An Invite to Cruise

Yesterday I received a mailing from American Express (Amex). Not unusual as I do have an Amex card. From time to time Amex sends out a promotional piece in an attempt to get its cardholders to "sign up" for ... whatever. Yesterday's piece was promoting 7 night Mediterranean cruises on ships of the Costa Cruise Line (does that name sound familiar?). After opening the mailer, I noted that the first cruise listed was on board the Costa Concordia (Now that name SHOULD sound familiar! It's name has been plastered all over the Internet, radio and television news the past two weeks as a result of it's capsizing off the Italian coast). The brochure states that the Costa Concordia will be sailing from February 25 through October 29, 2012. Not going to happen. With the ship now resting on its side ... half submerged in the Mediterranean ... the ship is not going to go cruising anytime soon (click here for an interesting BBC article on how the ship could be salvaged)!

What was the cause of this accident? A tragedy which resulted in the nighttime evacuation of 4,197 people, the deaths of 16 people and the injuries of 64 - with at least 16 still reported as missing (the numbers of missing and dead could be higher as there are reports of unregistered passengers who were aboard the ship at the time of the accident). The investigation into the cause is still underway. One of the more popular theories as to the cause concerns the captain. Some believe he had ordered the ship to sail close to the Tuscan island of Giglio in order to "put on a show." Cruise ships would often do this .... lighting up the ship and blowing the ship's horn to delight the passengers on board and the local population on  the island. Reports have also surfaced that one of the ship's crew wanted to get close enough to wave to someone he knew on shore.

If "showboating" turns out to be the cause, it should not come as a total surprise. We humans are born to "showboat!" When we enter this world, we do so with a will that is bent totally toward the satisfaction, promotion and even glorification of self. The last thing we want to do is humble ourselves before a holy God who demands our submission. Instead, we want to live life the way WE want to live it ... at the pace WE want to live it ... with the people WE want to live it. Until we are willing to "own up" to our self-centeredness, we will never be able to enjoy life as our Creator intended.

Friends, beware of this spirit of "showboating." Jesus stated it clearly and powerfully. If you want your life to count for what really matters ... if you want to experience fullness of joy and pleasures forever more (Psalm 16:11), you must humble yourself before him (1 Peter 5:5-6). Get rid of your pride (1 John 2:16) and realize that apart from Jesus Christ you can do NOTHING (John 15:5).

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj