What If?
In 1989, a marketing team for a brand-name battery company came up with a brilliant advertisement. We’ve all seen it, it’s the Energizer Bunny, and its key line at the end of all its commercials was “It keeps going and going and going…” Who could have known that a drumming bunny campaign could be so iconic and last for over 30 years…but it did…it just keeps going and going and going!
Something else that keeps going and going and going is the “what if” trail, although it’s not nearly as remarkable as the bunny. You know it, you’ve been on it, but hopefully you took a detour and got back on track. The what-if trail is paved with fear and supposition of what may happen. It’s a never-ending and dangerous path to be on and around every curve is another “what if.”
There are industries and companies that bank on your inability to stay off the “what if” trail. Doctors, insurance, beauty industry…they know you’re scared of dying, your house burning down, or getting old so they prescribe meds you can’t afford, sell you insurance you may never use, and entice you with magic lotion to erase time. There are hundreds of them, if you think about it. Security systems “in case” someone breaks into your car or home, identity theft products, and possibly the least sensible one is the pet industry. We love our pets, and trust me, I’m guilty here, but not that long ago pets lived on farms, exposed to snakes and disease and they were fine. We’ve demanded better for them, out of fear for their well-being, and an industry happily obliged. Now our microchipped pets eat better than us, sleep on hypoallergenic beds, and can be fully insured…you know, IN CASE they get sick.
We are a nation being driven by fear. Before COVID, it was global warming and eliminating your carbon footprint by going “green.” Now, all we hear about is a virus that can be bad for some, but for most it’s like having the flu. What if you get COVID? What if you can’t find a test? What if you’re out of work? What if you can’t pay your bills? What if you lose your home? What if you become homeless? It’s a never-ending, devastating mind game that seems to erase every truth you know about God. That HE is the great physician, that HE is your healer, that HE is your provider, that HE is your shelter, and that HE is faithful to His Word.
Don’t let money-hungry, evil-pushers stop you from living your life and fulfilling your purpose. Stay focused and don’t wander down the what-if trail.