Free Samples

November 30, 2009

By Alex Bryant

My oldest son, Trey, and I took a trip to a shopping club after one of his football games. The plan was to grab one of the pizzas they make in their food court. On Saturdays they also have a lot of products on display to sample for free.

Free samples — you have to be kidding me! Trey and I grabbed a cart and headed down the aisles grabbing free samples left and right. It was unbelievable all the food they had to sample — carrot cake, pork loin, little smokeys, chips and dip (four kinds of salsa and cheese dip), pizza rolls, rice, smoked fish, cheese, and a lot more that I can’t remember.

It was a lot of fun, and we received our fill for the day, but there was a major problem. I was so busy enjoying the free samples that I didn’t notice the items starting to pile up in my cart. By the time it was over, my trip to get an $8 pizza ended up costing me around $60. How did this happen?

It’s easy. The “free samples” concept really drums up sales! Although we think we are getting something for free, it’s often difficult to stop at the sample part. We want the whole thing.

The same is true in life. We often think we are getting a “free sample” and end up with the whole thing. How many times have people started off taking a quick drink at a party and ended up drunk? What about the young couple who start pushing some physical boundaries and become sexually involved before marriage? Or the growing number of people who occasionally look at certain Internet sites and now have a pornography addiction?

Free sample? Yeah, right! A lot of times, the best thing to do is to avoid the sample altogether and realize that not only is it not free, but it will cost you dearly.

I won’t be heading back to that shopping club on a Saturday anytime soon.

— Alex Bryant serves as college and young adults pastor at First Assembly of God in Fort Myers, Fla.