Freebies

Show of hands: how many of us love freebies?

If you kept your hands at your side saying no, I’m questioning your honesty, possibly your humanity.

For the rest of us (normal) folks, the price tag of free often makes gadgets and gizmos aplenty even more attractive. To prove how normal it is, there’s a whole lot of science and psychology behind it, too.

Example A: “What? You’re giving away that doo-dad you only use once a year?! Of course I’ll take it!”

Example B: “You better believe this non-early bird is waking up at 4 AM to wait in line for those free fuzzy socks that are usually only a dollar!”

Slight exaggeration, but you get it. Even if the value of something isn’t all that grand, our brains say “but if it’s free, surely I’ll find a use for it.”

There’s nothing truly wrong with that mentality, either. Except, how do we end up treating those freebies?

We might use whatever they are. They could even be some of our favorite and commonly used items. But we probably aren’t afraid to beat them up or neglect them a bit, right? If a freebie gets ruined or damaged, we’re bummed, but likely say, “Oh well, it was free. No harm done.”

On the contrary, if we have worked hard to have ownership of something, or use our well-earned cash to purchase an item, we generally treat it with more TLC than our own bodies.

However, freebies aren’t necessarily free of value.

Take the intrinsic, free gifts of God, for instance. If we aren’t careful, we may apply this nonchalant attitude toward the handouts He’s given us.

Like the free samples or brochures we pick up at a fair and either completely forget in our purses or immediately toss when we get home, so easily can we dismiss the scriptural promises we hear during Sunday service. How difficult it can be for us, even as Christians, to take God’s Word seriously and personally.

See, the thing is, we can’t earn God’s love, or salvation, or any of the other gifts He’s held out to us.

Therefore, being the feeble and finite creatures we are, we either tend to overwork, like Martha, to feel like we are worthy of His favor. Or, after the zeal of becoming a new follower of Christ dwindles, we take all of these freebies of faith for granted.

Our carnal minds are naturally designed to oppose godliness and morality. So don’t be surprised when your brain says it’s OK to skip a devotion, or that God understands you want to do what YOU want to do because He’s all-forgiving.

Ephesians 2:8 (KJV), "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..."

The Lord’s blessings are free to those who’ve sincerely asked. But it is then our responsibility to nurture and be good stewards of them.

Far be it from us to cheapen something like the Gospel. This gift is only free to us because Someone Else surrendered His life for it.

As we’ve heard, the best things in life are free.

Thank God we don’t have to pay or work our way to Heaven! But although His freebies are without price for us, let us not forget the immeasurable value they have in our lives.

Lastly, the unique part about the Lord’s free gifts is that they keep on giving. Which means you can pass them out to whomever you meet, and never diminish your own.

What are you waiting for? Pass it on!