A few years back when we switched cable companies again, we got a DVR with
the latest deal. It was great for recording shows and movies when we weren’t
home or asleep, but then we stumbled onto something, recording shows while we
were home,so we didn’t have to watch the commercials. Like any seasoned channel
surfer will tell you, we don’t like commercials, and we found a way around it.
Years ago in the dawn of TV, it was 26 minutes show and 4 minutes commercials.
Today some like TV land extend the 30 minute program by adding 6-8 minutes of
commercials to popular shows, but Wheel of Fortune has done it slicker than
others, and barely noticeable. Until we started taping them, and found an
interesting statistic, the show/commercial ratio was 50/50. Half the show was
commercials! So we can now watch more Vanna, with less filling in half the
time! Talk about technology finally working for you! An extreme case, but that
led to others....
My wife has started only watching the first few minutes and the last few
minutes of her HFTV shows. She gets to see the end result without all the drama
and petty bickering, along with all the “it’s going to cost more because
although we are professionals, we didn’t know the house had asbestos, was built
on an ancient burial ground, or the indoor pool was really a flooded basement.”
Talk about an open concept....30 minutes of show in six minutes. They may be
better than Vanna!
The NFL was once described as five seconds of action followed by 45 seconds
of rest. Agreed. Baseball, worse than a soap opera, boring, tedious, at least
no Tim McCarver this year to tell us all the things we don’t care about or want
to know. A highlight this year in the NFL, rather unexpectedly has been Tony
Romo, playing the game while broadcasting. He is a thinker, and gets you in the
game. Any bets he is too smart for most viewers? If memory serves me right Joe
Willie Namath did time on Monday Night Football, and gave tremendous insight,
calling plays stupid and what to look for. Again too smart for the norm, any
way what does a Super Bowl winning QB know that a dipsy blond, hired to be
stylish does? Ever hear hee–hee in a huddle? So what do Vanna and the NFL have
in common?
Nothing. One is entertaining, moves quickly, has quick witted quips, and
is fun to watch. And only lasts 15 minutes. The other has 15 minute quarters.
I once read where we make over 7000 decisions a day. And the last one has
a lot to say about the one we are about to make. One bad play in a football
game can cost you the game, one bad letter choice and Vanna still turns it, or
smiles back waiting, but the decision has been made. We need some kind of
guidance, shepherding if you will like the Bible calls it, to help make the
right decision. In life we don’t get to replay a bad choice, or to fast forward
through the parts we don’t like. We have to spend every minute of life living
it, just the thought tires me out. And bad decisions only make it worse. On
Wheel of Fortune it is the choosing of a letter, the spin of the wheel. In
football the play called in the huddle and the execution. With our decisions
impacting others.....and theirs us. We need someone we can depend on, and in
Psalm 23 God tells us of the great shepherd. Someone who has wisdom, who knows
the trails and the trials to come, who knows where to rest and what to avoid.
And that someone is Jesus. But how do we tap into his wisdom, is life more than
a lucky guess? Or a bad guess?
Unless we are willing to admit we don’t know, we won’t seek his way. It
starts with our decision, without him we are just guessing. Then we need to
obey. What good is the play called in the huddle if everyone does what they
want? What good is Vanna if she turns the wrong letter? “Well that one was
easier....” you don’t want to learn the hard way that obedience is better than
sacrifice. But there are both quick and long term decisions, how to know what
to do? Jesus never hurried, yet was never late. There is a difference between
waiting and delaying. Waiting is knowing what to do, and knowing the right
time, like when to solve the puzzle. Delaying is knowing what to do and not
doing it, the moment passes, and suddenly it is fourth down, or your opponent
solved the puzzle. By being guided by the holy spirit we can know when, what,
how, who, and why. All without no TV timeout and commercial break. If God
calls the play, execute it. If he chooses a letter, solve it. All without
commercial interruption.
Last year I went to a taping of Wheel of Fortune, you clap a lot. It took
almost three hours to make that 15 minute show. Lots of activity going on on
the set we don’t see on TV. Life is like that too. So we need someone who
knows, who has everything under control. Even we when we aren’t. So seek Jesus
today, take rest in him, skip the commercials, and enjoy the 15 minutes of fame
every night guessing the puzzles. With some insight, how does Vanna know which
letter to turn? Each square is marked, and a small light goes on to tell her.
No light, no letter. And for the players, a board is next to it, telling what
letters they have already chosen. Just a few hints you don’t see on the
show....which leaves me time to watch 77 Sunset Strip, which I taped yesterday.
Without the commercials of course. Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb! More
Vanna and more Kookie all without leaving your seat. And commercial free.
Maybe this technology thing isn’t so bad after all.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com