Disatisfaction

I love getting free kindle e-books. I belong to a newsletter that tells me some of the books that are new, and available for a limited time for free downloads from Amazon. Many of the books are by new authors, trying to build an audience. Since I know what that is like, I enjoy supporting the new authors. Of course, the free books don't support the authors financially, but it the books are stupendous, I write a review on Amazon which will hopefully make people who aren't tightwads like myself buy the book. I know a lot of folks avoid the self published books, but I have found a few real gems.

Yesterday, I saw one that caught my eye, and went to Amazon where I have enabled myself to buy with "one click". Buyers, beware! Buying with one click is code red for "Go broke in a nanosecond." I bought my "free" book with one unobservant click, and then went on with whatever work I was doing on the computer. A few minutes later, I got an email that said Amazon had charged me $2.99 for the book. Now most people would not bother fighting a $2.99 charge, but it was the principle of the thing that bothered me. I often tie myself in knots over the principle of a thing. So I went to the returns section of Amazon. There was no way I could find to return the e-book and get back my $2.99. For some reason, that $2.99 was becoming larger and more critical a sum in my bank account with every passing moment that I was unable to discover how to get it back. The $2.99 that is equal to what I probably lose in my pocket every week to the washing machine was suddenly more precious than gold. I would do anything to get my $2.99 back. I searched site after site on the internet, researching e-book returns. I clicked on the email verifying the sale, and then followed all the links on that email, all to no avail. I was still out $2.99.

Finally, about an hour later, I found how to do "live chat" with the Amazon customer service. By now I was in a tizzy. I poured out my mournful story of how I was supposed to be getting a free book, but had been charged instead the unconscionable sum of $2.99. How could I get this atrocity rectified, remove that blot from my account? The customer service representative apologized for the inconvenience, pushed the "satisfy customer with one click" button, and the charge was removed.

I suppose you are laughing at me, but while I am an extreme example, we ALL do this at some level. We look at a little problem, and it starts to grow and grow and grow. Soon, all the money we do have in the bank seems insignificant to the one unfair charge that was made to our account. Our focus shifts from what we do have to what we don't. We forget how much God has forgiven, and find it difficult for us to forgive others. We counsel others not to judge or not to worry like the Bible commands, but then we cannot turn our hearts from judging and worrying. We have heaven itself in our future, but it is marred from our sight by the problems on earth, and the joy that would be ours is sullied.

The little chat box with the Amazon service representative blinked a final note: "Have I solved your problem?" he asked.
"No one can solve my problem but God alone," I typed back, "But yes, thankyou, the charge for the book was removed."

Hosea 13:6
When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me.





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