This fall, the body of Jesus-followers I am connected with celebrated what God has been up and what He’s doing among us in the future. We’re called the evening “I to the Power of We”. This blog has nothing to do with that.

No, I’m afraid this blog is much less spiritual than that.

Recently, while strolling through my neighborhood “big box” store, I found a palette of Nintendo Wii gaming consoles. Packed in a bundle, each complete with extra controllers and a sweet bonus game, I stopped and stared. After all, I am a male in America.

And not only that, I immediately remembered that the Wii is hard to find anywhere. But here I was, standing in front of a pile of them….staring.

And immediately, my mind began calculating. What if I purchased a Wii, waited until the heat of Christmas shopping season was upon us, and then Ebayed that puppy for a sweet profit?!?

Illegal? Unethical? UnGodly? It’s debatable.

Our sense of what is acceptable is largely linked to our culture. I’ve watched people do this very thing (buying low and selling high) for years. It’s the heartbeat of American capitalism. But what about exploiting someone’s want for our own gain? What say you, holy writ?

Well, I couldn’t find too much in the Bible about buying a Wii and selling it for more than you bought it. But I did find some related tidbits:
Help people who need it.
Don’t exploit others.
Live a life of simplicity.
Deal honestly with every person in every way.
Don’t get attached to stuff.
If somebody needs something you have, give it away.

Not too promising to a guy trying to turn a buck.

But it does leave me with a better sense of power, ironically enough. I once heard it said:
“Power isn’t having the ability to do what you want, its having the freedom to do what you should.”