You have been tricked.
All of us have, actually. And I am not talking about Halloween. That holiday may have the phrase “Trick or Treat” but there really aren’t many tricks involved. That is just a nice phrase that kids say to get candy as they go door to door. No, I am talking about things that occur in everyday living. These tricks are played upon us by store owners trying to maximize their profits.
There are many tricks out there. Some are pretty well known, and we fall for them anyway. One is the so-called “left-digit effect.” You most often see prices that end in .99 or .95. This tricks you into thinking you are getting an item at just below regular price. Items whose price ends in .99 can actually outsell comparable items that are cheaper but instead have an even price (one that ends in .00).
Another trick you may see is that dollar signs are not included at all. Higher-end restaurants sometimes do this. The price is just a number. If you don’t associate it with actual money then you might not think as much about spending what it costs to get the meal.
Music is sometimes also used to get us to spend more. Companies will try to match the background music in their store to the items they are selling. You might hear romantic music in a flower shop, for example.
The layout of stores makes a big difference. Malls will put their food courts away from the anchor stores. This makes people travel from one to the other, which increases the chance of stopping in another store along the way. Dairy products are often put in the back of a grocery store. This makes you have to go through the aisles in order to get to that milk you wanted. And the more things you see the higher chance you will buy.
And time is also a factor. Store owners know that if you stay long enough you will turn from a rational shopper to an emotional one. And emotional shoppers will buy more stuff. To this end big warehouse stores will purposely make it difficult to find exactly what you are looking for. Grocery stores will re-organize their shelving every so often. If you don’t know where something is, you will spend more time looking for it.
These are all tricks in a way. That word has a negative connotation doesn’t it? No one ever says “I’ve been tricked!” in a good light. When you hear that phrase it always means that the person affected is unhappy. Something has happened to them that they think shouldn’t have, and they are upset about it.
You don’t have to go far in the bible to see evidence of this. Jacob is a prime example. He was tricked into marrying Leah, the older of two of Laban’s daughters.
Genesis 29:14-29
After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, 15 Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”
22 So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. 23 But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. 24 And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.
25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”
26 Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 27 Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”
28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. 30 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Here we have a father tricking a family member to get what he wanted for his daughter. And does Jacob have much right to complain? Earlier in his life His mother tricked his father to get what she wanted for him. With his mother’s instruction he stole the birthright from his older brother. He got away with it because his father, Isaac, was old and had bad eyesight and couldn’t see him very well. Now someone who can’t see very well (Leah) tricks him.
I believe that tricks have such a bad rap because they represent something that is not supposed to happen. They go against the status quo. Something was done to me that should not have occurred, and I am mad about it.
But look at what the status quo was (and sadly, in some cases may still be):
First born sons are the best, and should get the lion’s share of the inheritance.
Money and power are what really matter.
The only way to rule is by might.
If it is one thing we learn from scripture it is that these things are not true. God doesn’t act according to what we think should happen. Jesus’ ministry is an example of this. His closest followers assumed he would rule like King David of old. Maybe they should have remembered that David himself was the youngest son with no royal pedigree at all.
These stories remind us that God’s way goes against the grain. We are blessed that it does.
God Bless