I was a bit of a horse trader as a kid. While I didn’t always come out ahead, there were those moments that would make a used car salesman proud. Since we had no electronic devices, basketballs, footballs and marbles substituted nicely. Marbles made for excellent trading currency, especially if you were dealing with a rookie who had little understanding of the value range of various marbles.
Some, like the Cat Eyes, were literally a dime a dozen. Bumble Bees, named for their black and yellow stripes, were extremely rare. Anyone possessing one of these crown jewels was considered the Bill Gates of the marble kingdom. I once traded about 20 Cat Eyes for one Bumble Bee. Best trade I ever made. Every store from here to Mississippi sold Cat Eyes. No one sold Bumble Bees. My trading partner was thrilled to receive 20 marbles for one. He never realized I had caused him to settle for something of lesser value.
As childhood progressed, I became a master at recognizing the art of settling for less. Whenever I asked for something out of my parents’ price range, I would hear these words beginning a sentence: “How about we buy…” Somewhere in that dreaded sentence was the word “instead,” which is always a precursor to settling for something you probably don’t want.
Fast forward to the present, we recently purchased a new stove. It will actually arrive when I become a shooting guard for the Boston Celtics. Actually, the stove - in all its splintered glory - has arrived. It came complete with a damaged side and numerous scratches masquerading as accessories.
My astute wife noticed the damage and called the delivery guy, who was less than a mile away. “Sorry ma’am, we can’t deliver and pick up the same day,” was his smug reply. At first, I wondered why a company prefers to waste time and money having to come back for something at a later date and at greater expense for them. Then came the pitch: “If you like, we can take 30 percent off the price if you keep the stove that was bounced around a warehouse like a basketball.”
To take such an offer is the definition of settling for less. We declined the offer for the damaged goods. It was an easy choice this time. It got me thinking about other concessions I may have agreed to in life, especially in my faith. How often have I settled for good things that weren’t God things? By that, I’m suggesting that many things can occupy our time and efforts that were not ordained for us, but we just go with the flow.
I’ll be the first to admit that some of God’s appointments have caught me by surprise, with no effort from me to bring them about. Certain ministry opportunities found me that I would have never searched out, but they suit me perfectly. It’s a God thing.
Oddly enough, a beat up stove (at a great price) made me realize how convenient it is to settle for the easy way out and miss God’s best, which is often more difficult and costly to receive. The stove is proof. The damaged one has been sitting in the middle of my kitchen for a month, awaiting pick up and replacement, all because we wouldn’t settle. When the new one arrives, it will be worth the wait.
The same is true in life. Sometimes we have to navigate around beat up areas of our lives and resist the temptation to settle for them as normal. God will deliver on His promises for us if we faint not. We may have to wait longer than we would like and give up on some worthless pursuits to find God’s best for us, but it is far better than settling for the dents and scratches that life so often tries to define us by. God has something new and better brewing all the time. Let’s take the time to wait for His best.