THE FINE PRINT

Have you ever signed a contract or accepted an offer only to discover later you should have read the fine print? The 10 CD’s for $1.00 are not such a steal when you read further in the contract that you have signed up to purchase 10 additional CD’s at $12.95 each, plus shipping within the next year. If you had taken the time to read the fine print, you wouldn’t have wasted a trip to the grocery store to spend the $5.00 off coupon that expired yesterday. Because of my struggle with weight loss, I am always drawn to the ads that promise to give me “THE BODY I’VE ALWAYS WANTED.” I can eat all I want as long as I buy a $50.00 bottle of pills, after all they couldn’t say it on television or print it in a magazine if it weren’t true. The fine print tells me it only works with a healthy diet and exercise plan. In other words, eat all you want as long as it is celery washed down with water. Even reputable diet plans reel you in with glowing testimonials hoping you miss the tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the page; results not typical. We have all been embarrassed and disappointed because we were drawn in by the big letters, the glowing sales pitch and the mental image of how wonderful our lives will be because we were lucky enough to be given this opportunity.

Satan has a Master’s Degree in Marketing. From the beginning he has painted a beautiful picture of the pleasure of sin, hoping to distract us from the fine print. I have never witnessed someone returning a pack of cigarettes because they suddenly read the surgeon general’s warning, “It has been determined that smoking may cause cancer.” Most of us don’t suddenly put a hold on our tongue because a snippet of gossip may wound a brother or sister. We ignore the fine print of broken homes, ruined lives, hurting children as we pursue a path, following an elusive dream that leads us further from God’s purpose for our lives.

Unlike Satan, God has no need for slick marketing and fine print. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me;” simple and to the point; no fine print necessary. From the beginning, God presented His offer in plain language, including all the expectations, the rewards for obedience and consequences for noncompliance. In Genesis, the “deal” presented to Adam included the benefits of the garden, a warning as to what would nullify the contract and the consequence of disobedience. The contract with the Children of Israel instructed them to put the blood on the doorpost; those who ignored the instruction would lose their first born son. There were no disclaimers and no fine print to be overlooked by anyone.

Our problem is we are always looking for a loophole or an exception. The Word tells us, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned and the soul that sinneth shall surely die. We have a hard time believing that such a “loving God” could actually apply that clause to us since other people have done much worse than we have. Surely there must be a paragraph of fine print that we have missed. Then we remember He is the truth; there are no loopholes. II Corinthians 1:20, For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us. Lay hold of the promises of God today and rest assured they are yea and amen.