practical Christianity

It Just Died

By: Denny

I built an HO scale train layout in one room in my basement several years ago. As of this writing I have acquired 27 diesel locomotive train engines and 110 cars. I don’t have room for all of the locomotives on the layout, so a few are packed away in their original boxes. I also don’t need that many engines, and I’m in the process of selling those I’m not using. I bought many of my locomotives pretty cheap as projects, converting them from the old-style Analog/DC and upgrading them to DCC so I could run them on my layout. It’s complicated to explain, but every DCC locomotive has a small computer module called the “decoder” that receives radio type wave signals from the handheld controller. Every engine is given its own unique electronic identity called a “long  address”, which makes it possible to run multiple trains at the same time at different speeds and directions providing you have more than one main line track, which I have two. I also have 7 separate locomotive sidings where I can park them when not being used. I try to run each one on a rotating basis from time-to-time. My favorite ones are equipped with factory sound decoders and small speakers that emit realistic locomotive sounds such as engine turbos, horns, bells, squealing brakes, dispatch radio communications, and other sounds. I have a separate track hooked to a computer with a program that enables me to adjust the various sound levels, as well as speed and lighting effects. Every decoder, even those without sound must first be programmed before they can be run.

The other day I had been running #632 a Great Northern GP7 locomotive pulling a 20-car hopper train. I decided to switch engines and fired up #2524 a U28 locomotive which is sound equipped. I let it idle on a sidetrack while unhooking #632 and parked it on another siding. #2524 has great sound effects. The turbo whistled loudly as the motor revs increased. The horn blared to announce its movement in the yard while the bell rang continuously. The couplers locked as the engine hooked to the lead car. I reversed direction and pushed the button to increase the forward speed and it just died. I mean there was no sound, the lights went out, and it wouldn’t move at all. I tried resetting the decoder and reprogramming the address, but it wouldn’t respond at all. As computers sometimes do, the decoder had crashed and was fried. In other words, the locomotive was useless unless I installed a new decoder. Good sound decoders are expensive ranging from $100 upwards. An original factory replacement decoder for this U28 was no longer available, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money installing another brand of sound decoder. For $21.00 I could install a basic non-sound decoder and the engine would be back in operation, but it’s not that simple. The old decoder first had to be removed, which was the easy part. Once the outside body was off all I had to do was unplug the 7 wired socket connections and unscrew 4 tiny screws which hold it in place. This might be boring and too technical, but stay with me because I’m leading up to a point. I ordered a new decoder which would take several days to arrive. It comes with a color coded 7-wire plug which can be removed from the decoder while installing it. I had an extra wired plug on hand, so I was able to connect the wires where they needed to go. All the wires are very tiny and needed to be cut to the right length and the ends stripped back about 1/4 inch by removing the plastic outside sheathing from the wires, which is easily done with fingernails. Every connection had to be soldered and covered with heat shrink tubing. I also replaced the old lights with new brighter LED’s requiring soldering in tiny resistors. With everything in place and wired correctly, when the new decoder arrived the only thing I would have to do is plug it in, program the decoder, and power up the locomotive,  giving new life to an engine that just died.

New decoder

Old decoder before removal

New decoder installed

 Ephesians 2:1 “And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Here is my point: We all are like that dead engine on life’s railroad. As a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin entered the soul of mankind and we just died spiritually. We were condemned to a hopeless eternity separated from God. Our decoders and relationship with God had crashed and fried. We needed a new decoder. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus is that new decoder that can make you spiritually alive again. You only need to believe and receive him. Allow God to do a complete heart change by removing the old dead decoder that separates you from him. There are things in your life that need to be stripped away and laid open much like a wire so you can be soldered to him. He will give you new lights that shine brightly. Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.” Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in  Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Wouldn’t you rather be doing and being what God created you for, than sitting on some abandoned railroad siding of life rusting away with no life, no hope, no joy, no peace, and no useful eternal purpose. You can if you surrender your life to Jesus and allow him to bring you new life. Jesus is the decoder, and the Holy Spirit interprets and opens your heart to receive the signal God is sending to you, through his word the Bible. Even though you may have a new decoder, namely Jesus, you still need to be reprogrammed with a new identity. Revelation 2:17b “And I will give him a white stone, and on this stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” Jesus is coming back again, and it may be sooner than we think. The train of opportunity to accept Christ as your savior is waiting at the station and the Holy Spirit is calling “All Aboard!” Once Jesus returns the train will pull out and never return. Will today be the day you get on board? What are you waiting for? The fare was paid for you by Jesus at the cross of Calvary.

Where did you leave it?

By: Denny

My thoughts often return to the simple uncomplicated days of my childhood and the games we used to play. One such game was often played at our grandparents’ house. They didn’t have a closet or shelf full of toys to keep us occupied. Grandma would give us a sewing thimble, and  one of us would hide it in the living/dining room while the others were out of sight in another room. Hence it was called, “Hide the Thimble”. Once hidden the cue was given to come and find it. As the others rushed to be the first one to find it, the one who hid it would give clues. If you were far from it, they would call your name and say “freezing”. As you got closer to the thimble, they would progressively say cold, warmer, hot, or boiling. Boiling meant it was nearly right in front of you. The one to find it would be the next one to hide it. Little did I know that simple game was teaching us persistence in seeking and finding.

I can say with confidence that everyone has looked for something and couldn’t find it. There is nobody to tell us if we’re freezing, cold, warmer, hot, or boiling. We can get so frustrated that we overlook the obvious and nearly tear the house apart trying to find it. We look in places that are so ridiculously freezing. It doesn’t help when someone says, “Well, where did you put it or have it last?” Duh, if I could remember that I’d just go get it. Some people give up too quickly if the object they’re seeking isn’t right in plain sight or they must move something to find it. Others, who played Hide the Thimble, don’t give up that easily. They will approach the seeking methodically and logically without letting their emotions get in the way. They’re like a Beagle on the trail of a rabbit, much like the parable of the woman who lost one of 10 silver coins as told in Luke 15:8. “Or what woman, having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it?” Notice how she implemented certain things to aid in her search. She lit a lamp and swept the house. Her diligence paid off when she found the coin, plus she got her house cleaned at the same time. Some people should follow her example and lose things more often. You know who you are.

Another account comes to mind concerning King David in 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13 and 15. The ark of God had been captured by the Philistines and was in their possession for seven months. God sent a plague among them and killed many. They sent the ark back to Israel on a new cart pulled by two milk cows. When it came to Israel at Beth Shemesh, the men there took it off the cart and placed it on a large stone and then offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord with rejoicing. However, the Lord struck and killed 50,070 men because they had looked into the ark, which was forbidden. Other men came from Kirjath Jearim, took the ark, and brought it into the house of Abinadab where it remained for 20 years. One day King David consulted with the leaders and the people to get their opinions about bringing the ark back to Jerusalem, and the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. (1st  mistake) In this case, David knew exactly where the ark had been left, so he didn’t have to search for it. He gathered 30,000 men and went to get the ark. They put the ark on a new cart, like the Philistines had done (2nd mistake) and headed for Jerusalem. The two sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio, we’re driving it. It was like a big parade with lots of shouting and music being played on all kinds of instruments. Everything was going just great until they reached a certain place. The oxen pulling the cart stumbled and Uzzah took hold of the ark to steady it, and God struck him dead for his error. (3rd mistake) David was angry at God, but was afraid to move the ark any further. They took the ark aside into the house of a guy named Obed-Edom. The Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household for the three months it was there. During this time David must have repented and consulted God and his word about the proper way to move the ark. Upon hearing that the Lord was blessing Obed-Edom, he decides to go get the ark again. Notice, he had to go back to the place where he left it, messed up, and start again the right way. The right way was that only the Levites were permitted to move the ark, and it had to be carried on foot with poles inserted through its base. No one was permitted to so much as to even touch it. (remember what happened to those who did) The Levites had only gone 6 paces and David made sacrifices and offerings to God. David danced before the Lord with all his might because God was with them. They continued toward Jerusalem with music, singing, shouting, and blowing trumpets before them as they entered the city. They set the ark in the Tabernacle in its proper place that David had prepared for it. David and the people who were with him made many mistakes in handling the ark which represented God’s holy presence. Their experience and examples are lessons that we also can learn from even today.

    First lesson: When spiritual leaders take a survey to get a consensus from the people instead of consulting the Lord, they aren’t leading and will suffer the consequences.

     Second lesson: There is a proper way, order, and pattern to move with and invite God’s presence. Loud music, shouting, singing, and much excitement is not necessarily a true indicator that God is with you. The world’s way is not God’s way. The presumption of men to make it happen and treat God casually with disrespect results in spiritual and possibly even physical death. Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, found out the hard way. (Acts 5:1-11)

     Third lesson: Be careful that you do not criticize others who are serving and currently moving with God and what he is doing. As the whole procession was entering Jerusalem, David was out front leaping and dancing, wearing a priestly garment, having laid aside his kingly attire. His wife, Michal the daughter of Saul, looked through a window and despised him. When he got home, she mocked him accusing him of behaving shamefully. As a result, she had no children to the day of her death.

     Fourth lesson: This is the big one. People often get angry at God because he doesn’t do what they expect according to their plans. Many others turn away from following him because of a deep hurt suffered in the church or by another Christian. Still, some are drawn away from the faith by the cares of this life and fall back into their former sins. More commonplace are the ones who just lose the diligence and discipline to read the Bible, pray, worship, evangelize, give testimony and thanks to God for what He’s done in their lives.

As I stated earlier, there is no audible voice to tell us whether we’re freezing, cold, hot, or boiling when trying to find a lost or misplaced article. However, if you’re seeking to find God or recovery of the relationship you once had with him, there is that voice inside each one of us called our conscience which tells us where we went off the rails. In your pursuit to find God or in recovering what you’ve lost spiritually, you may need  to return to the point where you last had it and where you left it. If you don’t know, ask the Holy Spirit, He knows. Not only does He know, but is there to help you get back on track.

A Second Touch

By: Denny

Mark 8:22-25 (NKJV) Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand an led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

The account of Jesus healing this particular blind man is only recorded by Mark in his gospel. I’ve often wondered why the man wasn’t healed completely when Jesus touched him the first time, as was the case with others, and He needed to touch him twice. Was Jesus tired from long days of walking and ministering healings and deliverance to the masses that His power had drained a little. Absolutely not! God’s power is never weakened or diminished by any means or circumstances, and neither was Jesus’ ability to instantly heal. In fact, He only needs to speak one word and people are healed, demons flee, and the dead are raised. The very creation itself must obey as when He calmed the sea or made all those fish appear on the right side of Peter’s boat. When they came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane that night, He didn’t resist them saying, “Do you think that I cannot now pray to my Father and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53) One legion was somewhere around 7,000. When they said they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth, the very words He replied, “I am He”, had such power that they all fell to the ground backwards. (John 18:4-6) It wasn’t the nails that held Him to the cross either. It was the greater purpose that He knew He was accomplishing and fulfilling all that the scriptures foretold, and that He would be the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of mankind. When and if Jesus limits His power, it’s because there is always a greater purpose. Think about this: God could’ve delivered His people from Egypt with only one plague had he chosen to do so. With each of the ten plagues His glory and power were being displayed in greater measure, for the benefit of Israel that they would believe, and for the defeat of Pharoah. Also, why wasn’t Naaman healed of his leprosy after the first dip in the Jordan River instead of having to dip seven times as instructed by Elijah? (2 Kings 5:10-14) Likewise, why did God command Joshua to walk around Jericho seven times before the walls came down when He could have just as easily destroyed it like He did Sodom and Gomorrah? (Joshua 6) And why did Elijah have to send his servant to look seven times until the rain cloud appeared and ended the drought which Elijah himself previously spoke into being? (1 Kings 19:43) I think in the above examples God was testing to see if they first would obey and secondly if they would persist until the healing, victory, or answer came. In the case of the blind man, I found it interesting that Jesus touched him then asked him what he saw. His reply was, “ I see men like trees walking.” I suppose for someone who had been blind that would be a good description of what he saw for the first time, as opposed to saying everything was blurry, having previously not known or experienced what clear vision even was. After Jesus touched him the second time, the man saw everything clearly.

In the previous verses of Mark 8:14-16, Jesus and His disciples had yet to reach Bethsaida. While still in the boat Jesus warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. They totally missed it thinking He was talking about bread when He was referring to the false doctrines of the self-proclaimed religious elite as well as those of the political arena that would bring mixture and taint the truth. Vs. 17-18 “You do not perceive or understand because your hearts are still hardened. Having eyes, you do not see, and having ears, you do not hear.” In essence they had been with Jesus for some time now and He had no doubt touched their lives. However, they still lacked understanding and needed a second touch so they could see clearly. That second touch came after His resurrection on the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised He would send. Their spiritual eyes were opened, and they understood and saw everything clearly that was written in the scriptures. Perhaps Jesus healing the blind man as He did was to reinforce or demonstrate to His disciples their need also for a second touch.

I said all that as a prelude to make this statement and point: According to a poll by George Barna, president of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, 69% of US adults self-identify as being Christian in their faith. Unbelievably, 58% contend the Holy spirit is not a real living being, and many don’t acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior. 57% embrace the concept of Karma while sadly only 6% possess a biblically based world view and look to the Bible for moral guidance, understanding, and absolute truth. Say what! The leaven of false doctrines that Jesus warned about has so infiltrated the “Church” that many professing Christians have rejected the foundational truths of scripture. They base their beliefs more on feelings and experiences and have become like the blind man stumbling about, or having been once touched by Jesus they’re still not seeing clearly. They claim and espouse love and compassion, yet they see people as trees or objects to promote their self-serving Woke ideologies and agendas. As if that weren’t bad enough, they’ve also allowed the leaven of Herod to skew any sense of discernment they may have ever had, by bowing down to the socialistic political idols of the day. Tune in to any news broadcast and you can’t help but conclude that America is on a downward spiral of chaos, corruption, confusion, and moral decline much like that of ancient Rome. It seems like those in this current administration  love to have it so, and they have become the blind leading the blind and the half seeing. America needs restoration. Her only hope is a second touch from Jesus, and it begins with those who ask and seek it. May that be your heart’s desire and earnest prayer.

Just Do What He Tells You

By: Denny

Friday Sept. 19, 1986: I answered the phone. It was my dispatcher. “Hey, I got a load going to the Los Angeles area. Are you interested in taking it?” I had been sitting at home for a few days waiting for a load, so I said, “You bet.” I was living in Osage, Ia., and the company I drove for was Old Reliable Transportation, 45 miles away in Albert Lea, Mn. I used to run to California a lot with another company, so I jumped at the chance to go back. “Now keep in mind that this is our first load to California, and we don’t have a backhaul set up yet.” He explained, “You may be sitting for awhile waiting for us to find a load.” That was fine with me as some friends of mine had moved out there a year earlier and I’d been wanting to go see them. I called them about my plans, and they were excited to have me stay with them until a load came through.

Saturday Sept. 20:  I picked up my load of store fixtures in Albert Lea at 2 AM and took off for Santa Fe Springs, Ca. I arrived at my destination midday on Monday. After unloading I headed to my friend’s house in Grand Terrace. I ended up spending eleven days with them and enjoyed catching up on things. After five days I called my dispatcher to check in and see if he had any leads on a load. He said not yet, but to call back every day. On the tenth day he said he had found a load. It was a whole load of refurbished Pepsi machines going to Detroit, Mi. There was a catch, they were sitting on pallets in a warehouse in Las Vegas 266 miles away. The load only paid $1600 for 2000 miles, which is .80 per mile and nothing to get excited about. Oh well, sometimes you have haul cheap freight to get home.

Thursday Oct. 2: I said my goodbyes to my friends and left before the afternoon rush hour traffic. I arrived in Las Vegas about 7 PM where I stopped at the Union 76 truck stop to fuel up and get a bite to eat. Afterwards I drove to the warehouse, opened my trailer doors, backed up to the dock, and crawled into the sleeper for the night.

7 AM Friday Oct. 3: It was a bright sunny day, and I was eager to get the show on the road. The dock guys were already in my trailer when I walked in the door. I knew something was amiss because they were measuring the inside length of my trailer. They said they had requested a 53’ trailer and mine was only 48’, therefore I couldn’t take the load because all the machines wouldn’t fit. In all my years of trucking I’ve never delivered or picked up a load in Las Vegas. It is a gambling town and there wasn’t much industry there, so I’d usually blow right through without stopping. So here I am already with 266 miles and wondering how many more empty miles I’d have to drive to get a load, notwithstanding more waiting time. I had given my life to Jesus Christ three years earlier and had experienced His working in mysterious ways on my behalf. Most drivers would’ve blown up in anger, but I just apologized for the miscommunication and pulled away from the dock. I called my dispatcher, and he was furious that nobody told him about needing a 53’ trailer. I told him that God had everything under control and I’d get back to him. I remember sitting there in my truck and telling the Lord that none of this was a surprise to Him, and that He must have something better in mind. I was confident that He didn’t bring me this far to leave me sitting high and dry without a load in the desert. I reached for my Bible, and it fell open to Psalm 23. I began to read it out loud. “The Lord is my Shepard; I shall not want.” I was about to read on when the Holy Spirit stopped me. There is a footnote in the margin that says “want” means “to lack”. He said now read it again like this; “The Lord is my Shepard; I shall not lack a load.” Obviously, God had a plan, so I asked, “What do you want me to do?” He replied, “Go to the truck stop and call the broker.” It wasn’t an audible voice, but rather a voice so clear in my spirit. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it. While driving to the truck stop, I wondered which broker I was to call.

Now this is where it gets exciting! At the truck stop I opened the yellow pages to Truck Freight Brokers, and there was only one listed. I called him and explained my situation and I needed a load going east.  He laughingly replied, “How does Osage Beach, Mo. sound?” I told him that works for me. He began to fill me in on events that happened two weeks earlier. A huge boat dealer in Las Vegas had a boat storage rack for sale. Assembled it looks like the boxes in the old Hollywood Squares TV game show, and it had cubicles to hold 18 small boats. The owner of a marina in Osage Beach, Mo. had flown out and purchased it. He said he needed to go back and prepare a place to set it up and would call when he wanted it shipped. In the meantime, the dealer in Las Vegas was to disassemble it and have it ready to go. Fast forward – The exact time my load cancelled the guy in Missouri called the dealer to give the go ahead to ship the rack. The dealer then called the freight broker requesting a truck. The broker had barely hung up when I called looking for a load. Coincidence? I don’t think so! I was instructed to be at the boat dealer in the morning, drop my trailer, and they would load it. While they were doing that the broker wanted me to bobtail to his office to sign the trip lease and get the paperwork. When I got there, he told me to get in his car, and he drove to his bank. I waited in the car, and he came out and handed me $800 cash. He said that was half and he would pay the rest when the load was delivered. That’s not the way brokers usually operate and rarely pay anything before a load is delivered, let alone half in cash. I still got a $1600 load but only had to drive 1500 miles. It figured out to be $1.05 per mile. My dispatcher was speechless when I told him that God came through with a load. I delivered the load in Missouri on the following Monday. I wrote 10-3-86 Las Vegas, NV next to Psalm 23 so I would always remember what the Lord did for me that day against all odds in Las Vegas.

To refresh my memory and get the dates right in writing this blog, I dug out the boxes containing all my old logbooks. I found Sept. and Oct. 1986 and in the Oct. 3rd log was a piece of paper I had simply written John 6:6. I looked up the verse and it’s in reference to when Jesus fed 5,000 with a few fish and loaves of bread. It says, “For He Himself knew what He would do.” I believe God knew what He would do before I even took the load to California. In fact, He had already started to fit all the pieces and timing together. I must wonder how many times we miss what God has planned because we give up, get angry, impatient with His timing, or fail to give Him thanks when our plans fall apart. I believe in miracles, but I’m reluctant to call everything a miracle. However, I do think we would see more instances of God’s supernatural intervention and answer to prayer in our lives if we would do two things: 1) Listen to His voice. 2) Do what He says, even if it seems contrary to our own reasoning. In feeding the 5,000 can you imagine the boy not giving up the fish and loaves to Jesus, or the disciples letting doubt keep them from distributing them to the multitude? They would have missed the miracle. What if Peter would’ve balked when Jesus told him to go cast a hook into the sea and the first fish he caught would have a coin in its mouth, the exact amount needed to pay the temple tax for both of them.  What about when they ran out of wine at the wedding in Cana. Mary told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” It was when the servants obeyed that the miracle happened. Lazarus had been in the grave four days when Jesus showed up. He could’ve blasted away the stone with one word, but He told those standing there to take it away. When they obeyed they saw the miracle. Because four friends were willing to cut a hole in the roof where Jesus was speaking and lower their crippled friend down, he was healed. There are many more instances where when people partnered with Jesus a miracle happened. Are you willing to partner with Him to see prayers answered and miracles happen? If you know Him, hear His voice, and Just Do What He Tells You, the odds are in your favor.

I have many more instances where God did some awesome things during my long-distance trucking years which I will be sharing in future blogs. Hint: 12-09-1986 Stay tuned!

Love Wife, Hate Shopping

by: Denny

I hate grocery shopping. My wife is the one who usually does it. She will look at ads and get the best buys, even if it means going to several stores. She always has a list and knows exactly where things are in each store. I appreciate her thriftiness in staying within our means and for planning meals accordingly. She works full time, so Saturday is the day she buys groceries. In our home we share responsibilities and neither of us says, “That’s not my job”. I’ve been on layoff status this winter until spring, so I’ve had a lot of home time. I will do the dishes, laundry, vacuuming, bathe and groom the dogs, take out the garbage, clean the toilets, or whatever makes life easier for Lucy so she can relax when she gets home. (happy wife, happy life) However, some things are done exclusively by each of us only because we’re better at it. Lucy does the cooking and I handle the finances and most of the outdoor work.

Last week I made the ultimate sacrifice and volunteered to do the grocery shopping. (Love wife, hate shopping) Lucy had given me a list which involved going to three stores. I thought, “I can handle this”. I started at Walmart after dropping her off at work. My labor of love hit a speed bump in the very first aisle. Two middle aged women employees were restocking the shelves. They were having a loud conversation about the $15 an hour minimum wage the government wants to mandate on businesses. That’s all well and good but talk about it in the break room and not around customers. They didn’t take the hint that I needed to get by them, so I took the next aisle and circled back. (Love wife, hate shopping) The one woman was a real instigator and was going off on a rant how she’d been there longer than some guy who hardly does anything, so she deserved the $15 an hour and she better get it or else. I wondered what the “or else” was. I watched her go to another aisle and stir up another lady that was restocking shelves too, and I realized her “or else” was to gain a following through her whining and complaining. I got what I needed and headed to the other end of the store.

Most people would’ve let it pass, but they made my labor of love and sacrifice unpleasant (Love wife, hate shopping) and I wasn’t going to not say anything. I asked another worker to call the manager who met me in the dairy section. I explained the situation to her and basically told her I didn’t come to hear disgruntled employees. (Love wife, hate shopping) I advised her to deal with this divisive person before she spreads her bad attitude further. She thanked me and said she thought she knew who it was and would take care of it. I probably should’ve quit there. My thoughts went back decades ago to when I was doing long haul trucking pulling a reefer. Many times, I’d go without sleep just to get a load delivered on time. I’d be dead tired and still would have to stack the entire load on the customer’s pallets without pay and so much as a thank you. I’d be away from home for weeks eating truck stop food and sleeping in my truck. If I counted all those hours as “on the job”, I probably didn’t even make $2.00 an hour. If it weren’t for truckers busting their rear ends, people like that woman wouldn’t even have a job stocking shelves. I don’t have any empathy or patience for people who whine about how deserving they are of a $15 an hour guarantee, and I told the manager that. She understood my perspective and point, and she said her dad was also a truck driver.

Jesus told a parable in Matthew 20:1-16 dealing with this very same issue. Basically, a landowner went out to the marketplace and hired some workers about 6:00 AM. In verse 2 it says that he agreed with the workers for a denarius a day, which was a normal day’s wages back then. The fact that he agreed with them indicates there may have been some bargaining or perhaps they came right out a stated they wanted that amount. At any rate they made a mutual agreement, and the workers headed for the vineyard. In verses 3-7 we read that the landowner returned to the marketplace at 9:00, noon, 3:00 and 5:00 to hire more workers. In each case he simply told them he would pay them what was right, and they didn’t ask what that would be. Perhaps they were just glad to have the work and anything would be better than nothing. I also think the landowner had a good reputation and his word was good enough for them. At the end of the day the landowner paid all the workers a denarius. The first ones hired presumed they would be paid more since they worked hard all day and put in more hours. In today’s language they were saying they had seniority. The landowner said, (my paraphrasing) “Hey, I’m paying you exactly what we agreed on aren’t I, so what’s your problem? If I want to be generous and pay everyone the same that’s my choice and not a government mandate. I haven’t wronged you so take your money and go home.” Chances are that if he went back to the marketplace the next day looking for workers, those same ones would wait to be hired last so they could put in less hours and get paid the same. As it says in Ecclesiastes 1:9 “There is nothing new under the sun.” So much of our culture today is entitlement minded. They want the big paycheck, but don’t want to have to put in the time or work hard for it. Free is even better! Think about this: The mouse gets caught in the trap because he thinks the cheese is free.

The heart of the issue is rooted in covetousness, greed, pride, and everything needing to be fair. Fairness to the first ones hired would mean they should get paid more than the last ones, and they were entitled to it. However, the landowner exposed their evil eyes through his goodness. The “World” that the Bible refers to says everything must be fair, but God is just, and you’ll never understand Him or His ways if you miss that basic principle. My experience over my lifetime as an employee is that if you want to be promoted or get a raise, be the best you can at what you do. Do what’s expected without complaining, show up on time, be content with your pay, and don’t criticize the boss or listen to those who do. If you can’t do that, then quit. Don’t stay and make life miserable for everyone else, especially for those of us who Love wife, hate shopping.