Deceived

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 (NIV)

We are being forced to do what we have known we should do for many years. State Farm Insurance, with whom first my husband, and then, me, we have been insured for over thirty five years, is walking away from the State of Florida. Well, at least with homeowner’s insurance. They will gladly continue to write policies for car and liability insurance. Thanks, but no thanks. Husband started with State Farm when he was fifteen years old, and he got his learner’s permit. His parents made him buy his own car insurance. He went with State Farm because his parents were customers there. Since that time, we have added my car, two children’s cars and two motorcycles, homeowner’s insurance and an umbrella liability policy. We figure, even when rates were low in the beginning, that we have paid them at least a half million dollars over the years. Remember, we have two boys under the age of twenty-five! I can count on one hand the number of auto accidents we have claimed, and we have only made one claim on our homeowner’s policy which they denied. Apparently, the fine print said water leaks were not covered. All this time, we have paid whatever they asked us to pay, just grateful to have coverage. Once, we went in to try to reduce our premiums, only to leave paying more when they sold us the umbrella policy. They sent us a nice letter saying that it would take a while for them to pack up and leave so we can continue to send them money until they tell us they are gone. I would much rather fire them before they cancel me, so I began shopping for a new insurance carrier. Now, I know why all these years I sat on my rear and kept writing the checks. Most companies I called will not write coverage for people who live on an island. Or who have a house over twenty years old with a very steep pitched roof. Or who have Dobermans. Or who have horses. Or who have children under the age of twenty five. In order to get coverage, we will have to have our property surveyed so we can show the elevation of our house. We will pay extra or get an exclusion for dog bites. We are going to tell oldest on to find his own car insurance. And still, it is going to be a big hassle. But, I don’t have a choice this time. My search reminded me of these verses in Thessalonians where Paul reminds them to be open to teaching, but not to believe everything that we hear until we have tested it against God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom. For years, I have obediently followed State Farm, but now my eyes are opened to how I have been deceived. The same goes for preachers and teachers. Just because they claim to be Christians does not mean all of them are right.