I love to hear how people achieve great things, and what they think about it all when they’ve made it to the top of the ladder. Do they give God the credit for opening the door for them? Did they get where they are by doing the right thing? Do they have any regrets? Where did things go wrong if they slipped from their success?
Many online games are designed with their audience in mind. What makes the game fun? What keeps folks around? These are the questions that gaming developers must answer. It cost money to keep games up and running. Of course there will be a fee somewhere, but where is the line? In some games, you can play for free. If you want to advance faster, you can buy credits to spend on items that will help you achieve that goal. In some cases, these items have limited use. You are left to buy more if you want more. Much like a casino, you can spend a lot of money fast for short-term fun. In many ways it’s not like gambling though. After all, you know what you are spending, and you know to some degree what you are going to get.
At what point does charging for this service cross the line to taking advantage? Or does it?
I heard of a great way to get your book to the top of the bestseller list. Without giving all the details, let me just say that it involves getting lots of folks to recommend your book to lots of other folks. If you sell enough, you’ll get to the top.
Question. Would all those folks you ask to recommend your book who do go along with it in exchange for some promotion of their product or service really like your book, or would they just go along for personal gain? If they go along solely for gain, wouldn’t that recommendation be a lie?
About 10 years ago, we were faced with living in 2 states. We decided to buy a second home. We knew how much we could afford. We found a home that fit the budget. The bank, however, approved us for payments that were way over our budget. We were shocked.
Question. Do you wonder why that part of the economy has struggled so much? Whose fault would it have been if we had taken a loan for so much more than we could afford? Is it just a matter of personal responsibility? Or, isn’t it also wrong to loan folks more money than they could possibly afford to pay back?
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
Proverbs 16:8
Righteousness or riches? If I have to choose, I’d rather have righteousness. How about you? If you can’t have both, which would you choose?
LIFE APPLICATION
Today’s challenge is to not let success be the driving factor in your decisions. It’s much better to do what is right by the folks you are serving. Remember, not everything that is legal is ethical. Look at the decisions you are making, and ask God if they are ethical. Sometimes right is hard to discern. The lines get blurred. Ask God to show you if you need to make any changes.