If you’ve ever watched a kid’s cereal commercials, you’ll see little leprechauns, tigers, rabbits, or other cartoonish figures hocking sugar-loaded cereal made chiefly of refined carbs. If you’ve listened closely, at the end of these commercials, you’ll also hear a familiar statement, “part of a complete breakfast.” Although not entirely false, it’s also not completely true.
Cereal manufactures came up with the slogan “part of a complete breakfast” to market their cereals as a quick and healthy alternative for busy adults. However, they soon realized it was better to sell cereals to busy moms. They pitched moms the idea that bringing up kids on their cereals would help them and their kids. After some time, they then decided to bypass the “middleman” and go directly to children. By the 1960s, cereal companies devoted almost 90% of their ad budgets to market kids. They also kept the “part of a complete breakfast” slogan.
According to the American Chemical Society, all humans need three macronutrients to survive. These three macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and cereals contain all three. However, how much and in what form these nutrients come in is where the big difference lies. Take, for instance, that a bowl of pure sugar is considered carbs. Hence, the slogan cleverly states that the cereal is “part of” a complete breakfast and not a “complete breakfast” on its own. Not surprisingly, most kid’s cereals contain an unhealthy amount of sugar, refined carbs, and empty calories, appealing more to their sense of taste than health.
This marketing ploy reminds me of how the enemy works on us. The devil will sell us something by providing some truth with some deception. He knows that it’s much easier to swallow half a lie than a whole one. So he’ll say things like, “it’s not that bad” or “it’s only this one time.” The reality, however, is that Scripture tells us there’s no such thing as a little truth. God’s word is all truth and the complete spiritual “breakfast” we need to start our day and live a healthy spiritual life.
Daily Directive:
Answer and Journal the Following
Read:
Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Pray:
Pray for the wisdom and insight to understand how to apply His word to your life.
Meditate / Make It Real:
Determine how you will make reading and studying God’s part of your “breakfast.”
Share / Show:
Share and show what you’ve learned with someone else.