Reply-To: "Stu" <[log in to unmask]>
From: "Stu" <[log in to unmask]>
The High Cost of Convenience
We knew some folks who owned a convenience store, and they were
people who worked some very long hours to make a living, but we
enjoyed teasing them about the prices in their store. We'd kid about
$5.00 for a half-gallon of milk, $10.00 for a box of cookies, $2.00
candy bars. Now it wasn't quite that bad, but you usually do pay
noticeably more for things in a convenience store. See, that is the
profit factor in being open at times and on days when other stores
are closed. Our storeowner friends were quick to defend those prices.
They reminded us of a simple fact of life--convenience costs more.
They're right.
Let's talk about "The High Cost of Convenience."
Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Matthew 7:13-14.
Notice the price tag on what's convenient and easy. Jesus says,
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the
way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small
is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Take the easy road--destruction. Take the narrow road--life.
Convenience costs. That's a life principle; it's a law of the
universe. We instinctively want to do what's the easiest thing; the
fastest thing. Right now you may be facing some important choices
about a relationship, about your future, about your marriage, maybe
your financial situation, or your business. My guess is that one road
you could take is the easy one. The other road looks harder.
You're tempted to give up; that's the easy choice. There's a
temptation really pulling on you. It would be so easy just to give in
and go for it, wouldn't it? You need money, and it would be easy to
go for quick money, dishonest money, or money that would load you up
with debt. But remember, convenience costs more!
What Jesus describes with the easy road and the hard road is very
revealing. They are sort of like a funnel. Take the easy choice, and
it's wide up front, but the farther you go on that road, the narrower
it gets, squeezing you, restricting you, scarring you, and ultimately
destroying you.
Or you could choose the road that will take longer, that will require
more discipline and sacrifice and maybe even cost you something you
value. But it's like an inverted funnel. It's narrow up front, but it
ultimately opens up into long-range happiness and long-range peace.
So, in reality, the seemingly hard road is really the least expensive
choice in the long run. But it's almost surely the road that will
take longer, that will require more risks, more sacrifice, and yes,
more faith. But the reward and the payoff is so much greater!
Remember: it's the narrow road that leads to life. And that's the
destination you want.
So, look at the temptation to take the easy road right now, and don't
fall for the lure of what's easy, because the price tag isn't printed
on the package.
It will cost a lot. I know that temptation may be pulling hard, but
you can't afford the price tag. The narrow road leads to life. And,
after all, it's really the destination that counts, isn't it, not so
much the road you go on. Remember: in all the things that really,
really matter in life, convenience costs a whole lot more!
Stu
Stuart Swartz
616 E. boothe
Cleveland, Tx. 77327
281-659-0629
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IF YOU WORRY, YOU DIDN'T PRAY. IF YOU HAVE PRAYED, DON'T WORRY.
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