80a – The Golden Rule of Business
Think a minute…This is the true story of a boy named Jim who started working on farms at the young age of 8. By the time he was 20, Jim was training as a store manager and a successful salesman. In 1901 he married a young woman named Berta. After a couple more years Jim was put in charge of a brand-new store. He put a big sign on the front that read, Golden Rule.
Jim worked hard to manage his store from early morning until late at night. He and Berta lived in a small room above the store that was an unfinished attic. Their dining table was just a box turned upside down and shoe cases for chairs. But their Golden Rule store was on its way. Jim’s wise, hard work paid off. After 12 years he had 71 stores. Three years later he had 177 stores; and 11 years later Jim owned a chain of more than 1,000 stores across America!
Maybe you’ve heard this true story of the J.C. Penney stores and the young man, James Cash Penney, who built it all from nothing. But you probably have not heard of the terrible suffering and disappointments he had to overcome to accomplish it.
Back in 1910, Jim lost the most important partner and person in his life when his wife Berta died. Then came the famous stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression in America. By 1931, J.C. Penney was in the hospital from a physical and emotional breakdown.
When he woke the next morning, he heard music and followed the sound to the small chapel in the hospital. There Jim met God who began to heal his broken heart and restore his purpose for living. Jim had lost 40 million dollars! But that day he discovered riches greater than any amount of money. At the age of 56, with his new-found purpose and passion, he started his life again.
Jim traveled everywhere speaking about the power and principles of Jesus Christ, including the Golden Rule. In fact, Jim rebuilt his company even bigger! No matter what disappointments you have had in the past, you can start all over again today. But this time you can be spiritually born again to live your Creator and Savior’s true way. Remember, His way is the only way you can have real prosperity and peace that can never be taken away from you. Just think a minute…
80b – Barriers to Bonding
Think a minute…It’s a fact of life and human nature: “Everybody needs somebody.” For our life to be satisfying and successful, we need close friends. But we face barriers that can hinder or even stop us from bonding with people and enjoying close, meaningful relationships.
The first barrier to bonding with others is our painful past. We find it difficult to trust others because we have been deeply hurt by someone before. We’re afraid to open our heart to anyone again. We may not want to get close and share our real feelings with others because in the past we were criticized or even rejected for being open and honest. So now to protect ourselves from that possible pain, we don’t let others know our true feelings and the person we really are inside.
Some of us were blessed to be born to parents who gave us loving acceptance, affection, and attention, so we learned how to have close, open relationships. But people who are hurting and wounded from their past often are not free to fully trust others and build close, honest relationships.
Another big barrier to bonding with others is our wrong thinking about ourselves. We may think we’re just not good enough to be truly liked or loved by others. We think something is wrong with us, either because we were actually told that, or we simply did not feel truly loved and accepted when we were children.
Finally, another barrier to bonding with others is our confused, wrong understanding of our Maker. We don’t really believe that God fully loves and accepts us just the way we are. We may also wrongly think that if we trust God and live His way, then He will take away our freedom and fun in life. But actually, it’s the exact opposite. God has done everything He possibly can so we can enjoy living His right, satisfying way He created for us. The boundaries He gives us are simply to protect us from hurting ourselves and others. His way guards and guides us into the full life of true love, joy, peace and purpose He designed for us humans.
If you’ve struggled to have close relationships with your family or friends because of past pain and disappointments, or wrong thinking about yourself, Jesus can start changing that today. If you ask Him to take charge of your heart and life, He can start healing your past wounds and tearing down those barriers between you and those you care about. Only then can you finally have the life of real love He created you to have and enjoy. Just think a minute…
80c – Better with Age
Think a minute…Not long ago a 102-year-old woman was playing a game of golf. On a 100-yard long hole she thought she had lost her ball. Then she discovered she had hit it straight into the cup. A record hole-in-one by a 102-year-old woman! Who says we don’t get better with age!
For many years Othmar Ammann was an engineer for the Port of New York City. But he knew he still had plenty of good years and plans ahead of him. He decided to leave his secure government job to try to fulfill his dreams as a designer and start his own engineering company.
Othmar Ammann was not afraid to step out of his comfort zone, so our world is full of many magnificent monuments that he masterfully designed and built: the airport at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., the Iranian highway system, the New Jersey and Connecticut turnpikes, the U.S. Navy’s 600-foot radio telescope, and what was then the world’s longest suspension bridge in New York City.
To this day, designers and engineers still talk about Othmar Ammann’s many masterpieces. Actually, two of his greatest accomplishments that we did not mention were New York City’s George Washington Bridge and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge—since he did those before his so-called “retirement.” Amazingly, the majority of Othmar Amman’s engineering masterworks were built after he “retired” at the age of 60. The last one Othmar designed and built was the longest bridge in the world at that time—when Othmar was 86-years-old!
The fact is we all were designed to keep building a better life and character all the way to the end. Recently I heard a successful man say: “I don’t want to have to look back for the best I’ve done in my life. If I peaked in the past, then I’ll never fully become the man I was born to be.” It’s been said that life’s greatest achievement is to finish it well.
Sadly, not everyone gets better with age. In fact, some people’s character flaws and weaknesses seem to grow worse as they grow older. As a wise leader sadly observed: “Most people do not change much.” But the great news is you can be one of those few good men and women who choose to start changing today. Will you wholeheartedly ask Jesus to forgive you and take charge of your heart for the rest of your life. Only He can help you keep growing in your character, so you will get better with age and finish your life according to His awesome master plan for you. Just think a minute…
80d – Show and Tell Your Children Well
Think a minute…Not long ago in America an exciting championship basketball game was played between New Rochelle and Yonkers High Schools. The New Rochelle team’s coach was Dan O’Brien. Yonkers was leading by one point with only a few seconds left to play. Then amazingly New Rochelle quickly brought the ball across the court for the final shot and a thrilling victory! But the crowd of fans was yelling and cheering so loudly that the referee could not hear the final buzzer signaling time had run out. When he asked the timekeeper, the young man answered: “Sir, the final buzzer actually sounded off just before New Rochelle made the last shot.”
As the referee was giving Coach O’Brien the bad news, the young timekeeper came over and said to Coach O’Brien: “Dad, I’m really sorry. But the time ran out just before your team made the winning basket.” His father, Coach O’Brien, smiled with satisfaction and said: “That’s okay, son. You did the right thing, and I’m so proud of you for it.” This father had taught his son well: “Always be honest, no matter what it costs you or what you can get away with.”
There’s a similar true story of another basketball team of teenagers who came from behind to win their championship game. Then just a few days later, their coach was watching a film of the game and saw that an ineligible player was on the court for only a few seconds of the game. He immediately called the sports league authorities and reported his own team’s mistake and violation, and he returned the championship trophy.
At a press conference the coach said: “Some people have said that we should have kept quiet about it, because it was only a few seconds and it would not have changed the fact that we won. But we always must do what is honest and right. I told my team that people forget the scores of games, but they do not forget what you’re made of as a man.” You can be sure that every young man on that team will always remember the honest, courageous character of their coach and want to follow his strong example.
The greatest honor and responsibility we have is to raise and teach the next generation well. It is up to us whether our children will become brave, honest, loving leaders and parents. In fact, it is never too late to ask Jesus to change your heart and character. Only He can help you become the true example this next generation desperately needs to follow. Just think a minute…
80e – Castaways
Think a minute…You may have heard the famous true story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. English sailors rebelled against their captain, William Bligh, in the South Pacific. They took control of his ship and put him and his few loyal men adrift on a small row boat out in the middle of the vast Pacific. These rebel sailors knew that they had committed one of the worst crimes possible, with the punishment of death. They escaped to a lonely island named Pitcairn. There they sank their own ship to hide from the world for the rest of their lives. Less than 20 years later only one of those rebel sailors was still alive. Their little island paradise had become a living hell. They had fought so much among themselves that they killed each other one-by-one.
When the last Bounty mutineer was finally discovered he had completely changed. Instead of the alcoholic thief and murderer he had been, he was now a gentle, loving father. The British government was so impressed by the change in this old rebel sailor that instead of executing him they pardoned him for his horrible crimes.
What happened to completely change the heart and character of that drunken rebel and criminal? He had become so depressed and miserable from all the fighting and killing of his former shipmates that he became a hopeless alcoholic. Finally, one day he was prepared to kill himself when he came across Captain Bligh’s old Bible. He began to read about God’s mercy and love for him, so he asked Jesus to forgive Him and help him start changing. From that day forward he was a different man.
Maybe you also have rebelled and lived your own sinful way. You might even feel like a castaway, rejected by certain people, and especially by God. But the truth is that you can never become too bad and sinful for God to love, forgive and accept you. He will never cast you away and reject you—no matter what you have done. Today Jesus is waiting for you to ask Him to forgive you and start changing your heart. It’s only then you can start enjoying your new life that He died to give you. Why wait? Just think a minute…