I was reading through FB posts just now and I saw an advert for a free belly belt to the first set of people who did whatever they had to do. My first immediate thought was really negative and the words that ran through my mind is that nothing is ever really free. People say its free, but there is always a catch. How cynical of me. How sad the thought. So that is the first part of my post.
The second part is people who want something for nothing, or little to nothing. I joined a group of people to bid services in the form of writing and my time. I found that many of the people seeking to hire me, and I did get three offers of jobs, along with someone else who wants me to bid for their project so they can possibly hire me. I was horrified at how little is being offered in the form of pay. It felt insulted in a way that my time, something I will never get back was so undervalued.
So, I am sitting here thinking about it and all of a sudden scripture, God''s Word, comes to mind about the freedom I have in Christ. Do I believe that? If so how does it relate to these situations I encountered today? After all thinking the mind of Christ after Him is one of my chief goals. In the first situation, I see that many things in life are indeed not free. Every once in a while something will come along that is, and that is a complete blessing and reminder that God gives grace to the needy. Even salvation isn't free because God Himself had to pay for our freedom. Its free for us, but we do have to actually receive the gift.
In the second situation, I recognize that most of these people offering some form of pay for services are giving out a small slice of their pie so that the writer gains something, and so do they. It is an unfortunate thing that, like many jobs, the pay isn't enough. There is no malice intended, nor insult either. Its just people who have a task to get done, who need some help in an expertise they don't have and have sought to fill the gap by hiring people with expertise to get it done.
So, there is such a thing as for real free, but its rare, and when its given, its a little miraculous event, something to praise God for. Its okay that most things in life cost something because it does cause us to appreciate what we have more. One of my lessons for the end of an strangely odd day.
