About 1991 some consulting firms started teaching Car dealers across America a way to make two or three times as much on the sale of a vehicle as they were previously making: in real numbers from about $1,800 a car including financing average to about $3,500 to $4,500 per car. How do I know? At the time I was a general manager of a Honda-Volvo Store and I was sent by our owner to the classes.

Looking back on this adventure now I can see the tactics used to accomplish this profit margin is a great example of how to spot a good deal from a bad one. Very similar tactics were used by the serpent in Genesis to consummate the worst deal in the history of man. Simply put half truths, but even more revealing or your could say less revealing was a lack of light, or the presence of God.

The strategy was a leasing strategy where you were instructed to switch completely to payments and Never, I repeat Never disclose the actual selling price. After all Eve never was told by her salesperson the price of her transaction. Worse perhaps, according to 1 Timothy 2:14 Adam was not deceived, so what was he thinking? We will have to ask him someday, perhaps. So what can I do differently?

When things seem confusing and dark and cloudy filled with all sorts of self gratification, SOUND THE ALARM!!!! Ask God to bring in The Search Light, Jesus.

Genesis 1:4 “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. “

Good deals are filled with Light – That is the Good News. Hebrew -TOV – Good. When Adam and Eve fell, then in came darkness – Bad, we have all known this from the first time we can remember sleeping in the dark, its scary with good reason – NO LIGHT. You can’t see and when you are involved in any kind of deal where you can’t see, things are confusing, watch out.

Proverbs 25:27 is also extremely helpful: It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

When I look deeply into that Proverb I can see something remarkable, God’s Glory brings light, life, “TOV”-Goodness health, shalom . Self gratification on the other hand brings diabetes your kidneys shut down and you die, in much the same way if we are searching for our own glory we bring darkness as was the case with this leasing scheme and we bring death.

I love the thought that when God saw the light it was Good News, goodness, potential of another brilliant day, if we bring God however we can, Jesus can restore us back to that Goodness with His Blood, He bought back our potential to bring light, life, “TOV”.