Most of us have ventured farther than we needed to go in life. We took that infamous next step and fell flat on our face, had the last word and it has cost a life of regret, got one more laugh and it led to embarrassment. My family says that I always have to have the last word. I usually reply, “No, I don’t.”
When I think about going a little farther, I remember the
words of my dad. He would say, “Son if you make a stand, be willing to stand alone because most of the time you will look
around and see that you are all by yourself.”
Forty-five years ago, I had the one of many “stand
lone” experiences. It was
It started at the birth of my eldest son, Andy, on January 18 of that year. The insurance policy included coverage for
the birth of a baby. I paid a deducible
and took Andy home from
I asked the owner, since he was boss, human resource,
personnel, and insurance managers for the company why the insurance did not pay
for the hospital stay.
He said he had to get with his partner in
I revisited my policy and once again, all I owed was a
minimum deductible that I had already paid.
I don’t know about you, but I dislike to be ignored and for people to be
disingenuous with me.
Since I was a young man of twenty-three, I sought the wisdom
of older guys whom I worked. They talked
of all the shady things that transpired in the routine work of the shop. I remember doing things that I thought were
improper and wrong, but I was a stupid twenty-three year old. What did I know?
The collective thought of the employees was that the owner
needed to answer some questions we had.
I received encouragement from my Sunday school class that we as
Christians needed to stand for that which was moral and right. I remember a sermon that the pastor preached
about snakes. He said, “If you mess with
snakes, you will get snake bit.”
I finally got an answer from the owner about the
insurance. He said that he and his
partner did not know of any insurance that paid for baby delivery.
On my favorite day, Friday the 13th, I, with the
backing of six to seven employees, confronted the owner about irregularities
with work and insurance. I know now, but
was clueless back then that my companions lacked backbone, why else would they
let a young man lead?
I showed him my policy and the coverage. Looking back, I realize I caught him with the
proverbial “hand in the cookie jar.” He became hostile. When the discussion got heated, I looked
around and I was the only one standing up to the owner. After a short exchange and my short diatribe
on the owner’s spiritual lostness, he fired me.
The response from my allies shocked me. They said I took the discussion too far. I thought I did the right thing. The premiums I paid were for full coverage,
but the owner and his partner were paying for a lesser insurance coverage. When caught, they agreed to pay my hospital
bill.
The owner realized what he did and offered my job back, but
I took another road on life’s journey. I
never made a full machinist because I never had an opportunity to continue the
apprenticeship.
After two months of building houses, I went to work at the
cement plant on October 13. During the
between months, I faced great challenges and criticism. Everyone was mad at me for getting
fired. I stood for what was right, I
found myself alone, and I went into a time of a personal low.
Lying on the front seat of my old Ford pickup, my dad asked
what was wrong. I told him that I stood
for a principle I thought right morally and ethically. Now, I feel abandoned. His words I never will forget. “Son, if you stand for what is right, be
willing to stand alone. If you are
right, that is what matters regardless of what others think, including me. Son, I am proud of you.”
At a pastor’s conference Dr. Rick Lance, Executive Secretary for Alabama Baptists, gave an
inspirational devotion on Jesus at
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called
I cannot start to imagine how Jesus felt at that tremendous
moment in His journey to the Cross. His
dad knew that His Son would be all alone.
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