I went to the auction yesterday. I hate to admit it, but this is one of my favorite things to do. I always go on Wednesdays. I think of it as my midweek break (good rationalizing, right?). Anyway, as I was standing off to the side, watching the auctioneer do his thing, I scanned the audience and their faces. Most of them wore a deadpan expresssion. I'm assuming these are the seasoned buyers. They've learned not to expose their desire or wants to the auctioneer for fear he will look their way and seduce them to bid. They are in charge. With hardened hearts, they will pick the time and amount to bid.
Then, there were those who wore a look of a child on Christmas morning. I'm guessing that something they've always wanted has just been put on the auction block. No amount of money to bid, is too much. They have to have it at any price.
Last, their are the newbies. These are the unfortunate souls who have wandered in, totally unprepared for the snare awaiting their capture. They ramble through the door, adjusting their eyes to the whirl of activity before them. Hundreds of people are milling about, table after table, searching through items from days gone by, through the present. The hyper sound of numbers coming from the auctioneer's podiem, quickly tossed to the audience, resonate in their ears. Moving a bit closer and spotting something on one of the tables that ensares their curiosity, they move closer. Now they are in the flow of the web, caught up in the excitement and possibilities of owning a treasure.
It won't be long ... their faces will transform from newbie, to childlike, to deadpan.
Isn't that just the way it is, I thought. The world we live in tickles our desires for a bevy of opportunies to own, or experiance, something that calls our name. Stepping through the door to take a peek, or just look around, is the beginning of our journey to the web. Little by little, piece by piece, we become ensnared in the trap of want. The great deceiver, calls out our heart and puts it on the auction block. In our innocence, we only want to look at it, touch it, feel it, dream of it. But then the bidding starts.
If we are a newbie, we mostly observe, rarely do we have the nerve to bid. After a few times observing, with the hope of a child,we raise our hand, just once. If the price is not too high, maybe we can have it. Before long, although we have become more selective and cunning in our bidding, and with faces encased with deadpan hearts, we are in the game. We no longer hear that still quiet voice, that speaks to us, and bids us to step away from the auction block. The price is too high.
Will I continue to go to auctions? Of course. Do I think they are evil or bad for me? No, not at all. But I am so grateful that my God uses any and every opportunity to remind me that the world is here for me to enjoy, at my bid. He created it for my pleasure and use. But putting it, before Him, is too high of a price to pay, no matter what it offers.
What do you think?
