Suppose there was a gas station conveniently located near your house that charged about a dollar less per gallon than all the other gas stations. The gas from the tankers cost them the same price as everyone else, but they just decided to sell it cheaper. You’d go there all the time, wouldn’t you? Along with all the other motorists in the area, to buy every last drop they had to offer.

Now, it’s hard to tell if that’s smart business or bad business. After all, if everyone is buying their gas then they sell more, so the little money they make becomes a lot of money based on volume. However, there just doesn’t seem to be that much wiggle room on the price before the station owner starts to lose money. But suppose it’s even worse! Suppose that if you buy at least 8 gallons that you get it for a dollar and a quarter off! And if you buy 16 gallons then you get a dollar and a half off! That would sure bring them in. And suppose the owner paid some attendants to wash the windshields and check the oil, washer, and radiator fluids, and if they were low to top those off, too, free of charge.

This sounds great for customers, but we recognize this as a bad business owner. I mean, he’s giving so much away that there’s no profit to be earned. After all, in business that’s all that matters, right? The owner isn’t doing this for fun, or for a hobby, or just out of the kindness of his heart. It’s all about the money, and while a lot of things are going on that “pack ‘em in” the money just isn’t there.

I’ve been in a church once in my life where some of the members were thinking of appointing elders that were “good businessmen” and felt this was a better judge of their worthiness than anything else. I can see why they thought this way, and I agree with it to a degree, we all like successful people. I just wonder if we truly think through what “business” we are in?

Such as, Paul went to a church and instead of taking support from them for his work, which was rightfully his, he worked as a tent maker. He got money from other churches. But he didn’t make himself “wealthy”, passing up on chances to be so. Jesus had to fish for his tax money, literally, and then he gave it away. I know at least one occasion he had nothing to eat for 40 days and 40 nights.

Some of the wealthiest folks were the poorest in spirit. The kingdom of Israel was very well off most of the time, but they were far from God. And of course there was that church in Asia, the Laodiceans, who seemed pretty prosperous but God sure didn’t think so.

Yet God himself – offering his son on the cross for us, so we *might* live. Someone paying ALL the debt for us, does that make God a bad businessman? Sadly, most choose not to take advantage of the offer. An offer made from our necessity, especially since we couldn’t afford the price anyway. We were purchased, undeservedly so, by Jesus who’s blood paid the cost. Are we grateful? Do we fill up our tank with is words and truth every day? What kind of business was Jesus in? And can we franchise?

Randy