Here is the final part of Billy Claunch’s blog entitled, “Stealing Your Life.”

Part One is here: https://sojournhuntsville.org/blogs/davidthew/2007/01/02/stealing_your_life_part_one
Part Two is here: https://sojournhuntsville.org/blogs/davidthew/2007/01/04/stealing_your_life_part_two
Part Three is here:

How does Proverbs 1:19 sum up for us so much of the teachings of God?

Let’s first look at the Old Testament. From the very beginning we have an example of some people pursuing ill-gotten gain. Eve was deceived by the serpent, led her husband into blatant sin, and both had their lives taken away by the very thing Solomon warns us about.

Part Two from Billy Claunch. Part One is at https://sojournhuntsville.org/blogs/davidthew/2007/01/02/stealing_your_life_part_one

I read this Proverb and thought, “This is so true”. Because it is expensive to own and store “stuff”. I run a business and I know when you embark on a particular project or decision, it costs much, much more than just the “hard cost”. There are ancillary costs that go along with it, labor, storage, depreciation, inventory tracking, etc. Then, there is the opportunity cost of investing the total resources into that item, that could have been better spent on another. Plus, there is huge intellectual capital invested in decision making when you must sort across a large number of items… Let’s look at an example. Let’s say I own 12 sets of bed sheets. These bed sheets have been given to us as gifts or purchased throughout the years. Obviously if there are multiple bed sizes, I need sheets to fit each bed, (although in the same vain I need to see if I am just putting sheets on a bed that someone is sleeping on 2 times per year in the off chance we have a guest)… but let’s assume 2 sizes of beds. The extra sheets must first be stored somewhere. That takes up space on a shelf, most likely inside a closet. That space then must be noted and remembered by all parties who wish to access the sheets at any point in the future. Most likely, there will be different colored sheets, which then gives another decision point of which sheets should be put on which bed, depending on the time of year, or other decorations in the room. Again, most likely, there will be sheets of different thread counts, lending the opportunity for seeking the most comfortable sheets, and potential discomfort created simply from the fact that you have the option to get a potentially more comfortable sheet out of the shelf at any time. Plus, these sheets have to be washed, after they are washed they obviously require folding, and re-stacking into the same shelf, which with time will grow somewhat disorganized and take a re-stacking and possibly re-folding of all the sheets on the shelf. Not that this is a huge deal, but remember, we are trying to get the full scope of the cost of ownership of 12 sets of bed sheets, which, as you can see, is far more than just “having another set of sheets”. It’s expensive!!

The following is a guest blog from Billy Claunch. He is a C-12 member (www.c12group.com) with Matt Winstead and me. He leads Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus, LLC (www.firetruckmall.com). Call them when you are ready to buy a firetruck – you know for the kids. As a successful, local executive he writes about the dangers of materialism.

Proverbs 1:19

“Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.” (NIV)

My name is Billy Claunch. I was born in Huntsville, Alabama on August 31, 1976 to two great parents who today still live where I grew up. Today, it’s May 28th, 2006. I am 29 years old, married to Paula for almost 6 years, and father to James for 3 years, and Henry for almost 1. Proverbs 1:19 has been a favorite verse of mine – I like its practicality.

The below is a memo I created for my family’s company, Oral Arts Dental Laboratories. This memo was inspired from a local C12 Group meeting. C12, www.c12group.com , is an organization dedicated to the training and development of Christian CEO’s in the marketplace. I have been a member of C12 for only 2 months but involved for over one year and i recommend it to any business owner reading this who is interested in growing professionally and personally in glorification of Christ.

At this special time of year, when many people become a little more introspective than usual, I thought it fitting to write a note to all of you expressing some of my personal thoughts.