Bubble gum machines, or gumball machines, take your pick, were a thing of wonder to me. As a little kid, I lived for our weekly trip to the grocery store, all for the chance to get that prized pink gumball.
Back then, 25¢ (a quarter in U.S. money) felt like a small fortune. My mom’s rule was simple: one quarter per shopping trip. That’s all. And if you knew my mother, you also know that she wasn’t one to change her mind. There was no back-and-forth. If you questioned her 25¢ reasoning, even the single-quarter limit was in jeopardy.
That meant every spin of that handle came with mixed emotions. If the coveted pink bubble gum failed to come out of the dispenser, I had to wait another week to try again. My heart beat faster and faster with each turn. Would the pink one come out? Or would I get yellow, green, or that dreaded white?
So much pressure for a gumball.
Most of the time, I wasn’t lucky enough to get pink. Purple came in a close second, and red was decent, too. But on the days I ended up with yellow, green, or white, it felt like a big disappointment in my small world.
I don’t visit the bubble gum machine anymore
I still love pink bubble gum from the machine at the grocery store. But I don’t visit the gumball machine at all anymore. I’ve been disappointed so much that I’d rather buy a bag of gumballs and pick out the pink ones. In the long run, it may be the cheaper option! 25¢ per grocery store visit can get expensive when one has a gumball habit like mine.
Lucky for me (and my teeth), I’m not around places where they sell bags of gumballs very often.
I have given up on bubble gum machines.
Grocery list prayers, and bubble gum machines
Have you given up on God like I’ve given up on gumball machines? Has the coveted pink gumball, answers to your grocery list prayers, evaded you? Have you given up putting in quarters to get those prayers answered?
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I’ve treated God like a gumball machine at the grocery store. That’s a stunning admission to make. After all the years I’ve served God, I can’t help but wonder how many times I’ve dropped a 25¢ prayer into my spiritual gumball machine, hoping that when I turned the handle, a pink gumball of answered prayer would pop out?
Insert a prayer and flip the handle for a 25¢ reward
It’s really easy to use our faith like a bubble gum machine, especially after we’ve been walking with the Lord for a while. We’ve attended countless Bible studies and prayer meetings, taken notes on the Sunday morning sermon, and perhaps even earned a degree or two. Without realizing it, we begin to rely more on our accumulated knowledge than on having a living, breathing relationship with God. We treat faith like a transaction: insert a prayer, flip the handle, and expect a sweet reward.
A world of give-and-take
We live in a world of give-and-take. It’s common to exchange one item or money for another. This is how life is lived on planet Earth. It would be dangerous to assume I can go into the grocery store, fill my shopping cart, and leave the store without paying. Before leaving with my haul, I have to pass by the cashier and make a payment.
How many of us have thought we could use our faith to make a spiritual transaction with God? I know I have.
Understand me. I’m fully aware that God’s Word is rich with promise. His Word is trustworthy, dependable, and unchanging. What He says, He will do. His promises aren’t dispensed like candy from a machine; they’re eternal truths we can build our lives on.
God’s Word and faith are what we live by
The principles of God’s Word and faith are what we live by (see Habbakuk 2:4). They’re the foundation of our walk with Him. But they’re not meant to be used as a bargaining chip in exchange for the things we want.
I know someone might say, “But God’s Word says to try Him.” Yes, it does say that:
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Malachi 3:10 NKJV
God is to be trusted. His Word is true. When you read this scripture, and others like it, such as Luke 6:38, in context, you’ll see that God’s purpose in these verses is to reveal His faithfulness, not to manipulate people to give.
Our reasons for giving to God should never be about getting something from Him. God isn’t a “Sugar Daddy” we can try to bargain with. He’s a loving Father who is to be trusted, honored, and obeyed. We don’t serve Him because of what He can do. He’s already done enough by sending His Son. We serve Him and give to Him because we love Him.
Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
Matthew 6:25-27 NKJV
No more bubble gum prayers
Let go of the bubble gum prayers and the transactional 25¢ confessions. Instead, take time to know your heavenly Father. He always has your best interests at heart. He’s not holding back blessings from you. Instead, He’s working to get His best to you. And the truth is, He is the best.
When we live in that way, fully trusting our Father, we are living in faith. We do not doubt that He will care for us and won’t withhold what we need from us. This frees us from the need to have more, because we don’t need more.
If we need a plane ticket to get His work done, it will be there.
Or, if we need funds to pay for our children’s school fees, He will provide them.
Whatever the need is, we can be sure that He will take care of us.
What a relief from worry!
Better things in mind
God has better things in mind for us than a spiritually dull life marked with worry and greed. His plan is far greater. He’s called us to carry His love into the world, because He longs to be their Father, too.
Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
Hebrews 6:9-12 NLT
When we love others, we extend God’s Kingdom. Doing this keeps us spiritually sharp and in tune with God’s work in this world.
Save the 25¢ for the bubble gum machine.
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When Prayer Is a Matter of Life and Death
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