Something for Nothing
Grocery shopping on a Friday afternoon (4:30!) is never a good idea. I know this. I've said it before. But it didn't stop me. I had at least 30 minutes to kill and nothing to cook for dinner.
The parking lot was ridiculously full. In the 12 years I've been shopping at this store, I've never had to park so far away. So, I thanked God for my health and hoofed it across the now seemingly gigantic lot.
Once inside the first set of doors, I'm shocked to see only five shopping carts and two of the wheelchair carts left sitting there. Ok...the last time I saw this kind of madness there was a blizzard of epic proportions coming and everyone had to get their bread and milk. (Seriously...what do people eat during a blizzard, that you only need bread and milk??)
I take one of the last, lonely shopping carts as two more disappear ahead of me. Two left. I'm looking outside at the influx of shoppers, wondering who's going to get the last cart. (Life lesson #677 - If the cart coral is full when you pull in, BYOC...bring your own cart.)
As soon as the second set of automatic doors slide open, I'm hit with a rush of cool, smells-like-fried-chicken air. That and the annoying sound of a man's voice that my brain immediately labels "used car salesman type" (sorry to be so cliché.) There's a wobbly, cardboard kiosk set up just two feet inside the door, with an overly-pleasant middle-aged man standing behind it, offering a FREE gift!
"Hello, young lady! Would you like to sign up for a FREE GIFT? Do you feel lucky?"
I don't know whether I was more annoyed by being called 'young lady' because I was probably within 5 years of his age (I know what flattery sounds like) or by his carnival-like recruiting style..."Step right up! Get your FREE sample of blah, blah, blah!"
I thought for a moment that I was just being cynical..."Not today." I'm certain I must have cocked one eyebrow and given him that 'are you kidding me? nothing is FREE' look. But I would soon realize that I was not alone in my cynicism.
As I wound my way between shoppers, headed toward the meat counter, I could hear him using the same, ineffective verbiage with every unsuspecting shopper that walked in. Once I was far enough away that I could no longer hear him, I rushed along, grabbing what I thought I would need for a delicious steak dinner. (Yes, I was shopping sans list...again!)
Carts were bumper-to-bumper through the meat section. Traffic jam on aisle eight. Screaming baby in check-out lane two...who could be heard literally throughout the entire store...when suddenly, a mousy voice comes on over the loud speaker. A young voice, obviously with no public address system savvy what so ever. The voice read through a script in a slow, steady, monotone.
"Can I have your attention shoppers...in just two minutes every adult shopping in the store right now will receive a free gift..." (The automated voice from the cable company has more personality than this poor soul.) "To claim your gift, please go to the back of aisle five. This is first-come, first-served, so hurry back to get your gift. You have 90 seconds."
I glanced around at the other shoppers, mulling over the chicken breast and hot dog selections. No one flinched. Not one person perked up. No one went grabbing the handlebar of their cart, turning a wheelie and zipping over to aisle five. In fact, it would appear that they didn't even hear the announcement. Hmmm. Was I crazy? Maybe I was hearing things.
Problem was, that I wanted one last item that was back in produce...and I would have to get past aisle five. I didn't want to get caught up in a frenzied crowd of screaming housewives, so I hurried past. As I did I glanced over and saw a simple card table, covered with a black cloth and two glass coffee decanters, half full of coffee, sitting on the table. It was a pitiful display. Eight, maybe nine shoppers gathered around, looking anxiously to see where the wizard of FREE GIFTS was.
I was so distracted by the scene that by the time I reached the produce section I couldn't, for the life of me, remember what I was there for. (This happens a lot past forty...young ladies, beware.) I guess that's the number one reason I shouldn't shop without a list. So, I turned the corner past floral and headed for the checkout line. Thankfully, the screaming baby was long gone.
As I was unloading the contents of my cart onto the conveyer belt, I was puzzling over the lack of interest in a FREE gift. As a culture, we are taught, 'there's no such thing as a free lunch,' 'there's always a catch' or 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.' Is it any wonder we are a nation of cynics? Pessimists?
I still don't know what the wonderful FREE gift was. Probably a sample of a kitchen cleaner. Maybe a whisk. Maybe a subscription to the Sunday paper. Who knows. But as I was standing there, taking it all in, God said, "That's the way it is with salvation. I offer FREE gift, and so few accept it. They're too worried about the 'catch' that they can't believe it."
The parking lot was ridiculously full. In the 12 years I've been shopping at this store, I've never had to park so far away. So, I thanked God for my health and hoofed it across the now seemingly gigantic lot.
Once inside the first set of doors, I'm shocked to see only five shopping carts and two of the wheelchair carts left sitting there. Ok...the last time I saw this kind of madness there was a blizzard of epic proportions coming and everyone had to get their bread and milk. (Seriously...what do people eat during a blizzard, that you only need bread and milk??)
I take one of the last, lonely shopping carts as two more disappear ahead of me. Two left. I'm looking outside at the influx of shoppers, wondering who's going to get the last cart. (Life lesson #677 - If the cart coral is full when you pull in, BYOC...bring your own cart.)
As soon as the second set of automatic doors slide open, I'm hit with a rush of cool, smells-like-fried-chicken air. That and the annoying sound of a man's voice that my brain immediately labels "used car salesman type" (sorry to be so cliché.) There's a wobbly, cardboard kiosk set up just two feet inside the door, with an overly-pleasant middle-aged man standing behind it, offering a FREE gift!
"Hello, young lady! Would you like to sign up for a FREE GIFT? Do you feel lucky?"
I don't know whether I was more annoyed by being called 'young lady' because I was probably within 5 years of his age (I know what flattery sounds like) or by his carnival-like recruiting style..."Step right up! Get your FREE sample of blah, blah, blah!"
I thought for a moment that I was just being cynical..."Not today." I'm certain I must have cocked one eyebrow and given him that 'are you kidding me? nothing is FREE' look. But I would soon realize that I was not alone in my cynicism.
As I wound my way between shoppers, headed toward the meat counter, I could hear him using the same, ineffective verbiage with every unsuspecting shopper that walked in. Once I was far enough away that I could no longer hear him, I rushed along, grabbing what I thought I would need for a delicious steak dinner. (Yes, I was shopping sans list...again!)
Carts were bumper-to-bumper through the meat section. Traffic jam on aisle eight. Screaming baby in check-out lane two...who could be heard literally throughout the entire store...when suddenly, a mousy voice comes on over the loud speaker. A young voice, obviously with no public address system savvy what so ever. The voice read through a script in a slow, steady, monotone.
"Can I have your attention shoppers...in just two minutes every adult shopping in the store right now will receive a free gift..." (The automated voice from the cable company has more personality than this poor soul.) "To claim your gift, please go to the back of aisle five. This is first-come, first-served, so hurry back to get your gift. You have 90 seconds."
I glanced around at the other shoppers, mulling over the chicken breast and hot dog selections. No one flinched. Not one person perked up. No one went grabbing the handlebar of their cart, turning a wheelie and zipping over to aisle five. In fact, it would appear that they didn't even hear the announcement. Hmmm. Was I crazy? Maybe I was hearing things.
Problem was, that I wanted one last item that was back in produce...and I would have to get past aisle five. I didn't want to get caught up in a frenzied crowd of screaming housewives, so I hurried past. As I did I glanced over and saw a simple card table, covered with a black cloth and two glass coffee decanters, half full of coffee, sitting on the table. It was a pitiful display. Eight, maybe nine shoppers gathered around, looking anxiously to see where the wizard of FREE GIFTS was.
I was so distracted by the scene that by the time I reached the produce section I couldn't, for the life of me, remember what I was there for. (This happens a lot past forty...young ladies, beware.) I guess that's the number one reason I shouldn't shop without a list. So, I turned the corner past floral and headed for the checkout line. Thankfully, the screaming baby was long gone.
As I was unloading the contents of my cart onto the conveyer belt, I was puzzling over the lack of interest in a FREE gift. As a culture, we are taught, 'there's no such thing as a free lunch,' 'there's always a catch' or 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.' Is it any wonder we are a nation of cynics? Pessimists?
I still don't know what the wonderful FREE gift was. Probably a sample of a kitchen cleaner. Maybe a whisk. Maybe a subscription to the Sunday paper. Who knows. But as I was standing there, taking it all in, God said, "That's the way it is with salvation. I offer FREE gift, and so few accept it. They're too worried about the 'catch' that they can't believe it."
Wow. That is so true.
I've talked to many people who think the 'catch' is that they have to be good. Well, folks...the truth is, we can never be good enough. God knows that. That's why He just offers the gift and all we have to do is step right up and take hold of it. 1 Timothy 6:12 instructs us to take hold of the eternal life to which [we] were called.
It seems so simple to those of us that already believe. We can't understand why some people walk around, still mulling over chicken breasts and hot dogs...when there's a FREE GIFT waiting for them in aisle five.
There's a world of people, pardon the pun, going to Hell in a shopping basket, because they just can't believe that Someone was willing to pay the price for the gift of salvation.
Maybe we need to change the presentation...maybe we need to get more excited and stop trying to share the good news in a boring monotone. It is something to get excited about.
I've talked to many people who think the 'catch' is that they have to be good. Well, folks...the truth is, we can never be good enough. God knows that. That's why He just offers the gift and all we have to do is step right up and take hold of it. 1 Timothy 6:12 instructs us to take hold of the eternal life to which [we] were called.
It seems so simple to those of us that already believe. We can't understand why some people walk around, still mulling over chicken breasts and hot dogs...when there's a FREE GIFT waiting for them in aisle five.
There's a world of people, pardon the pun, going to Hell in a shopping basket, because they just can't believe that Someone was willing to pay the price for the gift of salvation.
Maybe we need to change the presentation...maybe we need to get more excited and stop trying to share the good news in a boring monotone. It is something to get excited about.
Be blessed!
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