May 3rd, 2009

There’s a TV show called “Deal or no Deal.” It’s a pretty simple show that involves no skill from the participant. One at a time, players choose one of 26 cases, each with the promise of anything from 1 cent to 1 Million dollars. The object of the game is to choose the remaining cases, see what’s inside, and hope that at the end of the game, yours is the case with the million bucks. To make things interesting, a “banker” periodically offers you a variable amount of money in the hopes that you’ll drop out of the game, depending on the odds that you have the winning case in your possession. The challenge is one of nerves; the banker might see that your odds are good at winning the big prize, and thus offer you a good deal to walk away. Or he might have you over the barrel, with very low odds of you winning, and thus offer you a pittance, which, if you only have 1 penny in your case, might be better than nothing.
So far only one person has been victorious and taken home the whole million dollars. Everyone else has settled for less, either because they were too frightened, or because they realized the jig was up and they better walk away. Sure, some folks leave with hundreds of thousands of dollars, but most don’t. In fact, I find it hard to find any clear winners, partly because of the money they’ve received, and partly because I find the whole concept to be a losing proposition right from the start.
First off, there’s no real competition. Oh, the banker might seem mean, but really, he’s just a number counter, busy calculating the odds for or against the player winning. Secondly, there is no skill involved. There are no brain teasers to answer, no problems to solve, nothing at all to stimulate the intellect, either of the player or the viewer. In short, it’s not much more than glorified gambling, and that for me means it’s neither a game nor does it serve any useful purpose. After all, it’s just playing on the human desire to get something for nothing.
That desire is not healthy, helpful, or even holy. To ask God for something without putting in the blood, sweat and tears of a deep and abounding faith doesn’t accomplish anything. In fact, treating God like He’s just a servant at a fast food counter isn’t much of a winning proposition. We are expected to work for what we have on this earth. It doesn’t come for free. We have to till the land, make our clothes, build our homes and generally do what has to be done to survive.
At the same time, however, God is more than willing to give us something in return for nothing, and it’s a sure bet. That something is love, in the form of forgiveness and mercy. Love comes to us as God’s undivided attention to us, and through the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our lives. These things require nothing of us, other than a commitment to live by and give away those very things ourselves. It might not make any sense from a practical point of view. Bankers and accountants and even game show hosts might not see any advantage to God’s incredible generosity, but those who have experienced for themselves know that there is no better deal anywhere in creation. At least that’s the way I see it.