Today's Devotional

December 13, 2002

Subject:  What's The Catch?

Psalms 36:9 - "For with thee is the fountain of life:  in thy light shall we see light." 

I know it's Christmas season, but I'm already tired of the gimmicks.  I think most of that is because it's always that way on the internet.  Every day I have to unsubscribe to about 3 or 4 "great deals" that offer me free money, merchandise or opportunities to do something like travel or win millions.  It's like the Bill Gates/AOL email that has circulated for the last couple of years.  You know, if you forward it to a million people then you get so much money for each one.  Yeah right.  How about the ones that you get where if you forward it to so many people, something good will happen to you?  All of these things have a "catch" associated with them.  They almost always include a long-term consequence for you.  Whether it's getting on an email listing so they can bombard you for the rest of your life, or eventually bilking you out of money you hadn't expected to spend, it's all about how they can hook you with misleading or often downright false statements.

Is anybody giving it to you straight these days?  Well sadly, most people aren't.  Therefore we must be discerning about everything that we do and that includes how we surf the net, what we watch and succumb to on TV and definitely how we shop.  These can be small things that make a huge impact on our lives if we are not careful about the gimmicks.  In His light we are able to see things more clearly.  It's Christmas season and many will be looking for great deals.  Be careful and take Him shopping with you.  He can save you lots of hassles and prevent lots of "catches" from devastating you.

Life is hard enough.  It's even harder if we go through it blindly.

Carlen