So after a day or two after thinking about it and sleeping on it I called Rick back. I said "Rick, you know, you gave me your word and you gave the president of the company your word that you were going to invest half of this money with them. Not only that you will be lacking diversification and how will you know which program performs better if you only invest in the 1 with your 'experienced' friend?" I then asked, "Are you sure this is what God wants you to do?" Now after I asked him this question I kind of thought to myself, "well this is quite a risk I am taking. He is probably going to get mad at me, I might lose all of his business and his dad's business and his brother's business but I feel like this, holding him accountable to his word, is the right thing to do."
What came next surprised me, although it shouldn't have when working with Christians. Rick thought about it for a second. He paused, and he said "you are right. I did give you my word. I will have my wife sign the paperwork and we will overnight it tomorrow with the check." And that is exactly what he did. He overnighted the check in to go with the company that I was recommending. He invested the same amount to the other company that his peer was recommending. So his check was received around August of 2009.
In January 2010, this gas and oil producing company I recommended sent Rick and his wife a check for 4.5% of the entire amount he invested with them as a refund of overpayment. [So now his new cost basis is 95.5% of what he initially invested.] Then in January of this year he received another check for somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.8% as the first distribution. Then in February they sent him a check for 1.34% of his investment. And all the meanwhile the other energy producing investment with his buddy, that was the expert and older and that had been doing it for so many years, paid him back.5% in a distribution only (not bad for a first payment and still good diversification).
So I was recently talking with Rick and I say to him, "Rick we had a lot of good years together but then in 2008 it was a big disappointment for both of us." I said, "I have two questions for you:"
* One, "after our big disappointment in 2008 why were you able to go ahead and follow through with my recommendation?" And he said to me, "I invest with you because of your principles and integrity."
* Then my second question was, "Rick why didn't you get mad at me when I questioned you about backing out of your commitment?"
He replied by saying, "Well, I just thank you for reminding me to keep my word."
Many people, whether they claim Christ or not, when someone tries to hold them accountable most of the time they will respond in pride and get defensive and angry. But Rick did not do that. He thought about his commitment, which was being questioned on, and then he decided that the right thing to do was to follow through with his initial pledge. Rick made the same choice that another great man made many years ago.
John Wooden became the head coach at UCLA, after negotiating for a three-year contract. UCLA had actually been his second choice for a coaching position in 1948. He had also been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota, and it was his and his wife's desire to remain in the Midwest. But inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking that they had lost interest, Wooden accepted the head coaching job with the Bruins instead. Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden right after he accepted the position at UCLA, but Coach Wooden declined their offer because he had given his word to the Bruins.
The moral of this story is to bring glory to God. In our small acts, which are imitating Christ, we often learn the rewards that we receive when we have humility. Sometimes our rewards are not always here on earth, like Rick's was. But you and I are going to be rewarded when we have humility. Do you keep your word? Do you respond in humility when someone tries to hold you accountable to God's standard?
What came next surprised me, although it shouldn't have when working with Christians. Rick thought about it for a second. He paused, and he said "you are right. I did give you my word. I will have my wife sign the paperwork and we will overnight it tomorrow with the check." And that is exactly what he did. He overnighted the check in to go with the company that I was recommending. He invested the same amount to the other company that his peer was recommending. So his check was received around August of 2009.
In January 2010, this gas and oil producing company I recommended sent Rick and his wife a check for 4.5% of the entire amount he invested with them as a refund of overpayment. [So now his new cost basis is 95.5% of what he initially invested.] Then in January of this year he received another check for somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.8% as the first distribution. Then in February they sent him a check for 1.34% of his investment. And all the meanwhile the other energy producing investment with his buddy, that was the expert and older and that had been doing it for so many years, paid him back.5% in a distribution only (not bad for a first payment and still good diversification).
So I was recently talking with Rick and I say to him, "Rick we had a lot of good years together but then in 2008 it was a big disappointment for both of us." I said, "I have two questions for you:"
* One, "after our big disappointment in 2008 why were you able to go ahead and follow through with my recommendation?" And he said to me, "I invest with you because of your principles and integrity."
* Then my second question was, "Rick why didn't you get mad at me when I questioned you about backing out of your commitment?"
He replied by saying, "Well, I just thank you for reminding me to keep my word."
Many people, whether they claim Christ or not, when someone tries to hold them accountable most of the time they will respond in pride and get defensive and angry. But Rick did not do that. He thought about his commitment, which was being questioned on, and then he decided that the right thing to do was to follow through with his initial pledge. Rick made the same choice that another great man made many years ago.
John Wooden became the head coach at UCLA, after negotiating for a three-year contract. UCLA had actually been his second choice for a coaching position in 1948. He had also been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota, and it was his and his wife's desire to remain in the Midwest. But inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking that they had lost interest, Wooden accepted the head coaching job with the Bruins instead. Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden right after he accepted the position at UCLA, but Coach Wooden declined their offer because he had given his word to the Bruins.
The moral of this story is to bring glory to God. In our small acts, which are imitating Christ, we often learn the rewards that we receive when we have humility. Sometimes our rewards are not always here on earth, like Rick's was. But you and I are going to be rewarded when we have humility. Do you keep your word? Do you respond in humility when someone tries to hold you accountable to God's standard?
SHARE
