Did you watch “Deal or No Deal” Friday night? It is a new game show that may well threaten the formidable “Wheel of Fortune” as America’s game show. The format is pretty simple. The contestant starts out with a choice of one of 26 cases. That one is taken from the group and is out of play as the game begins. The chosen case may contain .01 cent or it may contain $1,000,000 or any of the 24 amounts in between; the challenge then is to choose one case at a time from the remaining 24 cases. Each is in the possession of a beautiful young lady who opens the case as her number is called.

In the first round the contestant must chose six cases to be opened. As the case is opened the amount of money it contains is removed from play. The hope is that each case will contain one of the smaller amounts, increasing the contestant’s chances of earning big money. After six cases have been opened the banker makes an offer based on the odds of the contestant making a big strike. The contestant is asked “Deal or no Deal?” if the answer is “Deal,” the contestant is guaranteed that amount of money. Often this will be more than $20,000 the first round.

If the answer is “No Deal,” the contestant must open another five cases before another offer will be made. Obviously the chances for knocking off the big numbers increase. After the five cases are opened, again, the banker will make an offer. If many of the big numbers are still in play, i.e., 50,000 – 75,000 – 100,000 – 250,000 – 500,000 – 750,000 – 1,000,000, the next deal may be in six figures.

In the next round, if the contestant chooses to continue, he or she must choose three cases and once again the offer will be made based on the amount of money left in play. By this time several of the big numbers may have fallen and the offer may come down. Adding to the drama the contestant has his family on the sidelines urging him on or begging him to take the money and run.

One contestant was a high school cheerleader coach. She had her cheerleaders as well as her family on the sidelines. The contestants come on the show with nothing to risk and they may go away with very little but the drama. The chance and the hype make it a fun show to watch.

As you might expect there is a little Christian allegory in here. We come into the world with nothing and we can’t take anything with us when we go. Along the way we have decisions to make. There are cases we have to open that may contain prizes and some that may contain disappointments. One shining case holds eternal punishment and loss. It is probably the prettiest case in the bunch, appealing to our senses and our human desires.

One contains salvation and is ours for the asking. Somewhere you will be offered that prize. Someone will cross your path and tell you about the love of Jesus Christ and His offer of eternal life. You will be faced with a decision… “Deal or No Deal.”