Thank God for soft pillows

Many years ago in one of my first entrepreneurial attempts at running a company I decided to give everyone in my young company a bonus. It was not Christmas or New Years or some similar holiday. I just decided that we had all been working so hard and diligently and had made so much progress that I wanted to reward everyone. The only problem was that I did not have any cash in the bank to do so. It probably was not the best business move I ever made, but nonetheless I went down to the bank and borrowed $6500, (which was a lot of money to my start-up company), and gave each of my 65 employees a $100 cash bonus along with a hand-written note thanking them for their contribution to our company.

Several days later one of my supervisors overheard two employees discussing the bonus and she told me that one said to the other, “If that cheap son-of-a- b*#@* had wanted to he could have given us all one thousand dollars each, instead of a lousy hundred”. The other guy agreed. Now I must admit that when I heard about this, I was like an “enraged” bull. At the time I was not mellowed out like I am now. I was fiery tempered, and in the very early stages of attempting to control my “white-hot” temper and trying very hard to cease addressing problems with my fists as I had done in my misspent youth, (and as an aside was in the best shape of my life and bench-pressing 285 lbs). I confronted these guys, fired them both, and I will just say that it was not pretty and I did not act much like a Christian at that meeting. (I’m sure that day is still vividly etched in their memories forever as it is mine.)

I was thinking of this today, and was wondering if God gets angry when we disregard His blessings. Many people that I know, regardless of how much they have, seem to always want more and more and virtually ignore what they already have. Think about the things we enjoy just by being Americans and living in this great country.

My sons and I played golf the other day and it was so hot that I thought I would croak. When I reached icy air conditioning, I smiled like a pig wallowing in mud Thank God for air conditioning!

Many people do not have air conditioning, (our brave troops in 138 degree temperatures in full fighting gear and wearing heavy packs in Iraq defending our freedom with their very lives). Thank God for our troops!

I hate for anyone to tell me what to do, where to live, how to worship, etc. and it is very fortunate for me that I do not live just 90 miles due south of my Islamorada Florida Keys home in Cuba where folks don’t have those options; or worse in Iraq or countless other places such as Iran, Syria, Darfur, or Bangladesh. Thank God for the United States of America, (in spite of her politicians).

I could go on and talk about a choice of a myriad of churches in which we can choose to worship, decent healthcare, good roads, plenty of nutritious food in grocery stores, good schools, employment, housing, pure (running) water, sewage treatment plants; in comparison to other nations we are blessed. I could probably name a million other things, but I guess we all get the picture. Thank God that we as Americans have been exceedingly blessed above all nations in the world!

I believe it does make God angry when we disregard His blessings and just want more and more. Maybe you are not a billionaire, or a famous movie star, or an astronaut, or a professional athlete, or rock star, or maybe you are dumb and as ugly as a turkey buzzard and have pimples, but you are blessed beyond measure just to live in the United States. Most folks who read this are educated, healthy, loved by someone, and on and on.

Best of all if you are a Christian you belong to Jesus Christ. You were bought at the highest cost paid for any purchase during the entire history of creation, literally the highest price ever paid for anything, the precious, precious blood of Jesus Christ. Thus your greatest blessing is His love which will endure for eternity. Enjoy it and appreciate it, and for heaven’s sake “thank” God for what He has done, instead of cursing the fact that you do not have more.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave
His one and only Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.