The scene is a changing room of a very exclusive sports club. A man has just finished his work-out when suddenly a mobile phone on one of the benches rings. The man picks it up and the following conversation ensues.

“Hello?”

“Honey, It's me.”

“Sugar!”

“Are you at the gym?”

“Yes.”

“Great! I'm at the shops. I saw a beautiful mink coat. It is absolutely gorgeous!! Can I buy it?”

“What's the price?”

“Only £1250.”

“Well, okay, go ahead and get it, if you really like it that much.”

“Ahhhhh. Oh, and I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the 2008 models. There was one I really liked and the salesman gave me a really good price ... and since we need to exchange the BMW that we bought last year...”

“What price did he quote you?”

"Only £36,000!”

“Okay, but for that price I want it with all the extras.”

“Great! Before we hang up, just one more thing...”

“Yeeees?”

“It might seem like a lot, but I was looking at our bank statement and...well, we seem to be doing OK just now so I stopped by to see the estate agent this morning and I looked again at that house we had looked at last year. It's on sale!! Remember? The one with a pool, a granny annex and 2 acres of paddock for the horse,...”

“How much are they asking?”

“Only £1,500,000... a fantastic price and as we are in such good shape financially at the moment...”

“Well, then go ahead and buy it, but make them an offer first Then I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

“Okay, sweetie. Thanks! I'll see you later!! I love you!!!”

“Bye. I do too.”

The man hangs up, closes the phone's flap and raises the phone in the air and calls out: “Does anyone know whose phone this is?”

Many voices clamour for our attention. Often we give them an authority and power to influence that they don’t deserve. We’ve seen just recently that a few idle words from someone working the money markets can send share values tumbling. And a few sentences in the news, if they are believed, can wreck someone’s reputation.

When Jesus was on trial before Pilate he was asked to explain his intentions and he answered: ‘Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’ Pilate replied: ‘What is truth?’(John 18:37-38 NIV)

Living in an age of information overload I guess that is one of the big questions we have to keep asking ourselves. What are the voices that I choose take notice of? It’s a question that deserves an answer.

Every blessing                                                             Graham Robinson