Making an Agreement

As many already know, the electronic age makes it quite easy to accomplish a great many transactions with the touch of a key or the click of a mouse.  I'm amazed at how much business I can accomplish while never leaving the place.  I'm also blessed at how much Good News can be published by simply clicking on a button labeled "send."  So many times I think of Isaiah 52:7 as I hit "publish" on the site builder.  This reality, though; has a down side to it as well and I've spent the last three weeks really pondering the importance of knowing what I'm agreeing to, before I click "agree" or "accept."

I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but as these end of days continue to unfold, it just seems that we could so easily agree to something without really considering the ramifications of that agreement.  It's easy to make "Big Brother" references and snide comments about NSA, but in that ease I sense a real desensitization taking place.  As we have incrementally agreed to give up our privacy for convenience, most of us have come to the point of knowing "they" have all the legal protection and we simply agree to go along without fully understanding.  I've spoken to many people who say they don't think they would understand the terms if they read the form, yet they sign or agree . . . How much more will we "agree" to without even reading it.

Some might call me paranoid or beyond diligent, but in the years of filing e-forms with my business, I've learned, clicking "submit," or "send" does legally obligate me to the terms or authority of the entity with which I'm dealing.  My ancestors know all too well, making a deal without knowing all the details still obligates all parties involved.  When I read the report of the raid on a Kansas household based upon internet purchases of grow lights, it became painfully clear, there is a great deal of enforceable power through internet transactions.  People are getting hired and fired based upon facebook posts and twitter comments.  We truly do need to know to what we are agreeing.  Taking it a step further . . .

Do we read the Patient Bill of Rights and the stack of papers that are signed for treatment at the local ER or doctor's office?  What about our local bank, when "they" are the ones with our money?   By the number of doctors who will not take checks and the amount of information needed for any banking transaction, it's clear the "authority" doesn't trust us.  Why should we be so trusting as to just agree that "they" have our best interests at heart?  As my three week hiatus from social media came to an end, I couldn't even log in to my account without enabling my cookies.  A window popped up directing me to enable my cookies before login was possible.  In that, I have agreed to allow facebook to track my browsing.  Hopefully, I've managed a way to still maintain my objective, but at least I know to what I've agreed . . .  There's a day coming, the price for "free" will just be too costly.

Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.  a Proverb of Holy Scripture