Free Sample

I have two little stories to tell you. They may seem unrelated at first, but I will tie them together at the end. The first is about my granddaughters. The other day I asked them, “Do you want to go to the grocery store with me?”
“No, Gramma. We’re watching cartoons,” the eldest of the two replied.
“Okay, but you’re gonna miss it. Today is Saturday and you know what that means.”
Yelling in unison, they ran for their coats. “It’s free sample day!”
My grandkids love going to the store on the weekends because scattered throughout the store are scores of “free sample” ladies. They set-up their pizza ovens and microwaves on cardboard tables, offering bite-size samples of their delicious wares.
Sometimes if you get a real nice lady, she’ll let you have two samples. But that’s pretty rare. The free sample ladies seem to have some sort of code of ethics about free samples. You know, like, “one sample per person, please.” I think my favorite part about free samples is that I’ve convinced myself that they are also free of calories. I mean, how many calories can be in one little bite? I think just about everyone loves a free sample.

The second story is about prayer. The other day while I was talking to God about my circumstances, a devil interrupted my thoughts and said, “He treats those of the world better than He treats you.” And then I heard myself saying aloud, “God, You treat them better than you treat me.” Like a Jedi mind-trick, I repeated the words the devil fed into my mind. My weakness set off an alarm. What did I say? Do I really believe that? The wheels started turning as I began to analyze.
When a devil talks to me, firstly, he wants to get my attention. He often does that by giving me something I really want – in this case, sympathy. He comes around saying things like, “Ohhhh, you poor thing.” And of course, I reply saying, “Yes,” sniff, sniff, “I am.”
The devil wants me to listen to his words so he starts out with a little bit of truth or something that sounds like truth to get my attention. Remember Eve’s conversation with Satan in the garden? She wasn’t sure what God had really said. So, instead of continuing my conversation with the devil, I ran to God so He could help me sort it out.
“God, I can’t deny the fact that some people in the world have better things in life. So, is this true that You treat them better than you treat me?”
God is so cool. At this point, He could have just smacked me upside the head and said, stop talking such dribble. But He is a patient and kind teacher.
Yes, it’s true some people have nice things. But some have it worse, much worse. But of course, the devil isn’t reminding me about that.
I am continually blessed. God is my protection, my Salvation, my Redeemer, my life, my all. He has given to me many treasures: His Spirit, His love, Knowledge of Him, truth, perfection, health, security, confidence, peace. 1 Cor 2:9 says “…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
The key word in the devil’s lie, was the word “better.” Matthew 5:45 say, “…for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” But does He treat them better? No. He treats me better.

This life of theirs is just their free sample. A gift. A taste. A sample. But it’s all they get. When their sample is all gone, we'll still be dwelling with HIM. God not only gives us a taste, but He actually gives us all things that are His, as we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
David almost slipped when he saw the prosperity of the wicked – their teeny-weeny little samples – until he went to the house of God, then he understood their end. That this life is only just a temporal sample for them, but for us, its eternal!
Ps. 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good…”