Last weekend the football team I support, I have no choice it's genetic, managed to lose badly to another team who were quite a way below them in terms of skill and ability. The reason was that the manager of the team chose to play only two of his first team and fill the remainder of the team selection with kids, people returning from injury and a boy scout who was on work experience (well I assume that who the fifteen year old was!). They lost 3-1 and it transpires that good old Arsene had decided that being in the chase for the premiership title and the prospect of the Champions League were sufficient for him to ignore the FA Cup.
Well, the gamble was put to the test and Arsenal were held to a competitive but nevertheless nil-nil draw. Thus it has become obvious that the strategy of 'resting' the majority of the first team so that they could arrive in the Midlands fresh and fit to take all three points was perhaps a little flawed and therefore Arsenal has not only 'dissed' Stoke by playing an under strength side but lost their place in a competition I personally would have liked us still to be in (I like Wembley!). Perhaps there's not a French saying about 'putting all one's eggs in one basket' or maybe Arsene's Mum never used it with him.
Moving on, I notice this morning that the AA are attributing an 18% rise in car insurance to the 'claim culture', that wonderful invention of the Americans with its Ambulance chasing and bumper stickers which proclaim, "Send your child to medical school and support the American Insurance Industry!"
Once again I am reminded of my Mum's wise words regarding the fact that one can't have one's cake and eat it. I am amazed by the number of apparently intelligent people (shoes tied and apparently potty trained - must have some degree of intelligence) who can't see that by telephoning Claims whatever with their 'No win - no fee' or their boast that the injured party gets '100% of the damages' that something has to be missing. After all who pays, or this offer pure altruism on the part of the company?
Commonsense says that someone has to pay for the services of these 'Ambulance Chasers' and it isn't too hard a step to realise that the payee must be an insurance company. Now if insurance companies are paying out then this means that they need to recoup that money and the only way to do that, other than robbing banks (which would make a change from banks robbing us I guess), is to up the cost of Insurance.
There's nothing new in not listening to the wisdom of others, during my life to date I have managed to ignore parental advice, God's wisdom and the accumulated wisdom of experience from peers, teachers and random passers by. So why do we do it? What makes us "Do what is right in our own eyes," despite the fact that the source might just have something valid to say, after all, in God's case cane there be any doubt about this being true? And yet we do.
So here's a little thought for us all as we go about our lives today let's remember this paraphrase of Proverbs 4: 6 - 7:
Do not ignore or forsake wisdom and she (yep, wisdom is a 'she') will protect you; Love her and she will watch over you. Wisdom is 'the' important thing, so go out and get it. regardless of the cost, even if it's all you have, develop understanding."
And the cherry on top of this has to be Proverbs 3:5-6:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and in everything you do acknowledge (and obey) Him and he will make you paths straight."
I pray for flat and straight roads for us all today.
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