Internet Lies

A while ago I signed up for superfast internet from the telephone company. It seemed like a great deal, way more speed than I had, and it actually cost less than the slower speed I was using. I was excited!

I got the new broadband all set up and was amazed at how fast it was! I could surf the web, check my email, and download stuff at amazing speeds. Very cool. Then… the modem started blanking out.  When I would call tech support I would first have to maneuver the maze of voice mail hell. The way too pleasant lady would inform me of my choices, then do exactly what I didn’t want done. By the time I was almost through the maze my wife could hear me screaming from my office, “THREE.” “NO, I DO NOT HAVE A PASSWORD, I WANT TO TALK TO A HUMAN!!!” By the time a human being did answer the phone I would get to  talk to some guy named Kenneth who sounded like his name really wasn’t Kenneth. Kenneth would always apologize for my inconvenience, and assure me that they were doing everything they could to make my experience more enjoyable.

Kenneth would send a tech guy out who would troubleshoot the lines and then give me a new modem. One month later, the same problem. They would send some other guy out, replace the modem, and it would happen again. And again. And again…

I’m now on my fifth or sixth modem, and it still has troubles. I am seriously considering ditching the speed for a system that will actually work for more than two or three days at a time.

The promise of added speed was fulfilled, when the system worked. It sounded great at first, now I just want the stupid thing to stay on. The reality didn’t live up to the hype.

It is the same way with sin. When you first realize that there are things out there that you can mess with, the promise is that you will have a good time.  How many people who end up my “customers” at the Sheriff’s Office began their drug abuse with the promise of some innocent fun at a party? “Go ahead, it will be fun. Don’t worry about consequences…”

How many marriages and homes have been broken by the promise of “no strings attached” flings?  Sure, that woman isn’t your wife, and it breaks every vow you made to her, to God and your friends and family, but it will all be okay, right? Wrong.

How many times have we done what we know is wrong simply because we talked ourselves into believing it would be okay? Or we justified it somehow by coming up with all kinds of excuses and reasons? My grandpa used to say, “Nobody can lie to you like you can.” He was so right. Proverbs 14:12-13 says, 12 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains.”

Before you head out into choices that will hurt you, before you lie to yourself as only you can, ask yourself one question: Where will I be when the laughter ends? What will I have left of the life I have now? Trust me when I tell you that being honest at the start can save a lot of heartache down the road.

Hoping my internet stays on long enough to email this column… Jerry