Tuesday, April 29, 2008

It says one hundred percent guaranteed, you moron!

Some thoughts that potentially seem unrelated, but not to my small brain.

I want to talk about signs. I know ... "Signs, signs, everywhere signs, etc."

This 1st sign I saw at a local eatery, the Flying Fish. I thought it was a cute way of saying, "Control your young."

This is an example of a good sign, cute, yet effective.

This 2nd sign got my ire up. I saw the sign and thought, "Sweet, color copies. 29 cents? What a bargain. That sounds like a bargain for me."

Well, the check out gal charged me more. I was like, "Hey, do this, don't do that can't you read the sign?" She was like, "Well, that's only for 100 or more copies." I was like, "Really." She was like, "Really, go read the fine print."

I read the fine print; she was right. I was mad. She was uneasy when I took a picture of the sign.

3rd sign ... Back in the day we would frequent Blockbuster video. We were among the many duped into thinking that "NO LATE FEES" meant ... wait for it ... that there were no fees for lateness. Not so much. After a week, they charged me the price of the movie, which was refunded minus a "restocking" fee. I asked, "Isn't that a fee you charged me because the movie was late, making it a "late fee"?

The Attorney General of Texas had to intervene in their shenanigans. We do Netflix.

4th sign ... It's not the first time I've been angered by a misleading sign (my take at least). There's a pizza joint in town that violated its own sign. It said, "If we fail to open your box to show you your pizza, it's FREE." (I didn't have my camera phone back then.)

They handed me my pizza and said, "Thank you, come again." I walked through the door and then immediately walked back in. I said, "Your sign says ..." and read it to him, like he was a child. He was like, "Well, I can open it for you now if you'd like." I appreciated the thought, but would have appreciated more the free pizza. No joy. I've not been back.

Ever been tempted without knowing "the fine print" of a deal? I was watching the Little Mavericks the other night and the lady in the FORD commercial told me, "You can take home a new Ford F-150 for just $189 a month. That's right, just $189 a month." Since I'd been truck watching for about 4 years now, I thought, "Wow! That's really a great deal, assuming you're not making those payments for 30 years."

I have a big plasma TV and I was watching the game in HD, but I noticed something blurry at the bottom of the screen. I got off the couch and read the fine print: "first three payments are $189 on the truck then payments resume to normal amount based on interest rate, term, and down payment." Not cool!

I think this is unethical, but the "Seeker" movement seems to be of that same ilk. There is no "fine print" of the Bible, yet there are many facts kept from the potential "customer" in order to get him/her into the church or down an aisle, etc.

Often so-called "Gospel" presentations will promise things the Gospel does not (happiness, better marriages, obedient children, etc.). But the reality is that coming to Jesus means so much more than (hell)fire insurance.

It means being right with God and one of His children, the consequence of which is no longer being right with the world or the children of the devil. (N.B. Philippians 1:29)

I said all that to say this ... don't be afraid to share the fullness of what it means to be a Christian. We're not justified by works, but there is an expectation of God's people to serve for His honor and glory.

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