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It's not about everyone being comfortable with me; it's about everyone being confronted with Him.”
At the department store where I worked during seminary, we had a policy of "Free Shipping" for our customers. There were, however, a couple of restrictions on that policy. First, the item had to meet certain weight limits; it couldn't weigh more than 5 pounds. Second, the shipping address of the order had to be within the Continental US; it can't go to Alaska, Hawaii, or a foreign country.
On one occasion, a salesperson deliberately broke that rule in order to "look good" to a customer. He sold about 3 dozen sets of mini-blinds to a customer, and gave the customer "Free Shipping," despite the fact that the total order weighed in at nearly 70 pounds . . . and was being shipped to Alaska!
The total cost of shipping for which the store was responsible came to nearly $200 - more than the cost of the order itself! The store lost a lot of money on that sale . . . all because one salesperson was more concerned with PLEASING someone than with doing the right thing.
The moral of the story? It's not profitable to only be concerned with pleasing others. Not in the world; and certainly not in the kingdom of God not when Jesus made it patently clear to us that his message would not be a crowd-pleaser; not when Jesus demonstrated with his own trial and execution that the gospel message, when presented in its fullest, purest form, is an out-and-out offense to others. Being profitable for Christ is not about personal success. It's not about everyone being comfortable with me; it's about everyone being confronted with Him.
Source: Zeke Moore
Topics/Tags: Popularity; Integrity; Holiness; Consistency