Let's Make A Deal!

We all love to take chances, don’t we? Well, I should say that we all love to take chances as long as there is no perceived danger to us. The problem is that we cannot always see the outright danger that exists.

For instance, many people love to go to the casinos and gamble a little of their money on the slots or blackjack. That doesn’t seem too bad, does it? We go down there, spend a little money (always a little more than we had originally planned) and then we go home, after losing what we gambled, knowing we will repeat that scenario again the next week.

Why do we do that? Because we enjoy taking a risk as long as we think there is going to be a really neat payoff in the end. And we do win sometimes, don’t we? But sometimes it sneaks up behind us and gets the best of us, as does all sin when we play with it.

I heard a story once that I pray isn’t true. There was a lady and her husband playing the slots side by side one afternoon when he keeled over with an apparent heart attack and fell on the floor. Within seconds, the paramedics were there working on him. And what was she doing during all this time? After pushing her husband out of the way, she straddled both machines and continued gambling while the medics tried to revive him to no avail.

This message is a message about what happens when we gamble; not with our money, but with our very lives.

To start with, how many of you remember the ‘LET’S MAKE A DEAL’ TV show? It was one of the most popular games shows of its day. Contestants were given some really good money or prizes, but along with each gift came a chance to gamble; gamble on turning that gift into much more, or losing it entirely.

Today, let’s borrow that basic concept and see how it applies to Christianity. And I want you to imagine something for a moment. Imagine that I have the power to offer you some really great deals.

Okay, let’s play!

The first deal I want to make with you is this: I will give you $100,000 for your car. Is there anyone in here who would turn that down? I know if somebody offered me that much money for soccer-mom car, I’d take it so fast it would make their head spin!

So, you give me your car keys and I give you $100,000 in cash. That’s a pretty good deal, isn’t it? But we can’t let that first deal rest any more than they could on TV.

I want to make another deal with you. Now, I want to offer you a million dollars for your car. But if you are willing to take it, you must do four things. You must:

- - - - give me back the $100,000

- - - - give me the keys to your car

- - - - and leave the car parked just where it is until next Sunday

- - - - wait until next Sunday to collect your million dollars

That is a lot to ask for, isn’t it? On one hand, you have $100,00 cash. You can see it. You have immediate possession of it. You don’t have to wait for it and you don’t have to do without anything to get it - - you already got it!

On the other hand, you have to go without a car for a whole week. That means you have to rely on other people to take you everywhere you want to go. You temporarily lose part of your freedom. And for what? For something that has been promised to you that you cannot see or lay your hands on yet.

Here is what you have done. You have given me your car keys and I gave you something really good and I gave it to you immediately. This was a really good offer, but then I offered you something that has the chance to be so much better.

And when I offered you the second offer, the first offer became less exciting to you, because the new offer was for so much more. Of course, the second offer had some requirements attached to it. You would have to give the first offer back. And handing back $100,000 in cash is a very hard thing to do no matter what the circumstances. You had to take a few moments to think about it, but you finally made that deal. But why did you make it? You made it because you wanted more, and no matter what we are offered, we still want more, don’t we?