“Two beers please.”

“But sir,” the stewardess warned, “the flight is only 30 minutes.”

As he settled into the window seat by my wife, Casey replied, “I could down a six pack.”

Casey was clean cut, tattooed with matching earrings and an attitude to match! It was an early morning flight and I had planned to have some quiet time reading my Bible and didn’t want any interruptions. The Lord had other plans. Before long Casey and my wife were in deep conversation and she was trying to involve me. Judging by how quickly he was downing his favorite brew and by his seemingly carefree attitude, I didn’t perceive him as a ready candidate for to receive Christ in the 20 minutes remaining in our flight.

As much as I wanted to leave the chit chat to them so I could continue with some much needed time in the Word, the Holy Spirit kept stirring in me to participate in what He was doing. “But Lord,” I argued, “there are only twenty minutes before landing… that’s not enough time to do any good.”

As I opened the Scriptures, my eyes fell upon this passage in Proverbs 24:

“Deliver those that are drawn toward death, hold back those that are stumbling to the slaughter; If you say, Behold, we knew it not; does not He that weighs the heart consider it? And He that keeps your soul, does not He know it? And shall not He render to every man according to his works?”

I may be slow, but I’m not stupid! I immediately turned to Casey and told him how the Lord had been dealing with me to speak to him and how reluctant I was until He directed me to that passage. When I read it to him, he was visibly shaken.

Read the rest of the story…

A car manufacturer where labor and management are in continual strife over a prolonged period of time will eventually begin producing automobiles of an inferior quality to those made in an environment of goodwill and cooperation. That was certainly true in America during the seventies and the Japanese ate our lunch when it came to producing reliable automobiles. We lost market share, foreign imports soared and we’ve been fighting back ever since. By the way — we’ve been gaining ground. Of course, the confrontational environment between labor and management has also lightened up considerably.

The point is that every job is indeed a self-portrait of the person who did it… And if that person is in a continuous state of being disgruntled, the product they will likely produce will reflect that disgruntledness. In the case of American car manufacturers in the seventies, entire assembly lines of workers were disgruntled. It came out in their product and in time, the customers who purchased that product became disgruntled.

Whether we know it or not, we always autograph our work. Some autograph their work with excellence, others with negativity or a poor attitude. In the end, those who rely on your work will read your signature. Will it be autographed with excellence? It’s your choice.

Important Announcement: I am very pleased to be able to announce that on Wednesday, September 3^rd, 2008 Os Hillman will be giving us a summary of his widely acclaimed 9 To 5 Window teaching. That’s tomorrow! Watch your inbox for details!