Thankful

Are you thankful for the good things that have happened in your life? Sometimes it is triggered by seeing how bad someone else has it. I am thankful for my wife when I hear stories about some menopausal crazy wife stabbing her husband in the chest, or running up all the credit cards on marathon shopping expeditions, or the wife that gave up sex for lent (but that was 5 years ago!). But, hearing about other peoples problems is not the best reason to be thankful.

I was with a friend of mine for lunch and he reminded me of a reason to be thankful. Our first radio station KVOI was owned by Grace Chapel. They had received ownership of the radio station as a “gift”. But, sometimes there are gifts that keep on giving! When the original owners bought KVOI it was a bad deal. The previous owner was very shrewd and sold them the station with no real estate and little assets (the equipment was old and much of it worthless) for $1,000,000. The business men bought the station with the heart to have a Christian station and let their church (Grace Chapel) own and operate the station. Their intentions were wonderful and they put 20% down to boot. Once the church began to run the station they realized the downside, (how much it cost to run a radio station!). My boss brought me to Tucson because he was buying the station and wanted to get it humming before he closed. His deal fell through and he told me to go back to Albuquerque. Long story short, I didn’t. We started seeing a turn around at KVOI and Grace Chapel gave me an opportunity to buy the station with my partners Dan Carless and George Mehl. We took over the debt and I wrote a letter to Grace Chapel giving them airtime on KVOI “until the Lord comes”. Five years later Tom Regina had replace Dan Carless and we had just put KGMS 97.1 FM on the air. The new station strained us financially because I was not able to get enough money from the bank to build and operate the station until we had cash flow. Airtime was very valuable on KVOI and I realized that if I had the time Grace Chapel was given I could monetize it and relieve some of the financial pressure. So I looked at the letter and my mind started working (this can be a dangerous thing). I thought about what it meant “until the Lord comes”. Practically, Jesus already came 2000 years ago so perhaps this was already fulfilled? No one knows the hour of His return, so maybe it already happened? Then I began to justify not honoring the agreement, after all we had relieved Grace Chapel of $800,000 in debt on a station that was worth half that. When I came to my senses and quit trying to lawyer my may out of the agreement I decided to humble myself. I wrote Pastor John Casteel a letter and shared our plight. I told him that we would honor the agreement, but asked him if he would consider forgiving the debt. John called me and was very gracious. He told me that because I had asked him in an honorable way that he was relieving me of the obligation! This debt relief greatly helped us through a very difficult time. I am thankful that Pastor John Casteel showed me forgiveness and grace.

I have been told by friends that I am not a good business man. I do things often that fly in the face of Karass’ negotiating training. But, that isn’t the whole truth. My mind often whirls with crafty ideas that seem very shrewd and wise. When I run some of them by my wife she tells me they will lead to an indictment! But, when I quit my scheming and talk to God the right thing comes to mind.

You may find yourself in a difficult time. It could be a difficult financial situation like I was in 18 years ago. You may be dealing with creditors, banks or a landlord. Perhaps God wants you to humble yourself. Jesus told us that the truth would set us free and to ask and you will receive.

Some think that being good at business means being a shark. Sharks don't have any friends and spend most of their lives alone. When you operate in truth and love you will not only be successful, but you will never be alone.