Burger King tells us that we can have it our way.
McDonald’s tells us that we deserve a break today.
It has been drilled into our consciousness that the customer is always right. Because we have been so conditioned, we begin to expect every interaction to result in our satisfaction. We only consider others and their obligation to make us happy rather than our responsibility to them and even ourselves.
If our hamburger isn’t exactly what we want, we forsake the franchise and look for a suitable replacement. We learn to view the people and institutions in our lives as disposable.
If my wife isn’t satisfying me, I move on to the next woman. If my children aren’t living up to my expectations, I give up on them. If my friends don’t keep me entertained, I drop them for new ones. If my church doesn’t thrill me on a given Sunday, I look for the one with a slicker marketing program.
We have taken Ronald McDonald’s flattery too far. Sure we deserve a hot hamburger if we are paying for one, but relationships take a bit more work and commitment than a sandwich does. If we fail to realize this, we are not only going to do great harm to many people in our lives, but we will be doing great harm to ourselves as well.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 