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BEWARE OF SHORTCUTS!
By Rick Warren
One summer our family took a car vacation. We loaded up our van and headed out for an adventure. Our only goal was to see the western half of the United States. By the end of our two week trip we'd put over 5,000 miles on the odometer.
For most of the trip we simply focused on enjoying the journey rather than rushing toward a destination. But in one of the states we traveled through (which will remain unnamed) we were so bored with the scenery that I got the bright idea of taking a shortcut to the next major town.
Looking at the map - the shortcut road appeared just fine - a straight shot to the next town. It could save us about an hour of traveling time. So we got off the beaten path and took the alternative route. Big Mistake! The road was fraught with difficulties: construction work . . . a line of slow trucks that we couldn't pass . . . cattle (then sheep) in the middle of the road . . . potholes the size of meteor craters . . . and no gas station or restroom! The bottom line: my proposed shortcut ended up taking longer, we nearly ran out of gas, and I had a very cranky family!
The lesson: Shortcuts are not always as good as they may seem.
Sometimes the shortest distance to a goal is NOT a beeline.
In today's competitive business climate, we are often tempted to cut corners in order to speed things up or make a greater profit. But ethical shortcuts, or shortchanging a customer on quality or service will always come back to haunt you. The Bible warns us:
"The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out Proverbs 10:9
"Dishonest gain will never last, so why take the risk?" Proverbs 21:6
"Money that comes easily disappears quickly, but money that is gathered little by little will grow." Proverbs 13:11
"The man who wants to get rich quick will quickly fail." Proverbs 28:20
The next time you are tempted to take a shortcut - think twice.
Rick Warren is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century.
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