a keyring shaped like a cross and then this item:


















Here's the ad copy: "Based on Jeremiah 17:7, this tire gauge is a unique way to remind the fathers in your church of God's love. Each gauge features a cross and 'Jesus' is engraved on the handle."

You know, it's one thing to sell air pressure gauges. That is fine and good. However, it is another thing altogether to sell cheap air pressure gauges and slap the name of the Creator of the Universe on it and sell it as a religious item. That act borders on tawdry. No, it doesn't border - it crosses completely over that line.

However, the tackiness of the product aside, what really bothers me is the misuse and abuse of Scripture. The copy says "Based on Jeremiah 17:7." I have to wonder what exactly is based on that Old Testament passage. Jeremiah wrote, "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."

How can a tire gauge, a flashlight or a keychain be based on this passage? I just don't think the Weeping Prophet had in mind to build in a man the confidence that his tires were properly inflated!

Jeremiah might be weeping all the more now.

Now, if Lifeway could come up with a "TYRE" gauge!!!