I posted the following blog back on June 19, 2006 (and we thought gas prices were HIGH then!!). Enjoy! As Gas Prices Soar Scam Artists Are Cashing In
As I sat in my Lazy Boy recliner yesterday afternoon (which happened to be Father’s Day), I had a glass of iced tea (unsweetened) in one hand, and the Sunday newspaper in the other. With one eye I was browsing through the paper and with the other I was watching some World Cup Soccer (or should I say “football?” - nah!). One article in particular caught my eye. Apparently with the price of gas at the pump on the rise, so are the numbers of scams designed to part you from your money. Once such scam offers a “top secret gas pill”. Offered by a company called BioPerformance, the pill claims to change the molecular structure of gasoline so that it burns more efficiently. By adding one pill to a tank of gas, the company claims you will see an increase in gas mileage anywhere from 20 – 35 %. That sounds good to me! However, this secret pill is nothing more than a bogus pill. You would probably get the same results by throwing a moth ball into your gas tank. As it turns out, the Texas State Attorney General shut the company down recently. Turns out the whole pill selling was nothing more than an elaborate pyramid scheme.
As I thought about all of this, I thought of how our society is so interested in quick fixes. If I have a problem (headache, need to lose weight, depressed, etc.) there must be a pill that I can take to solve my problem (now I realize there are times that popping a pill does help). However, often the solution to a problem is far more involved than just a prescription. Hard work, lifestyle adjustments, discipline – these are often what’s needed to overcome whatever it might be that continues to nag us. Take the high price of gas situation. Although there are some miles we cannot avoid driving (like commuting to work for example), there are some miles we can cut out. But we don’t like that solution because we would have to cut out driving somewhere. If that “somewhere” is a place we would like (perhaps not need) to be – then we dismiss that as an option. So we look for the easy fix (like pop a pill into the gas tank to get more miles out of each gallon).
My friend, we could wish life’s problems could be fixed with a bottle of pills. But they cannot. And when it comes to growing in our faith, Paul tells us to “discipline ourselves for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:12). We need to stop looking for the quick fix. Instead, let’s roll up our spiritual sleeves and get to work – striving to grasp spiritual maturity in Christ. All by HIS grace and for HIS glory!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
As I sat in my Lazy Boy recliner yesterday afternoon (which happened to be Father’s Day), I had a glass of iced tea (unsweetened) in one hand, and the Sunday newspaper in the other. With one eye I was browsing through the paper and with the other I was watching some World Cup Soccer (or should I say “football?” - nah!). One article in particular caught my eye. Apparently with the price of gas at the pump on the rise, so are the numbers of scams designed to part you from your money. Once such scam offers a “top secret gas pill”. Offered by a company called BioPerformance, the pill claims to change the molecular structure of gasoline so that it burns more efficiently. By adding one pill to a tank of gas, the company claims you will see an increase in gas mileage anywhere from 20 – 35 %. That sounds good to me! However, this secret pill is nothing more than a bogus pill. You would probably get the same results by throwing a moth ball into your gas tank. As it turns out, the Texas State Attorney General shut the company down recently. Turns out the whole pill selling was nothing more than an elaborate pyramid scheme.
As I thought about all of this, I thought of how our society is so interested in quick fixes. If I have a problem (headache, need to lose weight, depressed, etc.) there must be a pill that I can take to solve my problem (now I realize there are times that popping a pill does help). However, often the solution to a problem is far more involved than just a prescription. Hard work, lifestyle adjustments, discipline – these are often what’s needed to overcome whatever it might be that continues to nag us. Take the high price of gas situation. Although there are some miles we cannot avoid driving (like commuting to work for example), there are some miles we can cut out. But we don’t like that solution because we would have to cut out driving somewhere. If that “somewhere” is a place we would like (perhaps not need) to be – then we dismiss that as an option. So we look for the easy fix (like pop a pill into the gas tank to get more miles out of each gallon).
My friend, we could wish life’s problems could be fixed with a bottle of pills. But they cannot. And when it comes to growing in our faith, Paul tells us to “discipline ourselves for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:12). We need to stop looking for the quick fix. Instead, let’s roll up our spiritual sleeves and get to work – striving to grasp spiritual maturity in Christ. All by HIS grace and for HIS glory!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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