I would like to begin, by
saying, I am NOT endorsing any
service, of any kind, in what I
am about to say! I remember
walking to the table of
Representatives for NCL and
being nicely greeted. I was
asked for my Tickets and
boarding pass and then to state
which bags belonged to me and
those with me. As quickly as
that was done, we were whisked
to a separate elevator, to the
upper most level of our Ship and
a grand Lady she was. Drinks
were quickly placed in our hands
and the pictures began to snap
from every direction, you would
have thought we were
Celebrities. Everything was Mr.
or Mrs., this or that and doors
were opened quickly and smiles
were present everywhere. The
Stateroom was filled with
balloons and confetti, for my
daughters birthday and there was
a basket of fruit and champagne
and the Concierge' was standing
quietly and smiling as we
entered. From that point on my
Wife and I were seated in the
best spots, quickly served and
gently handled at every turn, it
never mattered once, where we
were on ship, we were treated
like Royalty. The meals were
sumptuous and the attention was
almost to the point of being
obnoxious and aggravating, but
it did give us a glimpse of the
other side of wealth. For the
first time in our lives we were
living high on the hog! Although
I enjoyed this attention to a
certain degree, I knew it for
what is was, attention because
of money! How utterly devoid of
Authenticity and true charm it
was!
Through-out, the entire Cruise,
everything was made perfect or
close to that, until the Cruise
was coming to a close and then
we saw the true nature of all
those people. Each came at
separate times to the Stateroom
looking for their bonus and each
was not disappointed and yet
they too, joined with the others
and disappeared in the end. I
was not surprised in any way, I
knew what the standard was and
what would be expected by them,
of me. This time around, there
was no fruit in the morning, no
Champagne for breakfast,
actually no “Real” Breakfast at
all, cereal was the best. Then
our bags were gathered like all
the others and moved to the
terminal, like all the others
and we were left to find them on
our own, just like all the
others. It was remarkable to me
in a way, I had saved for quite
awhile for this excursion,
complete with a very nice
Stateroom and all the attention.
I wanted my Family to enjoy
being treated nicely, if it was
only once in all our lives.
Special was what I got, because
special is what I paid for, it's
as simple as that! In the end,
there were no special table for
us to disembark from, no smiles,
no extra attention paid us, but
we had a very nice time and for
7 days my family really had fun!
So was it worth it?! In a way,
it was. Would I do it
again...not on your life! Once
was more than enough, for this
old Indian!
When Adam and Eve had sinned in
the Garden of Eden and God had
sent them out, things changed,
being special would be something
you would have to pay for. The
sin of greed, left it's mark,
letting me know that original
sin was doing well and
everywhere one would look.
Self-importance, the “Me first”
attitude, the “Hooray for me and
to hell with everyone else” was
rampant, it matters little what
your level of lifestyle is. It
appears that money does nothing
more than to help and hide this
attribute in other people, it's
a “You want it, you gotta pay
for it”. I am an American Indian
and I look the part as well, I
am a simple man, with simple
desires. I look stupid in a suit
and tie and even worse in a
tuxedo, it just doesn't fit with
the way I look! What is worse,
people trying to hide these
things and in the end are just
hypocrites, sad but so very
true, my Friends. The Bible
says, “Blessed are the meek” and
this is true as well, there are
no pretentious attitudes,
anywhere. Those sort of things,
are as empty as a huge hole in
the ground, they are deep, dark,
and lifeless. I would rather
have people be my Friend, than
to pretend anything. I can
handle it, if someone doesn't
like me and if they do like me,
we are Friends for sure! A
simple and honest life is lived
strictly by “The Big, Black,
Line” sort of thinking and
living, everyone knows where you
stand on whatever. How different
the Cruise would have been, had
everyone been sincere, in how we
all interacted with each other.
How happy the crew would have
been...continually...and in turn
the passengers! All I can say is
“Thank you Satan, for messing up
a really good thing! You
self-serving schmuck”!!
Of course, the Bible tells us we
should be looking to HIM, with
out fail, neither to the left or
to the right. It also tells
us...To Give...to one another!
There is the key...as to why
this world is in such trouble,
“Give” and “Don't just take”.
How different this world would
be, if everyone read the Word of
God and adhered to
it...truthfully! It does nothing
more than to “Prove” just how
desperate, this world truly is,
when compared to what Heaven
will be! And then to think, it's
all because of sin! Can you
imagine a world without wars,
without famine or disease or
hunger?! Can you imagine a world
where the point of every person,
ever day, would be to genuinely
help others! Where “Self” is
never considered, where “Mine”
does not exist, where hunger is
fed and pain is forgotten, where
Love is the only desire?! I can
only see it through a mangled
lens and then it lasts for less
than a second and then is gone.
For me, this is imagination,
that fails in comparison to the
Heaven the Lord has in store for
us, that Heaven, could never be
imagined, we don't have that
ability, only God does.
So here we are, trying to
contemplate this sort of world
and then we look around
ourselves, at the world we now
live in and the difference is
far more than just
disappointing, it's almost worth
suicide! Yes, I understand, that
is a very sobering
thought....but it is True! It's
the True follower of Jesus, that
gets to see that single glimpse,
that KNOWS what is to come one
day. These are the words we
should be sharing with those
people, that have NO hope of any
kind. Their desperation, is for
whatever they can acquire in
these, so very short three score
and ten years (70 years)! For
them, after that, it is the end
and they feel that desperation,
that want, the lack of hope, the
fear of their failure and the
finality of death. They have no
idea there is a better place, a
place where their dreams are
fulfilled, where they really
mean something to others and not
for another reason, that is
found continually in hypocrisy.
People don't like it when we
talk about Eternity, we KNOW
where we will be found through
out Eternity, yet, they have no
such knowledge for themselves.
How sad to think, that one only
has 70 years and then everything
just ends, where there is no
forever, no peace, no harmony!
This is where the Follower of
Jesus Christ comes into play, we
KNOW of Heaven and what Eternity
is and we KNOW where to find
this. We need to be working
steadily, everyday, for every
single person that comes our
way, this is our normal request
by Our Lord and Savior! WE are
to bring the message of Truth
and the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
it is Jesus Christ, that opens
their heart to receive it. There
is no need to brow-beat anyone,
or “Shove it down their throat”.
It needs to be a point in time,
where they see their life and
how it is today and what is can
be tomorrow, with Jesus Christ!!
It says in Matthew 11:20-30,
“Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light."
This is one of the greatest
verses there is in the Bible, to
give to someone else the chance
at Eternity, with Jesus Christ.
Finally to have the Love from
someone else that is True and
Honest, where this Love is a
True Gift, no strings, no
deception! It never ceases to
amaze me though, how many people
will hear the Gospel of Jesus
Christ...and turn their back on
HIS gift to them.
“Well...there
must be some sort of gimmick to
it, ya just can't trust anyone
now days”! Or what may be even
worse “Look...I just don't have
any time for this!” I have a
real hard time
understanding...anyone...that
would give up this offer, for
something like money! It is
evident, that they do not
understand the difference
between 70 years and Eternity
and even worse, for Money! It is
sad to think, as the Bible says,
“For the road to destruction is
wide and many will walk it” and
there is nothing we can do about
it! Yet these same individuals
will scoff at our Faith and
Trust in the Lord God Almighty!
Looking at these two scenarios
of people, can you imagine the
surprise in them, when the
“Rapture” takes place?! Problem
is, they will be willing to
“Believe a Lie” before they
would believe the Truth of the
Bible! With the “Rapture” being
so close now, our job has become
so much more “Critical”! We need
to be working as industrially as
a colony of ants, as dedicated
as a Bee-Hive and with the Grace
and Love of Our Lord and
Savior!!
