According to my last post, you may think that I am fearful or full of anxiety, but that it not true. My hope is in God, not this country, but that does not mean I do not care! Because I do! The point of my last post was to convey the obvious lack of leadership in this country that is so clearly evident as problems become larger and larger. One impasse after another will not address our problems. Is there a chain of command actually at work? Do you think no one knows what to do? Do you think that many are afraid to address our problems lest they be murdered or "discredited" or dismissed? Could very well be. Or maybe it is simply a matter of apathy? I do not care! As long as I get my political perks.......big bucks, vacations, accolades and promotions, and lobster dinners, why should I care? Why should I care about my children's future?
Many years ago when I was only 19, I was given a position as a night manager in a convenience store in Middletown, New Jersey. My oldest brother took the store as store manager and he wanted me to be his night supervisor. My brother and I had already worked for this company throughout High School, so we were known in this company by many other store managers, district managers and regional managers. Joan, the district manager, and Mike, the regional manager, offered my brother Tim a management postion in this particular store that was on the brink of closure because it was sucking all the profits from the other stores in the district. They had determined that this store was a failure and was not likely to succeed. When they found out that Tim was looking for a management postion, they went ahead and offered it to him to see if he could perhaps make some changes and prevent the store from closing.
I was living in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, at the time and my brother kept bugging me to come work for him as his "right hand man"(because that is what I became essentially). I wasn't interested, but circumstances pushed me into that position as his full time night manager. When I walked into this store, I was SHOCKED at what I saw. Problems, so obvious, were all around me and I knew they needed to be addressed immediately.
The store was located in a small strip mall with a chinese restaurant, a dry cleaners and a pizza joint. Not much of a location, but it was directly located off of a major interstate 35. I quickly realized that this pizza joint had a band every Friday and Saturday night and all the local teenagers would congregate throughout the parking lot, making it difficult for older patrons to come in and pick up what they needed. So that right there created a loss of business through those times. Another BIG problem was the pilfering of the stores inventory by these teenagers. So I addressed this problem by standing at the door of MY STORE (because that is how I saw it) and firmly told these teenagers that only two at a time would be allowed so I could keep an eye on them. They were very angry at me and hurdled insults, but I did not care because this was my store and I was responsible for its success...........do you think our policy makers view this country the same way?
Another big issue was vendor theft. Vendors had crafty ways of stealing from under your eyes if you did not check the paperwork clearly. Before we came to the store, the vendors were never checked in. Whoever was there just stamped the invoice and signed it, never bothering to check to see if the figures were correct. Well I started to check these vendors in (from Pepsi, to Tastycake, to Frito-Lay and many more throughout the day), and naturally they got pissed off because they were used to not being checked in. I delayed their time and route. But I did not care because accuracy was more important. This is when I discovered many errors that were hurting the store and its profits.
The other large problem was the waste, especially in the deli. Spoils upon spoils of food, deli meat, salads, etc., were being thrown out and written off as loss. That alone was a massive shrink in the stores' profit. Sales were not properly monitored to determine what was selling and how much and what was not. Why would you spend money ordering supplies that you will not even use or sell and end up paying for the loss? (Pork barrel spending?) Does that make any sense at all? Taking inventory and monitoring sales became a priority for success.
Then I looked for ways in which I could resourcefully raise money to help offset any losses. I looked at items that were cheap to buy (cost) and thought of ways in which I could sell them at a 50% gross profit or more. I found out that pepperroni bread was a hot seller in the morning for the construction guys and I made 80% gross profit off each piece of bread I sold. The kaiser roll was only .10 cents and the 4 slices of pepperoni and 1 slice of cheese was another .10 cents (at that time in 1991). I became as creative as I could to raise money for the ailing store to help it succeed. My brother did the same.
Within a year, with all our hard work, we, together with two other very reliable and trusted employees turned that store around and we all started getting bonuses every quarter. I got a deli bonus also every quarter after I went from night supervisor to food service manager. The store did so well in the three years that my brother and I managed it, that it was given an expensive remodel and it still to this day is operational.
Did I ever get any credit for my accomplishments there? No. But my brother did. Joan, the district manager, always said to me not to quit because if I do, my brother will quit too. But how could she hold me responsible for his choice? And yet she did hold me responsible because sure enough, when I quit (I was burnt out from running the store by myself just about every morning for 3 hours until my help came), he quit too. So she did not give me any recommendation. But I always determined in my heart that God saw my effort and He is my rewarder.
I think Washington suffers terribly from a crisis of MORAL leadership and a righteous standard. They have thrown God out and created their own standards of rule apart from God, which throws out any moral or ethical barometer. There is a BIG difference between being right and being self-righteous. And conforming to God's law is RIGHT because it creates a civil society and a just society in which ALL benefit, not just some. Bribery is wrong and usury is wrong. It is wrong because others suffer as a result.
In general, I believe most people just simply do not care anymore because they have realized that if you do, you will be persecuted, mocked, shuned, ignored, discredited or worse still, dismissed from your position. A righteous standard many, many years ago was upheld, but things have fundamentally changed and this is why I think America is finished!
"And whatsoever ye do, do it hearily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."..............Colossians 3:23-24