I have discovered over the years various types of minds. The “open mind” that grasps everything but the truth. The “analytical mind” that organizes everything to sterility. The “closed mind” where you can bounce ideas off and they never stick.
For every man, there is a “woman’s mind”. Every husband knows that if he wants to change his wife’s mind about her, all he has to do is agree with her. Finally, the “political mind,” which for all practical purposes is an oxymoron. Politicians obviously don’t have a mind of their own. They change their minds so often that you hardly know who they are.
I think most people’s minds are like a bed: everything made up and tidy. Many of these people have sound minds, fast asleep, that is.
The most valuable mind is the suspicious mind. It is in this frame of mind that the real image has developed for me. An incident that occurred several years ago illustrated this for me.
We get one of those calls that every American gets at least once a month. An invitation to come to Daytona Beach and spend two nights in a motel on the beach. The patron even offered to include breakfast, which we promptly threw away (or was it “upstairs”?).
It all sounded wonderful. My wife and I had never been to the beach before and we thought this would be an excellent opportunity. We eagerly said “yes” excited at the prospect.
“Oh, by the way,” the young woman said into the phone, “you will be asked to listen to a 90-minute presentation.”
That’s when my suspicious mind kicked in. To be more honest, the kick came from my wife, who had a suspicious mind.
“Is there something we have to buy?” my wife made me ask the lovely lady on the phone.
“Absolutely nothing,” she said so cheerfully that I believed her. My wife, “Miss Suspicion”, didn’t believe it for a second.
I finally convinced her to go and arranged with the woman over the phone for the two nights on the beach.
Looking back on this incident, I realize that a suspicious mind is useful.
I must confess (which is hard for me) that my wife’s suspicious mind has saved us from some potentially disastrous situations. (But you didn’t hear it from me.)
When we arrived at the Daytona Beach office, we were greeted very warmly. She was smiling a smile that said, “Look, I told you this was going to be great.”
The friendly receptionist gave us our room key and easy-to-follow directions to our beach motel, and best of all, coupons for dinner for two at a fancy restaurant.
So far everything promised to be a magnificent adventure.
Just as I picked up the key, the lady reminded us of the 90 minute presentation. We had to sign up for a time that was “one size fits all.”
All I could see was that sociable smile and the beach. When the shine thickened over my eyes, I signed up. Then we left.
As I smiled, my wife muttered something like, “This is a mistake. I know there’s a catch somewhere. Nothing is free.”
Being the sophisticated husband that I am with a vast and cultivated vocabulary at my disposal, I said nothing.
There is a time to talk, but every husband knows that it is usually not when he is in the presence of his wife.
We had fun. The beach was wonderful and late that night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Everything was going pretty well and we fell asleep listening to the waves rhythmically massaging the beach outside our window.
Then it was time for the 90-minute presentation. It was quite educational. I learned that my wife was right all along.
The “trap” he was concerned about was called a “timeshare.”
Timeshare is an interesting concept. First, you must buy a week (or two if you want). At that point, I was ready to sign up. My pen was dripping with ink ready to sign anything, anywhere.
Then my wife started asking questions. It’s good that she did.
That’s when we learned another thing about timeshares. After one buys a week, the cost has just started. Of course, we were told, we must pay property taxes on “our property.” Then there are the monthly maintenance fees and insurance premiums. We learned that the word “share” in timeshare means that we share all our money with them.
By the time he finished his presentation, there were more fees on our timeshare than there were fleas on a West Virginia hunting dog.
Although that was not the worst. When our week came around, we were expected to “rent” our own room to stay in. By the time the woman finished with her 90-minute presentation (which actually took three hours), the timeshare made about as much sense to me as renting underwear.
There are times when a suspicious mind is useful, but not always. Sometimes I appreciate trusting someone without any fear. Goal, who?
The antidote for a suspicious mind is found in the Bible. The Old Testament prophet understood this when he wrote: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you, because he has trusted in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
There are many things to be suspicious of, but when I come to Jesus Christ, I can relax. It gives me peace of mind because it is easy to trust Him.
