Have Faith

Day 27
Understand the messages you need to act on...
Spam...
The very thought of the word ‘spam’ leaves
me in giggles thinking back to the days of
Monty Python and the singing Vikings. Those
younger readers probably think I have a
screw loose at this point but anyone around
in the 70’s will know what I’m talking about.
One of the most famous comedy sketches
ever. But Spam had a different meaning back
then to what it does today. We used to know
spam as a kind of chopped pork type of
canned meat that we used to grill on toast. It
was truly awful but we loved it. In fact, it was
a very common item in the household of the
(forgive the expression) working class. Ah,
those were the days. These days Spam has
a totally different meaning. Unwanted messages
in your email now own the word ‘spam’.
As a website manager and editor of a magazine,
spam is a daily sight for me. Practically
every time I open my inbox there is a company
trying to find a way of separating me
from my money or some Prince in a far-off
land wanting to deposit millions in to my bank
account just because he found my email on
line and thinks he can trust me. Sound familiar?
Of course, we very quickly acclimatise
ourselves to all of this and delete it or send it
to our junk folder so we don’t have to deal
with it anymore. But just recently I found myself
in the position of the sender and not the
receiver. Of course, the information was not
spam (to me) but I found that subscribers to
my newsletters had me marked as spam.
Quite upsetting really, all of this information
and hard work was treated as rubbish and
discarded. This has got me thinking. How
much important information do we discard as
useless? But I also thought how much useless
information do we pick up on and waste
time with while the real important stuff passes
Luke 1: 79
us by. I think what I’m trying to say here is
that it is very easy to take in information that
we want to take in regardless whether it is
truth or not. This can lead us into very compromising
positions. It is true that within our
lives the truth can sometimes be uncomfortable
but also necessary. Imagine the final
warnings turning up in your inbox from a company
you owe money to, for whatever reason
you can’t afford to pay them at that time so
the quickest way to deal with it is to delete the
email or send it to the ‘spam’ folder so you
don’t have to see it. It sounds like a very irresponsible
thing to do but it happens all too
often. For me, spiritually I have found myself
ignoring the truth in the past, racking up debts
in my soul that were getting out of control.
Thankfully, I have found a way to manage
those debts and clear my account but to do
so meant I had to check all of my spiritual
emails and face the ones that meant uncomfortable
readings. I still disregard the ones
that aren’t important but I will read them all
first and make a better decision of those I
need to send to my ‘Spam’. I suppose this
isn’t rocket science but one we are all find
ourselves doing from time to time. I have
found that God’s inbox must be full of spiritual
emails that I send him. But I think I can put
my hand on my heart and say that the ones
that are important are always answered. Of
course, the stuff I ask for that I don’t really
need or is not in my best interest will end up
in his ‘Spam’ box. He will do this because he
loves me and knows what is best for me.
That eventually teaches me to only send
emails that are necessary and important.
Maybe this is what I should be doing with my
newsletters. The word ‘Spam’ still brings a
smile to my face though.
| 24 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk/havefaith