Limit Eight Per Person

Written by Phillip Fritts

“Limit eight per person”, the small display read. My heart skipped a beat. I pinched myself to ensure I was not dreaming, as the questions began to swirl in my mind, “Why are the other customers so calm? Why are they not swarming the display and taking advantage of this awesome deal?” I convinced myself that maybe, just maybe I was in a weird time warp, that only I was aware of.

The product? Two-liter sodas for $1.00 each! WOW!

I began filling my cart with sodas, as if I were on the game show, “Super Market Sweep”. (Remember that show? If not, Google it because it was the greatest show of all time!) In went the soda’s left and right. Orange soda, grape soda, watermelon soda…who cares? It’s only $1.00! I raced to the checkout line because it was just a matter of time before the store manager would realize the mistake and quickly shut down the soda aisle to correct the problem.

The clerk began ringing the products up. Wait, did she just give me a judgmental glance as she began ringing up the sodas? Then the thought occurred to me, oh no, did I accidently pick up nine sodas? What will happen if I did? Will she press a secret button under the counter, sounding the alarm? Then she read the total; it appeared I was in the clear. Whew! I began heading for the car, which was probably a mix of awkward speed walking and jogging because there was still a chance the manager might recognize the price mix up and ask for my soda back.

I raced home and was excited to tell my wife about the awesome deal I had discovered. I imagined her tearing up, no sobbing, then gushing with praise over the deal I had just found for our family. So I was pretty surprised when she replied, “But we don’t drink soda!” I hesitated and was about to respond, when it hit me, she was right! As a rule, we don’t normally drink soda in our house. So why in the world did I go crazy and purchase 16 liters of high-fructose corn syrup liquid? Easy, I had totally gotten sucked into the “limit eight per person”, marketing web. They had gotten me.

We all live in an age where rich and compelling advertisements, attack our senses daily! So persuasive, that it’s easy to get laser focused and purchase a bunch of sodas that we don’t even like or need! That’s probably why I find Psalm 46:10 so refreshing: “…‘Be still, and know that I am God;’…”

Be encouraged my friend, that even when the world screams “BUY, SELL, NOW,” God is still God. Even when we make what seems like the mistake of the century, God is still God. Even when we experience one of those tough “I don’t how I am going to make it another day” moments, God is still God.

So, next time you buy into the world’s perspective and the alarm bells start ringing, think of the verse above and remember that God is still God no matter what and that He loves you very much!

The best part? God doesn’t have a “per person” limit, which is pretty awesome! The more the merrier!