The Lifetime Pass That Was Never Used
The Toronto Ward Museum tells us the story of a nineteenth-century man named Isapo Muxika. He is more commonly known as Crowfoot. He was the chief of the Siksika Indian tribe. He was known for his peaceful relations with Canada during a time of great violence.
When the Canadian Pacific Railroad was being built and they needed to build part of it on his land, the Canadian government approached Crowfoot with an offer. They said, “If you will give us the land we need for the railroad, you can ride it whenever and wherever you want.”
So they made a deal. They finished the Canadian Pacific Railroad and Crowfoot received a lifetime pass. It was put in a beautiful case. Crowfoot is said to have carried that case around his neck for the rest of his life. It entitled him to go wherever he wanted where the railroad could take him.
There was just one problem. As far as we know, Crowfoot never stepped foot on that train. He had the right to travel anywhere he wanted, but he never availed himself of that right.
There are a lot of Christians like Crowfoot; they possess God’s promises; they quote them; they frame them; they hang them on their walls; they even post them on social media, but they never actually make use of them.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, “God never gives us a promise he does not intend for us to use.” So what should you and I do? Read them, get to know them, and then apply those promises which speak to your current condition, whatever that condition might be.
"Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord" (Proverbs 16:20).
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matthew 7:24).
Give The Customer What They Want
Terry Shea, writing for AOL Autos, attempts to explain the mystery of the inaccurate gas guage:
Have you ever noticed that your gas gauge stays on full for quite a while before the needle even moves and then it moves faster and faster as it approaches empty? And then when it gets to “E” it sort of stays there for a while until the low warning light comes on …?
It turns out it’s partially your fault that gas gauges work that way.
The engineers calibrate them to do that. Why? Because you, the customer, have told them that’s the way you like it. We spoke with Phil Pierron, an engineer at Ford (his title is actually “Technical Expert for Systems Engineering in Core Fuel Systems), who told us, “Our customers really didn’t want to run out of fuel when they hit ‘E.’ Customers do want some amount of fuel when they get to ‘E.’”
Apparently, consumer surveys indicate that people don’t like seeing the needle depart from “F” right away either ... . According to Pierron, “Customers want it to say on full for an amount of time.” This gives them the illusion that they are getting better fuel mileage or at least not immediately burning through that expensive tank of petrol they just bought, even if they quite literally are. …
And while customers want there to be a “reserve” of gasoline available when they reach the empty mark … they don’t want too much of a reserve. Otherwise, they will complain that their 20-gallon tank only takes 15 gallons when filling up from empty. Apparently, there is a sweet spot where customers are happy to be fooled by their gas gauges, but not too much. We customers sure are a fickle bunch.
The engineer’s job should be to make things more accurate and efficient, but in this case he has to play psychologist to keep customers happy.
Most people have a complicated relationship with the truth. They think they want the truth but bulk when it gets too uncomfortable. The problem is God's promised blessings are all predicated on our willingness to heed the truth.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9).
A Spending Spree To Regret
The Toronto Sun reports:
A French woman who thought she won the lottery jackpot racked up thousands in bills when she went on a shopping spree to celebrate, only to learn her ticket was off by a digit.
The 46-year-old mom then had to sheepishly explain her spendthrift ways to court after cops arrested her for fraud, having bounced [checks] all over the Haut-Doubs region of France.
According to newspaper L'Est Republicain, which did not name the woman, her husband was worried the lottery company was slow in sending his wife the winnings, so he rechecked her ticket. That's when he realized her spending celebrations were a tad premature.
To make matters worse, instead of confessing, the woman burned her purse and told cops it had been stolen. Unfortunately for her, security cameras caught her making the purchases.
As you enjoy your life’s blessings, do yourself a favor. Go back and recheck the ticket. Make sure you have a right to the blessings you take for granted. Do this by making sure you truly are, by faith in Christ, a child of God.
Don’t be found out in the end to be a fraud, cashing checks you have no business writing.
“Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them” (Luke 8:18).