SBBS 1.2 - The Lisa Card

Season 1, Ep. 2 - The Lisa Card

Credit card debt is one of the most crippling things to America's economy and many families suffer due to its effects.  We're given more than we can ever pay back, but its a trap; one that many fall prey to every single day.

In a way, "The Lisa Card" was years ahead of its time. 

Lisa's father lets her use his credit card as a reward for doing well at school. However, she goes overboard with the spending, and her friends help her think of ways to make some money to pay it off.

The first thing that pops out to me... Why give a teenage girl a credit card?  Aren't you just asking for her to spend a bunch of money?  Like sending an alcoholic into a bar for a Pepsi... or like bringing doughnuts or various other sweet treats to my workplace on a continuous basis.  I mean c'mon people... Do you want me to gain wait?  I'm going to have to buy new pants soon.

Of course, I digress.

The "Lisa Card" shows Lisa having to find a way to pay off her credit card debt by selling all of her designer clothes for pennies on the dollar... selling off kisses to nerds... and even "slumming it" by having to work in a diner; apparently the only place hiring within 2 miles of her house.

In my opinion, the episode isn't as much about the obvious surface level lessons: i.e. the dangers of a credit card and the need to have self control.

For me, it was more about changing the person of who Lisa was.  She gets good grades, is popular, and her father is wealthy.  She seems to have everything she could ever want. In the Bible, we can find these questions for Lisa:

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26 NIV)

 For Lisa, this episode was more about "soul searching" than anything else.

There are two sides to every coin.  Lisa was able to see that the "other half" didn't live so bad. That exposure to the people and things she was not used to helped her become a better person. At least for that episode.

As we know, in the world of television... lessons learned are usually short lived. They usually come to an end. Perfect segue to the end of this blog post. See you next week!