Branding and advertising is powerful and unavoidable. When shopping we all have a huge amount of choice, and this gives us large scope for individuality and personalisation. That which we buy says something about ourselves. Unsurprisingly, this does not exclude shower gel or body wash. This sounds strange, but if you're a guy you'll know that a manly and strong Original Source gives off an entirely different message than Tesco's own brand. I came across one shower gel which used a slogan that got me thinking:

"Cleanliness is essential when godliness is improbable."

Upon a glance, this seemed like a harmless quip or just a simple sentence of marketing rhetoric. However, I began to ponder more deeply and tried to consider what underlying message was being communicated, even if only implicitly.

One observation is that this particular shower gel company implores us to focus more upon our external and outward appearance (being "clean"), and focus less on our internal state of condition (being "godly"). "Don't bother trying to be Godly, just make sure you look good!" Implicit also in this slogan is the notion that godliness is too difficult or unlikely to be accomplished, and so instead effort should be directed towards how we look on the outside.

I wonder, is this slogan a microcosm? Does it reveal more about the prevailing worldviews of our culture than we would like to admit?

The truth is, to focus on our outward appearance and to tend less our internal state is a powerful and relentless message that bombards us whichever direction we turn. In contrast to this come the teachings of Jesus. He cares more, first and foremost, about what is on the inside.