The Shark Tank Theology by William Keith Hatfield

Author:William Keith Hatfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Charisma House
Published: 2016-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 3

THE ASK

YOU CAN IMAGINE that a lot of thought and planning goes into “the ask.” Sometimes, in the preshow interviews where a contestant is interviewed in their own setting, you can see that they are asking for something that will set them free. As they tell their story, they introduce their business and tell of their needs. Some want to get enough to pay off their parents, families, or trust investors. One contestant had mortgaged everything and needed a certain amount or he was going to lose it all—business, home, the works. “If I don’t get what I’m asking for, I don’t know what I’ll do. I have to get it.” That is the lament of many.

The Sharks have shown a willingness to invest a great deal of money, and million-dollar deals have been made. Again, because their world is a whole different world and because they operate from a whole other set of parameters, sometimes this can seem puzzling to us novices. I’ve seen deals that I thought were solid gold for a low price. For a pittance, a Shark could have a huge portion of some enterprise with very low risk, which could become something I thought would be profitable. These deals often involved people for whom help from a Shark might have been nice. But being nice is not the goal! The Sharks turned them down, having seen something I did not see. Or maybe they just did not feel generous that day!

And then, there are the proposals that seem, to me, to be tailor-made to be rejected, dismissed, and done so with prejudice. Suddenly, a couple of the Sharks eagerly begin a bidding war, trying to partner with the contestant. Sometimes even the pitchman, as sold out on their business as they are, seems surprised to have all of that action. It is, to put it in real shark vernacular, a “feeding frenzy.” Two Sharks may come together and share an offer. They may even do this to beat out another Shark. Whatever is being asked is granted. Sometimes, because of the competition, it is even increased.

So what are you asking for? What do you want?

Did you know that there is a fierce competition for you? As C. S. Lewis, the Catholic theologian once said, every day, God and Satan contest for every square inch of this world. You are the prize! God loves you so much, so intensely, and so passionately! He gave the ultimate to make the deal for your soul—His only begotten Son. He purchased your right to heaven and a glorious eternal existence.

He outbid everyone else. He offered you far more than you imagined.

The apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament. He wrote in one of his church letters, in Ephesians 2:4, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us.” That’s what it is! It is a great love, the greatest of all.

In another letter, which also became a book, the Book of

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