A Christmas Message
Well folks it’s that time of year again. For me Christmas is a time of family, rest and reflection. The Christmas holidays is the one time of year I can get a break from my normal busy schedule. Running a business is trying at the best of times and I have the disadvantage of remembering when it was so much simpler. I also have the disadvantage of being older. I can remember when youth and enthusiasm were the greatest tools in my arsenal.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have supported me over the last year and let you know how much it has been appreciated. I know many of you look forward to reading my articles and I appreciate all the kind comments we receive about them. I write these articles in hope of helping you deal with the problems we all seem to face as we travel through this journey called life. Not all of my articles are well received by some including those in my industry. I can only apologise for that as I have never meant to offend anyone. These are my opinions only and I can only write honestly and from my heart. Anyone who truly knows me understands I have no choice in that because that is who I am.
In my articles I write a lot about faith and hope. I certainly do not mean to preach. I know some perceive it that way. One gentleman even called and asked our receptionist who Larry Matthews was ? When she informed him I owned the business he replied. I didn’t know minister’s owned business’s. I have to assume he thought I was preaching.
I would like to take this opportunity in this article and at this time of year (Christmas) to try and explain why I think the way I do and say the things I say. First I would like you know I have never had a role model. My father died when I was 7 and as a young man all the men in my life were not what you would consider role models in fact most were alcoholics. I started driving them to the bootleggers when I was 11 years old. Most abused my mother and us physically and mentally. Anyone who has lived with an alcoholic loved one can relate to that. My mother although far from perfect was the strongest person I have ever met except for maybe my wife. These two women were the biggest influences in my life. The only man who influenced my life died two thousand years ago and it His birthday we celebrate at Christmas. So you see Christmas is important to me because I personally owe Jesus so much. Let me explain why.
One of the greatest blessings in my life has been the ability to read. I have read and learned a lot. As a young man I had a lot of misconceptions about life. Many of my beliefs have been proven wrong. I would like to name a few.
Dishonest people can not get ahead. Wrong
Treat people good and they will treat you good in return. Wrong
Bad things do not happen to good people. Wrong
Good things do not happen to bad people. Wrong
I could go on but you see what I mean. A lot of the basics we are taught early in life are just not true . Life is confusing and many times just does not make sense. It is very easy to think “I am a good person and do not deserve this.” Or why bother trying to be a good person because there is no benefit. I may as well just look out for myself and to hell with everybody else. Many people start out in life being good but because of the lack of return and appreciation decide why bother. That is one of the problems in today’s society. There are a lot of those people out there and we deal with them every day. There is so little empathy for the other person. This becomes even more complicated with more technology and less human involvement in all levels of government and business. All that matters are rules and regulations and we live in a democracy as long as we do as we are told. No wonder life today is so stressful.
Now to my point. If there is no earthly benefit to being a good person. Why even try and be a good person ? For me there is only one reason. Because Jesus tells me there is a benefit. I understand I may not receive that benefit in this life. His teaching has kept me honest in my business dealings even though there may be no financial benefit to being honest. His teaching has earned me the respect and love of my family. His teaching has taught me to give and expect nothing in return. His teaching has helped me keep my sanity in an insane world. His teaching has given me the strength to go on when everyone has been against me. Am I preaching ? No . Just telling you the truth from my own heart the way I see it like I always do.