Hello everyone,
Today I want to tell you about something I really saw in a different light this week. But before I get to that, I want to roll the clock back several years and tell you a little story.
When I first started working for company I run today, some of the people from our company had to take a trip to Detroit. Now I was very new to flying and so I was really excited. But the truth be told, I was new to almost everything related to business. I was still a wet behind the ears rookie at our business at it showed.
There were four of us on this particular trip. We were going to see a company that wanted us to work for them and this was our interview process. It was a chance for us to interview them and vice versa. But since we were coming to Detroit on our air fare, they paid for our hotel rooms (remember this fact, you will see it again). My boss was normally in a good mood when we went on these trips and he needed it for this trip. As we got to the counter, I was the first one in our line. Now my boss was in the frequent flier program and he had the ability to upgrade to first class from coach. The attendant asked if I wanted to upgrade since I was in my bosses party and I said, "Sure! Updgrade the whole group!" Because I wasn't using my money, being a big spender was no problem. The funny part was that I didn't know it cost money to do the upgrades. I thought my boss got to do this just because he had flown so much on that airline. Well $500 later we got on the airplane in first class. If he was mad about it, he never mentioned it. Truth be told, he would probably have done it himself.
So he and another of the more seasoned veterans of our company sat a couple of rows behind us while I and another wet behind the ears salesman sat in the bulkhead row. It was an evening flight and we all had a good time. In fact, my companion had a very good time. He drank a bottle of wine during the flight. Well we are about to start our decent into Detroit when the flight attendant asks him if he wants to take this other bottle with him when we get off the plane. When my friend finds out he has 30 minutes until we land, he promptly orders the bottle opened and finishes it before we hit the runway in Detroit.
At this point, he is finished himself. See two bottles of wine over the course of three hours is a lot of wine even for him. At that point, he could hold his liquor pretty well. What he didn't factor into the equation was the altitude and how it makes the alcohol even more potent. While we were standing in line to get our rental car, he has his arm around the guy behind. This other guy is wearing the ugliest suit I have ever seen. It is bright yellow and he is wearing a bright yellow hat like the guy from Curious George. Being the salesman he is, my friend is trying to convince this stranger to come charter a boat the company owed! He was totally plastered!
So we get to the hotel and start the check in process. In case you have never stayed at a hotel, this is a typical check in process. You walk up to the counter, announce who you are and they start the process. At this point, the people behind the counter ask for your credit card to pay for the room and any other incidental charges. Unless someone else has already paid for your room! At one point in our process and I find my friend in a full on argument about paying for his room. Now he is attempting to pay for it with his driver's license (not a credit card). When the lady behind the counter explains that the rooms have been paid for by the company we are visiting, he gets upset because he thinks that this little lady is saying he is in capable of handling his financial responsibilities and tries to pay for his room with his YMCA card. This whole process goes on for a while before we get him convinced that the room is paid for and he is in right standing with the hotel.
That's sort of a funny story right. Well what would you say if I told you that you have probably done the same thing in your life? I can already hear people saying, "Not me! I've never been drunk!" or something else explaining my ridiculous question. But hold on there for a minute.
See, I bet there is an area of your life where this is a problem. Have you ever done something wrong in your life and then regretted it? Have you ever felt bad about something you did and sort of punished yourself for doing it? I'm pretty sure you have. But you see, your forgiveness has already been paid in full. Jesus did it once and for all. He took care of your hotel bill for good. I think we go around a lot trying to pay for our own sins with our driver's license or YMCA card when Jesus has already taken care of it. So if that's you today, quit trying to pay for something that's already paid with something that wouldn't take care of the bill if there was one. Just accept God's forgiveness. When you do something wrong, admit it, quit it and forget it!
That's another Opinion of the Minion.
Today I want to tell you about something I really saw in a different light this week. But before I get to that, I want to roll the clock back several years and tell you a little story.
When I first started working for company I run today, some of the people from our company had to take a trip to Detroit. Now I was very new to flying and so I was really excited. But the truth be told, I was new to almost everything related to business. I was still a wet behind the ears rookie at our business at it showed.
There were four of us on this particular trip. We were going to see a company that wanted us to work for them and this was our interview process. It was a chance for us to interview them and vice versa. But since we were coming to Detroit on our air fare, they paid for our hotel rooms (remember this fact, you will see it again). My boss was normally in a good mood when we went on these trips and he needed it for this trip. As we got to the counter, I was the first one in our line. Now my boss was in the frequent flier program and he had the ability to upgrade to first class from coach. The attendant asked if I wanted to upgrade since I was in my bosses party and I said, "Sure! Updgrade the whole group!" Because I wasn't using my money, being a big spender was no problem. The funny part was that I didn't know it cost money to do the upgrades. I thought my boss got to do this just because he had flown so much on that airline. Well $500 later we got on the airplane in first class. If he was mad about it, he never mentioned it. Truth be told, he would probably have done it himself.
So he and another of the more seasoned veterans of our company sat a couple of rows behind us while I and another wet behind the ears salesman sat in the bulkhead row. It was an evening flight and we all had a good time. In fact, my companion had a very good time. He drank a bottle of wine during the flight. Well we are about to start our decent into Detroit when the flight attendant asks him if he wants to take this other bottle with him when we get off the plane. When my friend finds out he has 30 minutes until we land, he promptly orders the bottle opened and finishes it before we hit the runway in Detroit.
At this point, he is finished himself. See two bottles of wine over the course of three hours is a lot of wine even for him. At that point, he could hold his liquor pretty well. What he didn't factor into the equation was the altitude and how it makes the alcohol even more potent. While we were standing in line to get our rental car, he has his arm around the guy behind. This other guy is wearing the ugliest suit I have ever seen. It is bright yellow and he is wearing a bright yellow hat like the guy from Curious George. Being the salesman he is, my friend is trying to convince this stranger to come charter a boat the company owed! He was totally plastered!
So we get to the hotel and start the check in process. In case you have never stayed at a hotel, this is a typical check in process. You walk up to the counter, announce who you are and they start the process. At this point, the people behind the counter ask for your credit card to pay for the room and any other incidental charges. Unless someone else has already paid for your room! At one point in our process and I find my friend in a full on argument about paying for his room. Now he is attempting to pay for it with his driver's license (not a credit card). When the lady behind the counter explains that the rooms have been paid for by the company we are visiting, he gets upset because he thinks that this little lady is saying he is in capable of handling his financial responsibilities and tries to pay for his room with his YMCA card. This whole process goes on for a while before we get him convinced that the room is paid for and he is in right standing with the hotel.
That's sort of a funny story right. Well what would you say if I told you that you have probably done the same thing in your life? I can already hear people saying, "Not me! I've never been drunk!" or something else explaining my ridiculous question. But hold on there for a minute.
See, I bet there is an area of your life where this is a problem. Have you ever done something wrong in your life and then regretted it? Have you ever felt bad about something you did and sort of punished yourself for doing it? I'm pretty sure you have. But you see, your forgiveness has already been paid in full. Jesus did it once and for all. He took care of your hotel bill for good. I think we go around a lot trying to pay for our own sins with our driver's license or YMCA card when Jesus has already taken care of it. So if that's you today, quit trying to pay for something that's already paid with something that wouldn't take care of the bill if there was one. Just accept God's forgiveness. When you do something wrong, admit it, quit it and forget it!
That's another Opinion of the Minion.
