A few years back, Janis Joplin’s iconic song, “Mercedes Benz,” first caught my attention. The lyrics, a playful yet pointed prayer, went something like this (and you can listen to it here):
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends
So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV?
“Dialing for Dollars” is trying to find me
I wait for delivery each day until three
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV?
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town?
I’m counting on you, Lord, please don’t let me down
Prove that you love me and buy the next round
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town?
Everybody!
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
Initially, I chuckled. The song seemed like a humorous, almost absurd request to a higher power. Joplin’s plea to God for material possessions felt like a lighthearted joke.
However, revisiting this song recently, through the lens of Christian minimalism, brought a new perspective. While the comedic and satirical nature of “Mercedes Benz” remains, it now highlights some deeply ingrained, and often unchallenged, assumptions we hold about consumerism and our faith. It subtly, yet powerfully, exposes the false idols we sometimes chase in the name of progress and happiness.
Deconstructing Consumer Culture: Four False Assumptions in “Mercedes Benz”
Janis Joplin’s seemingly simple song, “Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz?”, actually uncovers several problematic beliefs about God and our consumer-driven society. Let’s break down four key false assumptions embedded within this catchy tune:
False Assumption #1: God is a Vending Machine for Material Wealth
Throughout “Mercedes Benz,” Joplin playfully implores God to bestow upon her a series of luxury items – a Mercedes Benz car, a color TV (a significant status symbol in 1970), and an extravagant night out. These were, and in many ways still are, markers of success and status in Western culture.
The underlying assumption is that if we are “good” or faithful, God’s role is to reward us with material riches. This paints a picture of God as a cosmic benefactor, dispensing wealth to the deserving. However, this “genie in a lamp” view of God directly contradicts core Christian teachings.
The Gospels present a starkly different message. Consider the encounter between Jesus and the Rich Young Man in Matthew 19:16-22. This man, seeking eternal life, is told by Jesus to keep the commandments – a foundation of righteous living. When the man claims to have upheld these, Jesus pushes further:
If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.
Matthew 19:21
Jesus’s radical call to sell possessions and give to the poor directly challenges the idea that God’s favor equates to material accumulation. The Rich Young Man, attached to his wealth, walks away saddened. This passage emphasizes that true treasure lies in spiritual riches, not earthly possessions. The pursuit of material wealth, therefore, becomes a potential obstacle to following Jesus’s path.
False Assumption #2: Keeping Up With the Joneses is a Godly Pursuit
Joplin’s lyric, “My friends all drive Porsches,” perfectly encapsulates the societal pressure of “keeping up with the Joneses.” This phenomenon, often described as “conspicuous consumption,” drives us to acquire expensive items primarily to signal our socio-economic status. We buy things not necessarily for their utility, but for their perceived value in the eyes of others.
Joplin’s satirical desire for a Mercedes Benz stems from her friends’ Porsche ownership. She jokingly implies a need to “amend” her perceived social standing by acquiring a similar status symbol. This highlights the absurdity of measuring worth through material possessions and the endless cycle of comparison and acquisition it fuels.
The Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:13-21 further illustrates the folly of this mindset. The rich fool, blessed with an abundant harvest, decides to build larger barns to hoard his wealth, planning to “relax, eat, drink, and be merry” (12:19). However, God’s response is a stark warning:
You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
Luke 12:20
This parable underscores the transient nature of material wealth and the futility of accumulating possessions for self-indulgent purposes. The pursuit of keeping up with others is ultimately a “chasing after wind,” as Ecclesiastes 4:4 eloquently states:
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Our worth is not defined by what we own compared to our neighbors. True fulfillment lies beyond the realm of material comparison.
False Assumption #3: We Deserve Material Riches as a Reward for Hard Work
In “Mercedes Benz,” Joplin’s plea includes the line, “Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.” This suggests a belief that she deserves material rewards – a Mercedes Benz, color TV, a night out – as compensation for her hard work and lack of external support. It’s the entitlement mentality that permeates consumer culture: we work, therefore we deserve to consume lavishly.
However, the Christian perspective challenges this notion of deserved wealth. While hard work is valued, the Bible emphasizes that God provides for our needs, not necessarily our wants or desires for luxury. Matthew 6:31-33 addresses this directly:
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
God’s provision is rooted in love and grace, not in a transactional system of deserved rewards. We are provided for not because we’ve earned it through labor, but because God, in his infinite love, knows and cares for our needs. Focusing on “deserving” material riches shifts our focus from God’s grace to a self-centered pursuit of entitlement.
False Assumption #4: Material Wealth is a Sign of God’s Love and Favor
Perhaps the most poignant line in “Mercedes Benz” is, “Prove that you love me and buy the next round.” This lyric reveals a dangerous assumption: that material blessings are tangible proof of God’s love. Joplin, in her satirical prayer, suggests that God’s affection can be measured by the bestowal of worldly goods.
This twisted theology, unfortunately, persists in some circles. The prosperity gospel, for instance, wrongly equates wealth and material success with God’s favor. Conversely, it implies that a lack of riches signifies God’s displeasure or absence of blessing. This is a harmful and unbiblical interpretation of God’s love.
As we’ve seen, scripture consistently refutes the idea that God’s love is contingent on material wealth. Jesus himself lived a life of simplicity and poverty. His teachings emphasize generosity, humility, and detachment from worldly possessions. John 15:9 beautifully expresses the true nature of God’s love:
[Jesus said:] As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
God’s love is unconditional and unwavering, irrespective of our financial status or material possessions. To equate wealth with divine favor is to fundamentally misunderstand the depth and breadth of God’s love for humanity. We are loved not because of what we have, but because of who we are in God’s eyes.
Rejecting False Idols: Embracing True Worth
The enduring relevance of “Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz?” lies in its ability to expose the subtle yet pervasive influence of consumer culture on our beliefs about God and ourselves. These false assumptions, ingrained by a society obsessed with material acquisition, can distort our understanding of faith and true fulfillment.
By recognizing and rejecting these consumerist falsehoods, we can begin to re-align our values with a more authentic Christian perspective. Our worth is not measured by our possessions, but by God’s immeasurable love for us. Romans 12:2 encourages this transformative mindset:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Let us strive to renew our minds, discerning God’s will and embracing a life grounded in faith, love, and generosity, rather than the fleeting allure of material possessions. The true riches lie not in a Mercedes Benz, but in a life lived in accordance with God’s purpose.
