"Deal or No Deal?"

There is a TV game show that I have watched a few times, called 'Deal or No Deal'.
Some of you, I am sure have watched it too, but in case you have not - here is an overview of the game.
The game consists of 26 suitcases, each one held by a scantily dressed beautiful woman. Each of these cases contains an amount of money ranging from 0.01 cent to 1,000,000 dollars. Fourteen of the cases hold an amount of 1,000 dollars or less, seven hold an amount of 100,000 or more.
The contestant must choose one of the suitcases – which becomes HIS suitcase. Whatever is in the suitcase no one can take away.
After the player chooses his suitcase the game begins – one of strategy and greed and ‘chance’.
The contestant is told how many suitcases he must open before he can pause to strategize – then he must open a number more until the suitcases are all open or he sells out.
He hopes to choose the suitcases with the lowest amounts of cash in them. He wants to leave the highest valued suitcases in play. If he does, then the banker, who calls at intervals during the game to tempt the contestant to ‘sell’ his suitcase, will offer a larger amount of money.

When the banker makes an offer….the question is asked,”Deal or No Deal?”

So then the contestant must look at the suitcases that are still in play, judge whether the amount of money offered is worth giving up his suitcase for or whether he can open a few more suitcases hoping to drive up the banker’s offer. He risks opening the suitcases with all the large amounts which will allow the banker to make a minimal offer…. Or if he holds out too long it may become obvious that his suitcase does not contain the 'coveted prize', $1,000,000.00 , and he could lose everything!

I was thinking of the game and recognized that it portrays an interesting picture of life!!

Each of us in the game of life must choose a ‘suitcase’. Our suitcase contains what we trust in to ‘save us’. Perhaps it is money, or fame or prestige or religion or hopefully, - it is faith in the salvation of the cross of Jesus.
Throughout our life, we are enticed by the pleasures and influences of this world. Every day we make choices and decisions that open a ‘suitcase’ of consequences. Some consequences are good….others make us groan with regret and change our life forever.

Periodically, the ‘banker’ will whisper into our life, enticing us with a large ‘promise of happiness or wealth’, to tempt us to ‘sell’ our suitcase. Perhaps he whispers, "if you compromise just this once, if you tell this one lie, if you harbour this one unforgiveness, if you turn away from someone’s pain, if you serve me for one day….I will give you what will satisfy you !!"

If our suitcase holds less than the coveted – can’t be beat – 1,000,000.00 ‘faith in Jesus’ - then perhaps we can exchange our suitcase for the offered amount and seemingly come out ahead - for a time.
But - if we have in our suitcase ‘faith in Jesus Christ’ we need to hold out to the end – we must not waver in our belief that our ‘suitcase’ contains the highest prize!
No matter how bad it looks, maybe it appears all the suitcases of promised wealth and earthly security or happiness have been opened and are gone, maybe only suitcases of difficulty or pain or suffering are left.
Maybe you begin to doubt whether you really hold the prize winning suitcase. Perhaps the temptation comes to ‘sell out’ for a sure thing – something we can hold onto in this life -- an earthly possession or a ‘feels good’ philosophy, or a place of ease and comfort.
But how sad if we ‘sell’ our million dollar suitcase for anything else, no matter how tempting it is and lose the ‘pearl of great price’.

Let us take our example from Moses who counted all the pleasures of Egypt worthless in comparison to the immeasurable worth of God’s kingdom! He clung to the ‘suitcase’ of faith in God, refusing to sell it for all the riches this life could offer.

Heb. 11:24, 25 “By faith Moses., when he was come of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin”

Next time the enemy comes and whispers in your ear… will you say, “Deal?” or “No Deal!!!”