Don't Be A Shady Person

Proverbs 2:11-15, “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:”

We are sadly living in some dark times in America today! The United States has become one of the most greedy, unethical and dishonest places on earth in history. Isaiah 59:8, “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”

I went to a local Starbucks in Pensacola recently. I bought their new Horchata Iced Shaken Expresso cold drink. I am not a coffee drinker per se, but I like to sit down in a café and enjoy the atmosphere. So, I bought their new drink, a small size, which cost nearly $6. As I sat drinking I saw some big bold words in front of me on the table, which read: “Ready for a refill?” The message says in Big Bold Letters that you can get a free refill for your drink. I took a photo of their table at the Starbucks I visited, shown below...

Starbucks' Message On Their Table Top

So, I finished my small drink (which was filled two-thirds with ice), and then asked the female employee for my refill. I was greatly disappointed when she refused. She told me to read the fine print, which excludes most of Starbucks' drinks! What LIARS!!! What a shady business!!!

I mean, why tease your customers to get a free refill with a message displayed in big bold white letters, but then put a disclaimer in tiny skinny print that is so small and narrow, that you need eye-glasses to read it? What dishonest crooked people!!! ...

Starbucks' Dishonest Shady Fine Print

I am so upset over this shady advertising that I decided to never go back to Starbucks again!!! I hate dishonest shady companies. Starbucks is unethical to offer free refills in bold advertising, but then in barely legible fine print exclude most of their beverages. What crooked people!!! 

Our holy God hates crooked people too!!! To clarify, God hates the sin, not the sinner. Proverbs 2:11 and 15, “To deliver thee from the way of the evil man... Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:” Starbucks' is a crooked business!!! They lie to their customers, failing to honor their promises. You cannot make BOLD promises to customers with clear, legible, writing on your tables; but then dishonor your vow with barely legible miniscule fine print. That is so corrupt and shady!

I got ripped off at Starbucks! They charged me nearly $6 for a small drink that had less than 8 ounces of beverage that contained mostly ice. And then they refuse to give me a refill? Unreal. Shame on Starbucks' greedy management. I did file a complaint at their company's website today with Customer Service. I told Starbucks how shady their offer for a free refill is, when most of the drinks they sell are excluded; and then they only post their disclaimer in fine print so small that you literally need your eye-glasses to read. I have declared war on unethical behavior by shady companies! Businesses have become so ruthless in America!

I encourage you dear reader, whoever you may be, to avoid stooping low to use deceptive practices when dealing with your neighbours (which includes everyone in the world). It matters how we treat others. I hate fine print, because the Devil is always in the details!

The Bible teaches in Revelation 20:6 that we as believers will reign with Jesus during the Millennium. If the Lord allows me the total freedom to reign over my jurisdiction as I see fit, I will outlaw all fine print! I am sick and tired of shady fine print that is written to afflict consumers. The sad fact that they make the fine print barely readable proves my point. If I have any say in how I rule over my town or city in the Millennium, ambulance-chasing lawyers will be out of business! We are living in a parasitic society in the United States, where everyone and their dog are suing each other for a quick means of getting money.

I recently saw a despicable Morgan & Morgan lawyer advertisement posted on the side of a big public transport bus. The ad showed a man soaking up the sun laying on a plastic raft in a swimming pool. The message was clear that if you sue the right people you can live large. Morgan & Morgan are wickedly appealing to human greed as a motivation to sue others! Shame on them all!!! Isaiah 1:4, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”

I implore you as a redeemed child of God (which hopefully you are), that you be better than the average bear. Don't be a shady person! Why offer free refills in bold words to customers, but then exclude most of the beverages your store sells in shady fine print that is barely readable? It is unethical and wrong what Starbucks is doing! It is shady and deceptive tactics, just like the crafty serpent used in the Garden of Eden to ruin Eve's life.

I see so much unethical business practices today, from lying shady advertising to gimmicks to lure new customers into a deceptive business contract. I hate crooked companies! You cannot love your neighbour as yourself by deceiving him with fine print! The word "free" is abused and misused often in today's unethical American culture. Most things that people falsely call "free" nowadays will cost you, showing that it truly is NOT free at all.

A couple weeks ago, I created a new account at Pep Boys and made an appointment online to have my vehicle serviced on Friday, May 23rd at 11 am at a local Pep Boys shop in Pensacola. I arrived at 10:50 am on Friday at the store. When I got to the service desk, a female employee told us that there was at least a 5 hour wait, but I kindly said I have an appointment. She said it didn't matter because they were busy. So I left without being helped.

When I got home, I found an offensive email sent to me from Pep Boys which read: “Sorry you couldn't make your recent service appointment with us — do you want to set another time?” Pep Boys wrongly accused me in the email of not showing up for the appointment, but I did show up; they were the ones who didn't show up and broke their promise! It was Pep Boys who didn't honor our appointment. What's the use of scheduling an appointment, if Pep Boys is not going to honor it? An appointment doesn't mean waiting 5 or more hours to have your vehicle serviced. I just wanted my air conditioning looked at, because it's not putting out cold air.

An appointment means being timely, not first come first serve. This is unethical. I understand that things can become busy and hectic, but at a minimum someone at the store should have called to let me know beforehand that the appointment couldn't be honored, instead of wasting my time to drive to Pep Boys just to be told I'd have to wait for 5 or more hours. That is no way to run a business. I don't plan to go back any time soon, if ever! I'll go somewhere else where an appointment means something.

There was a better time back in the old days of America, when someone's word actually meant something. A man's word should be his bond! If you understand this, then you'll understand Psalms 138:2, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” That is very interesting! The inspired Holy Bible says that God elevates His Word above His name. The reason why should be obvious, because God's name is only as good as His character to keep His Word.

This is what the Bible means in Romans 10:11, “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” God is saying that you won't be disappointed if you trust in Jesus as your Savior. This passage of Scripture has nothing to do with you being ashamed of Jesus. Most preachers wrongly interpret this Bible verse! It is a quote from Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”

In this passage of Scripture, the Lord God speaks through the prophet Isaiah. The prophet proclaims God's promise of a coming Messiah who will become the cornerstone of the building. The “stone symbolically represents Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who is the foundation of our Christian faith and the Church (1st Corinthians 3:11). In ancient architecture, the cornerstone was the principal stone placed at the corner of a building, ensuring its stability and alignment. After setting the cornerstone, the workers built the rest of the building using that cornerstone as their accurate guide. This ensured that the house when completed would be level and true. Those who place their faith in God's promises in the inspired Holy Bible will not be shaken. This is what the word “ashamed” means in Romans 10:11. We do not serve a shady God! The Lord is always good, upright, honest, loving, faithful, true and fair.

Even God's free gift of salvation has been corrupted in most churches (cults) today, who preach another gospel of partial faith in Christ plus works. They will wickedly tell you that to get to Heaven you must "Repent of your sins," which is not biblical. You just need to repent (change your mind) from unbelief to belief to be saved. Since unbelief is the only sin which can prevent you from going to Heaven; therefore, it is the only sin that you need to change your mind about to be saved. You simply need to admit that you are a needy sinner, so you will know what you are being saved from—the wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8).

Thankfully, God's gift of eternal life is still 100% free, through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31; Philippians 3:9).