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LIFE Group Lessons
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6 - John and the Bank: Failure |
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It was a sunny day, but for John the storm clouds were closing in. The bank had called yesterday to announce that they would not approve extension of the loan and that they expected payment of the balance. His efforts to get a new loan from another bank for the business had been futile. Recent circumstances and events just made it impossible to convince a bank to provide the needed financing. While sales were good, other things weren’t going so well. Increased costs, competitive pricing, an uncollectible accounts caused net losses on recent financial statements. Suppliers had been pressuring John for payment on past due accounts, and the new loan was needed to pay them so that they would keep shipping new goods to sell.
On the way to work, John’s thoughts turn to the meaning of the bank’s phone call. What will I do now? There is no way to keep the business if the bank forecloses. Employees would lose jobs, suppliers would not be paid, and the business would have to be liquidated. We would have no source of income, and would probably lose everything except maybe the house. Even then, how would we be able to pay the mortgage? Nancy had not had a job for years now, because their success had allowed her to stay at home with the children.
This shouldn’t be happening, John thought angrily. These things are outside of my control. I haven’t done anything wrong. I haven’t cheated anybody; I work hard; I’m fair with my employees. I believe and practice Christian values to the best of my abilities. Church has always been important to me, even if I haven’t been as involved as I would have liked. Being the owner means you have to see that things get done. You can’t just clock out. There’s just not much time left over.
The days and weeks march forward with the ongoing search for buyers for the business, daily negotiations with suppliers to ship goods, discussions with the landlord about back rent, pleading with the banker for more time, and frustrated employees working under difficult conditions. As had been happening more and more frequently and just as they did yesterday, his thoughts turned to the life insurance policies. It would solve so many things. The business could continue; the family would be taken care of; I wouldn’t have to face the humiliation of failure; why continue?
Friends just seemed more distant as the weeks passed. There was still the occasional movie or outing to the favorite restaurant, but conversations were just not as fun filled as usual. John was pleasant enough, but he didn’t chime in as much as he used to. He just seemed preoccupied. The normal "Hi, how're you doing" was met with "things are pretty tough right now," and the subject would quickly shift to the Razorbacks or current events.
The sleep came quickly. He was so tired at night. But inevitably, in the early morning hours, John would wake with a start. Maybe it was thoughts of a creditor pressuring for more money, or a customer who threatened to leave if more concessions weren’t made. Perhaps it was just a dog barking in the night. Whatever the reason, once his mind started working on one thing, it would race from issue to issue. He just couldn’t shut it down and drift back off. Much of the time it was just easier to get up and do something else. Occasionally, after a couple of hours, he could relax enough to go back to bed, and sleep would come, seemingly, just as the alarm clock declared the start of a new day.
Tonight was another one of those nights. The day’s events had been especially disappointing. The English language was made up of one word, NO. At 3:00 a.m. John got out of bed and settled into his easy chair in the den. His head sank to his chest as he prayed, "God, I just can't handle this. Show me what to do. I give up." The Bible fell open to I Timothy 6, and he began reading, "But godliness with contentment is great gain."
SCRIPTURAL POINTS OF LIGHT
Matthew 6:24-34; Romans 8:28; Romans 12:15; Philippians 4:6-7; Philippians 4:12-13; 1Thessalonians 5:11-18; 1 Peter 1:22-25; 1 Peter 5:5-10; Job 1:21; Psalm 56:1-13; Psalm 91; Psalm 143:8-12; Proverbs 3:9-12; Proverbs 11:2; Proverbs 14:13; Proverbs 15:13; Proverbs 15:33; Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 19:4; Proverbs 19:21; Proverbs 23:4-5; Proverbs 27:5-6; Proverbs 3:5-6
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