Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
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.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today 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!