Yesterday was a bad day in my relationship with the local media. The local newspaper increased its newsstand price to $1.00. It had been 75 cents. A whole quarter increase for a paper that has gotten smaller and smaller.
There are lots of ways to look at this. Prices go up and newspapers need to make money. A quarter is not a lot of money to many people. It had been 75 cents for a few years. Yada, yada, yada.
As for me, my newspaper days are over. End of the line. That extra 25 cents is just too much.
I have enjoyed the paper over the years. When I get the chance, I enjoy sitting down to a quiet breakfast with a newspaper. I skim the whole paper, read what looks interesting, then read the comics and do the sudoku. Then I go to work. It's a nice little ritual. Reading newspapers online is not quite the same and sudoku online is nowhere near the same. I am exactly the guy the newspapers need to keep to stay in business.
But never again. I will not pay $1.00 for the newspaper and the joy of sudoku. I will get the comics online and the sports online and will be done with it. I will have a sudoku book handy.
For the sake of a quarter.
It seems kind of petty, doesn't it, but that is how I feel. I took the increase from 35 to 50 cents, and from 50 cents to 75 cents, but will not take this. Someone else can buy their paper.
All of us have some point in our life beyond which we just cannot go. I think that we forget that when we deal with others. We put out a very simple (we think compelling) argument and they just don't go along. We cannot understand why they feel that way. We think they are being irrational.
They are. So what? My duty is still to love them.
Churches struggle with this because there are people who just will not go along with what seems perfectly logical and sound. I am not talking about doctrine (although it happens there as well) but about things like music and service styles and dress. There are some people who just cannot accept the preacher moving from a suit to a shirt and tie, and then to jeans and a tee shirt. The shirt and tie they can handle, but the tee shirt is too much. The drums they can handle, but the electric guitar is just too much.
We tell them how logical it all is, about how others will accept it, about how unbiblical their attitude is, about the need for them to love others. We lecture and lecture, promising them that the extra quarter is not really that important, but it does not change their feelings.
I know it is just a quarter, but it matters to me. I know it is just "how he dresses," but it matters to a lot of people. Sure it is just about how the music sounds, but it is important to a lot of people. And those people are important to you. Not because they give money to your church, but because you are commanded to love them, to look after them, and to do all that you can for their spiritual maturity. Maybe adding a quarter to the cost is just too much.
An extra quarter doesn't sound like much in the board room of the media company. It does not sound like much to a lot of people. But, to me, it is the end of a relationship.
Maybe you have to add an extra quarter somewhere. Maybe you have no choice. Or, maybe, you are just taking a step too quickly for those whom you love.
A quarter really does make a difference. How many people are you willing to lose to accomplish your goal? The Augusta Chronicle Company just lost me.
There are lots of ways to look at this. Prices go up and newspapers need to make money. A quarter is not a lot of money to many people. It had been 75 cents for a few years. Yada, yada, yada.
As for me, my newspaper days are over. End of the line. That extra 25 cents is just too much.
I have enjoyed the paper over the years. When I get the chance, I enjoy sitting down to a quiet breakfast with a newspaper. I skim the whole paper, read what looks interesting, then read the comics and do the sudoku. Then I go to work. It's a nice little ritual. Reading newspapers online is not quite the same and sudoku online is nowhere near the same. I am exactly the guy the newspapers need to keep to stay in business.
But never again. I will not pay $1.00 for the newspaper and the joy of sudoku. I will get the comics online and the sports online and will be done with it. I will have a sudoku book handy.
For the sake of a quarter.
It seems kind of petty, doesn't it, but that is how I feel. I took the increase from 35 to 50 cents, and from 50 cents to 75 cents, but will not take this. Someone else can buy their paper.
All of us have some point in our life beyond which we just cannot go. I think that we forget that when we deal with others. We put out a very simple (we think compelling) argument and they just don't go along. We cannot understand why they feel that way. We think they are being irrational.
They are. So what? My duty is still to love them.
Churches struggle with this because there are people who just will not go along with what seems perfectly logical and sound. I am not talking about doctrine (although it happens there as well) but about things like music and service styles and dress. There are some people who just cannot accept the preacher moving from a suit to a shirt and tie, and then to jeans and a tee shirt. The shirt and tie they can handle, but the tee shirt is too much. The drums they can handle, but the electric guitar is just too much.
We tell them how logical it all is, about how others will accept it, about how unbiblical their attitude is, about the need for them to love others. We lecture and lecture, promising them that the extra quarter is not really that important, but it does not change their feelings.
I know it is just a quarter, but it matters to me. I know it is just "how he dresses," but it matters to a lot of people. Sure it is just about how the music sounds, but it is important to a lot of people. And those people are important to you. Not because they give money to your church, but because you are commanded to love them, to look after them, and to do all that you can for their spiritual maturity. Maybe adding a quarter to the cost is just too much.
An extra quarter doesn't sound like much in the board room of the media company. It does not sound like much to a lot of people. But, to me, it is the end of a relationship.
Maybe you have to add an extra quarter somewhere. Maybe you have no choice. Or, maybe, you are just taking a step too quickly for those whom you love.
A quarter really does make a difference. How many people are you willing to lose to accomplish your goal? The Augusta Chronicle Company just lost me.