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.