The word "big" does not begin to describe Boeing, a global aviation leader and the world's second largest military contractor. Nearly 12,000 Boeing jetliners command the skies. Today, the company has 150,000 employees in 49 states and 70 countries and reported revenues of $66.4 billion in 2007, with 40 percent from overseas. It has been long a symbol of the Seattle economy. Boeing (BA) CEO Jim McNerney is eager to move the company to China. Whether moving Boeing to China means shifting its headquarters from Chicago to Beijing is up in the air. But Boeing already has $600 million in supplier partnerships with China -- such as a deal with Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. Can one even imagine the Northwest area decimated by the moving of Boeing as compared to Detroit and the decimation of the automobile industry.
Yesterday, the stock market reached the magical 10,000 mark. From over seas and elsewhere, it is believed that the American recession may be on the way out. Even if improvements are shown in industry and banking, unemployment will still lag far behind; because the average employer, large or small, is afraid to take a risk in unpredictable times. Markets will go up in bad times and in good times. But, it is in times of the unexpected that people refuse to take risks. I remember very well the day the market reached 3000. I thought it was something I would never see and then my total bewilderment when it reached 13,000. It is a matter of elementary physics that things will go down much more rapidly than they will go up.
Thankfully, I spent the first years of my life, with parents who always prepared for a “rainy day.” My entire life has been in preparation for a long monsoon season, living frugally, saving everything not throwing away anything. Conservatism is not a political posture. It is a matter and manner of life. This great country was built by conservatives. Those who saved and were able to invest, those who valued the trees in the forest, those who valued the water as well as the water ways, are the true patriots of the plateaus.
Parents, politicians, pastors, can wear a “mask” of concern, but it is in our very “guts” that we learn the stability of actions. You can fool some people some of the time, but you cannot fool everyone all the time. The real essence of your commitment will eventually show itself. The famous song, “Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me” can apply to every area of life. If you want to meet your best psychiatrist, look in a mirror. I learned long ago that I could not do much to change other people. But changes in me would help other people. The greatest government program, the greatest spiritual experience is at the end of my arms, my own hands and what I can do with them. The greatest change in my life comes from putting one foot in front of the other, walking away from temptations and problems, walking towards opportunities for service and personal development.
If you are capable of discernment, if you can think for yourself, you are not a failure. It's up to you. Believe me, others may say they are concerned about you. They may even tell you that they will pray for you. But, generally speaking, it is up to you, you and the God who created you. It is very trite, even so far, found on our money “Trust in God”. I firmly believe that if you were to ask any person who has gone on from this life regardless of destination, what they would have done differently, you would get the same answer, “Trust in God.” Anytime I made a wrong decision, without exception, it was because I depended on myself. I have used this in every graduation address I have ever given. “I have failed God many times, but he has never failed me.”
Learn early, there will be a pay day, some day. The song is right, “This world is not our home. We are just passing through.” Our citizenship is in heaven. We are strangers and pilgrims here. (I Peter 2:11) If you are totally committed to Christ, do not expect your parents, your siblings, even perhaps your wife or children to understand you.
As you age, you will find that you have hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst in your relationships. It is very easy for children to cut off the machinery keeping you alive, toward the end because you have become terribly expensive and a real bother in their lives. Besides, the more of your estate you take up in your final care, the less there is for them to fuss over.
A person's interest controls their thinking. If you live for sex, sex is what you get. If you live for athletic contests, athletic contests on television or on the field, is what you get. If you live for food, food and all the dietary complications are what you get. If you live for drugs, legal or illegal, alcohol and dependency of every type is what you get. If you live for money, what it has bought and what it has cost you is what you have left.
You are not stuck where you start. Only you and you alone know where you need to change. Believe me, very few, actually care about you. Graveyards get very few visitors. One of the finest doctors I ever knew, a true college friend, one who felt he could share with me his most inner thoughts came to me before he killed himself. He told me he had been very successful in everything except his marriage. Spiritually, he could not bring himself to walk away from his family; because he knew that his wife would keep his children and most of his property. It was a sad moment when I learned of his suicide. It was a sad moment last week, when I learned of the suicide of a Baptist pastor in the western part of NC. I still remember the dreadful day as a member of the board of deacons, we walked into the church ahead of the casket of the Chairman of the Board of Deacons who had committed suicide.
It is only when you put a plug into the wall socket and you make the electrical connection which gives the energy or light you need that you are connected with the source. It is essential to be connected with the source, your only hope in all preparations. Victory in your life depends on connecting with the source of all power.
Two of my friends, two of the more outstanding men in this city, died last year, victims of suicide. One a remarkable surgeon, the other a very successful businessman, but left families. They had reached the “end of their line.” I wish they had come to me, and old blind veteran, and talked first. Life is a trip, not a destination, the scripture tells us it is a race, with a finish line. When we cross the finish line, we will be battered, many of us will limp across. Character determines destination...righteousness is the greatest evidence of character. With the safety and sanctity of the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts, regardless of problems, we can endure to the end.
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