If you learned that 1 of 10 people in your circle would die this year, and you could even say which person specifically was likely die - What would you do?
I learned about something disgusting last night - it turned my stomach to hear it - it made me want to howl to the rafters about the injustice in the world!
This may not be news to most of you - but it was news to me - to learn that companies purchase life insurance on their employees. At first that doesn't sound too bad - I can see insuring the CEO of a blue chip company because his death could result in the loss of millions for that company - what I can't understand is why you would insure, without their knowledge or consent, someone who works in the wal-mart bakery, someone who sweeps floors for a living, someone who is the "rank and file" employee.
Why would you do this? To make a profit,
Every year a certain number of working people will die - if you look at how many people in your nationwide company died last year - then you can use a mathmatical equation to figure out how many people will most probably die this year - you can also factor in things like social station (a janitor vs a manager) who typically leads a healthier life, what employees have health insurance, the stress of a job - and so narrow down the pool of your employees to a smaller group contianing those most likely to die.
Lets say you did all this math and you came up with a group of 50,000 employees (out of 500,000 total employees )- that would most likely die in the next year, as a responsible citizen what would you do?
Would you
A- try to help these people by providing insurance, free medical clinics, doctors and nurses to talk to to try to help this person, maybe even a few more days of vacation time to spend with their families?
B - buy a $1,500,000.00 life insurance policy on them and do nothing
What is even more sickening if the fact that many of these companies may have even contributed to the death of their employee. If your employer requires you to work longer hours, more shifts, and piles more and more responsibility on you - all the while telling you that he knows 10 people who would love to have your job (this is happening to a friend of ours) and then you die of a heart attack - did that employer knowingly contribute to your death?
What if your employer refuses to offer health insurance, and knowing that people who do not have health insurance typically don't go to the doctor as often, even when they are sick - buys an insurance policy on you. That year catch the flu - and don't go to the doctor - and you die - did they knowingly act in an irresponsible manner which contributed to your death?
Why can't I buy insurance on someone else house? Because then I would have a vested interest in that person's house burning down - it would be to my gain if they lost their home.
Which employers bought policies on the lives of employees?
Because a company’s purchase of insurance policies is not a public record, it is virtually impossible to know every company that invested in policies on employees’ lives. These policies are termed "dead peasant" policies because they insure the "rank and file" not the company executives. If your employer is on the list below - don't worry, you can ask them if they have such a policy on you - but they do not have to answer - because insurance lobbiests have persuaded our congress to make such dealings strictly confidential - especially from the peasants.
The following companies are believed to have been the beneficiary of these types of life insurance policies on employees:
ADAC Laboratories
Advanced Telecommunication Corp.
Aeroquip Vickers Inc.
Alabama Power Co.
Alfa Corp.
Allegheny Technologies Inc.
Allergan Inc.
Allfirst Financial Inc.
Amegy Bank, N.A.
American Business Products, Inc.
American Electric Power
American Express Co.
American Greetings Corp.
American Management Systems Inc.
American Seafoods Group LLC
Ameritech Corp.
Amerus Group Co.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Appalachian Power Co.
Arch Chemical
Aristech Chemical Corp.
AT&T Communications
Atlantic Richfield Co.
Avery Dennison Corp
Avon Products Inc.
B. F. Goodrich Company
Ball Corporation
Bank Boston
Bank Of America
Bank One Corp.
Barnett Banks Inc.
Bassett Furniture Industries Inc.
Be Aerospace Inc.
Bear Stearns Companies
Bellsouth Corporation
Boise Cascade Corp.
Boston Company
Boston Federal
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Camelot Music, Inc.
Carolina Power & Light Co.
Carpenter Technology Corp.
Catskill Financial Corp.
Central Power & Light Co.
Ch2m Hill Companies Ltd.
Charming Shoppes, Inc.
Checkfree Corp.
Chemical Banking Corporation
Citibank, N.A.
Citizens Bank
Clark Inc.
Clorox Company
CNF Inc.
Coca-Cola Company
Columbus Southern Power Co.
Commercial Intertech Corp.
Compass Bank (Florida & Alabama)
Computer Technology Associates Inc.
Consolidated Natural Gas Co.
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Cox Enterprises, Inc.
CTA Inc.
Cymer Inc.
Diamond Shamrock Inc.
Diebold Inc.
Dime Bancorp Inc.
Dow Chemical
Earle M. Jorgensen Co.
Eastman Kodak Company
Eaton Corp.
ECC Capital Corp.
Enserch Corp.
F&M Bancorp
FiberMark Inc.
Figgie International Inc.
Fina Oil & Chemical Company
First Bank System Inc.
First Commonwealth
First Midwest Bancorp Inc.
Fleet Bank
FleetBoston Financial Corp.
Flightsafety International Inc.
Frontier Bank
Fulton Financial Corp.
GATX Corporation
Georgia Power Co.
GNC Corp.
Great Plains Energy Inc.
GTE Corporation
Gulf Power Co.
HCR Manor Care Inc
Hechinger Company
Heritage Commerce Corp.
Herman Miller Inc.
Hershey Foods Corporation
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc.
Hosiery Corporation of America
Houghton Mifflin
Household Finance
Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.
Hughes Supply Inc
ICI Americas, Inc.
Idaho Power Company
IKON Office Solutions Inc.
Indiana Michigan Power Co.
Integra Bank Corp.
Intermark Inc.
Iowa First Bancshares Corp.
Iroquois Bancorp Inc.
J Jill Group Inc.
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Kansas City Power & Light
Kansas Gas & Electric Co.
Keithley Instruments Inc.
Kentucky Power Co.
Keycorp Ohio
Kimberly Clark
Korn Ferry International
Laser Master Int’l. Inc.
Linens N Things Inc.
LKQ Corp.
Louisiana Pacific Corp.
Manor Care Inc.
Marriott International Inc.
McDonnell Douglas Corp.
Media General Inc.
Medicalcontrol Inc.
Menasha Corporation
MidAmerican Energy Co.
Miix Group Inc.
Mississippi Power Co.
MNC Financial Inc.
Mueller Industries Inc.
National City Corporation
NationsBank
Nestle Enterprises
Norfolk Southern Corp.
Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
Northern States Power Co.
Ohio Power Co.
Old National
Olin Corporation
Owens & Minor Inc.
PacifiCorp
Panera Bread Co.
Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company
Parker Hannifin Corp.
Penn Treaty American Corp.
Penns Woods Bancorp Inc.
Phibro Animal Health Corp.
Philipp Brothers Chemicals Inc.
Phoenix Companies Inc.
Pinnacle Financial Services Inc.
Portland General Electric
Potlatch Corporation
PPG Industries
Procter & Gamble Company
PSS World Medical Inc.
Public Service Co. of New Mexico
Public Service Co. of Oklahoma
Public Service Enterprise Group
Questech Inc.
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
Ruddick Corp.
Ryder System Inc.
Sallie Mae (Stud Ln Mktg Assoc.)
Savannah Electric & Power Co.
Sequa Corp.
Service Merchandise Co., Inc.
Shearson Mortgage
Sherwin-Williams
Sky Chefs
Smart & Final Inc.
Smith Barney
Sonoco Products Co.
Southwest Bank
Southwest Water Co.
Southwestern Bell Corp.
Southwestern Electric Power Co.
Southwestern Public Service Co.
Star Banc Corp.
Stauffer Management Company
Steelcase Inc.
Sturgis Bancorp Inc.
Summit Bank of N.J.
Swank, Inc.
Tellabs Inc.
Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Texas Eastern Transmission Corp.
Tompkins Trustco Inc.
TXU Corp.
TYCO International
UniFirst Corp.
Union Bank
United National Bancorp
Urocor Inc.
Vineyard National Bancorp
W. R. Grace & Company
Wachovia Corporation
Walgreen Company
Wal-Mart Stores
Walt Disney
Wang’s International, Inc.
Wells Fargo, N.A.
West Coast Bancorp
West Texas Utilities Co.
Westar Energy Inc.
Western Aire Chef Inc
Western Resources, Inc.
Westpoint Pepperell
Winn Dixie
Winnebago Industries Inc.
Woolworth Corporation
Xcel Energy Inc.
York Water Co.
Zale Corp.
****The contents of this blog are the writters opinion and may or may not be based on fact. Reading this blog is for enjoyment purposes only.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Off the Adult Menu
We had Breakfast/Lunch at Bob Evans yesterday after church - it was packed out! So we finally get a table and of course everyone is starving, and the boys immediately begin to confer among themselves as to what to order. After several minutes of working out the details they present us with the plan - and it involves all three of them eating off the adult menu. As a mom- I really felt old at that moment - it is odd to think of my boys all being old enough to want to order off the adult menu. Since they were splitting a meal it was a bit cheaper, but it was still hard to hear that they wanted normal pancakes and not the cute little kids silver dollar ones with the whip cream smile. Anyways
This is reminding me of something else I heard lately - again and again I seem to hear this- so maybe it is what I need to hear.
From 3 verses - 3 steps to help focus on godly living
1 - What is your goal?
2 - How do you treat others?
3 - Who are you pleasing?
It helps to work these through and then work them backwards so let me give an example
Jill is 35 - married with 2 kids in school. She is a Christian.
Jill wants to get ahead - she has a good job and she wants to be sure to make a good impression on others so that she will be promoted - Her goal is - Get Promoted
She treats others in what she expects is a fair manner - if they can help her achieve her goal she is very friendly and outgoing, she will go out of her way to please her superiors and while she does not gossip, she uses office politics to get ahead as she can - she also avoids people who are unpopular for any reason - She treats others - With a singular purpose - in order to use them to accomplish her goal.
Jill spends time learning the likes and dislikes of her higher - ups and many hours working on special pet projects - Jill is pleasing Herself and Her employer
There is nothing wrong with Jill wanting to be promoted, doing a good job at work, even avoiding those who might stir up trouble - and there is nothing wrong with pleasing her employer or even herself. What should Jill's goal be?
Let me say here that this is just an example - only Christ knows what Jill - who is a fictitious person - should be setting her sights on - but to continue this example I'll work this out backwards.
God's plan for Jill starts with her family - Jill's husband feels like Jill has time for everyone but him. Jill's children go to church on Sunday - but during the week they are bombarded with secular images at school and at home. Because both Jill and her husband work they are both tired in the evenings and allow the kids to make their choices about many things because they are simply too tired to be involved any further in their children's lives. God wants Jill to serve her family - even though this is not what she wants for herself.
This will start with Jill pleasing God with her choices rather than herself or her boss at work - it may mean not being involved in the pet projects which will cause her to lose her popular status, and she may even become - gasp- one of those people who she would not have associated with before because she will not be popular - in fact people will probably say "What happened to Jill? She used to be such a go getter - it is such a pity."
But because of these small changes Jill begins to please God and winds up also pleasing her husband - who feels wanted and needed by her new attention and she pleases her children who are struggling to find themselves in a lost world. Jill - surprising even herself - finds that she is happy with the changes and pleases herself because of the new closeness with her husband and focus on her children.
Jill treats people better - she realizes that some of the people she was avoiding at work - are really a lot like her - many have similar views and are not popular because they have also made choices to put God's will first in their lives - this causes Jill to be more bold with her testimony - first with the other Christians she discovered and then with the very people she used to hold in such high regard. She never would have thought to share her faith with them before for fear of being shunned and labeled a trouble maker. She is actually treating everyone in her workplace better - because she is finally caring about their souls - more than her advancement.
Jill's goal changes - she no longer desires a promotion - instead she desires to do a good job at the job she has been given - she sees her job as more than the 9-5 at work - but also sees her job as a wife and mother as important. Jill is happier, and lives a more balanced, satisfying and God pleasing life.
Want to know what your goal is? What do you worry about, what is on your mind 3 or 4 times a day, what do you spend your time and money on? These are your goals even if they are not what you intended.
I tend to not have Jill's problem as Jill does - I can say - ____________________ is my goal and I can tell you how it was picked to please God - BUT
In truth a goal that I picked to please God might not be the goal that He has for me.
One recent idea was regarding Grandpa Keen possibly moving in with us - his health isn't the best and we would love to have him here. - This goal seems "good"
But talk it through
How will this affect how I treat people? It will most definitely affect relationships with our extended family - they may or may not approve - I will need to be able to treat them well, even if they do not treat me very nicely. We really should sit down with everyone and discuss this - not just us decide - that is how I would want to be treated. This will affect how I have time for Drason and the boys - if Grandpa needs care, I will be the one to provide it for the most part - it will affect everyday from homeschool to ball practices to date night.
Who does it please - It pleases Grandpa - he wants very much to live with family he is very lonely and he is having health problems. It pleases me - I feel as though I will be repaying an obligation to him - he cared for me - I should care for him. Does it please God? I didn't even think to ask - of course such a noble well intentioned goal would please God -right?
Some people won't fall into a Jill situation - they will fall into a good idea vs. a God idea - And the difference is life and death. A good idea says good works outweighing bad should attain heaven - but Christ says - none come to the Father except through me.
Harsh example - but very true - how many good people have good ideas, but no clue about Christ? It really brings back the point that the steps of a righteous man are directed by the Lord.
A good reminder for me.
This is reminding me of something else I heard lately - again and again I seem to hear this- so maybe it is what I need to hear.
From 3 verses - 3 steps to help focus on godly living
1 - What is your goal?
2 - How do you treat others?
3 - Who are you pleasing?
It helps to work these through and then work them backwards so let me give an example
Jill is 35 - married with 2 kids in school. She is a Christian.
Jill wants to get ahead - she has a good job and she wants to be sure to make a good impression on others so that she will be promoted - Her goal is - Get Promoted
She treats others in what she expects is a fair manner - if they can help her achieve her goal she is very friendly and outgoing, she will go out of her way to please her superiors and while she does not gossip, she uses office politics to get ahead as she can - she also avoids people who are unpopular for any reason - She treats others - With a singular purpose - in order to use them to accomplish her goal.
Jill spends time learning the likes and dislikes of her higher - ups and many hours working on special pet projects - Jill is pleasing Herself and Her employer
There is nothing wrong with Jill wanting to be promoted, doing a good job at work, even avoiding those who might stir up trouble - and there is nothing wrong with pleasing her employer or even herself. What should Jill's goal be?
Let me say here that this is just an example - only Christ knows what Jill - who is a fictitious person - should be setting her sights on - but to continue this example I'll work this out backwards.
God's plan for Jill starts with her family - Jill's husband feels like Jill has time for everyone but him. Jill's children go to church on Sunday - but during the week they are bombarded with secular images at school and at home. Because both Jill and her husband work they are both tired in the evenings and allow the kids to make their choices about many things because they are simply too tired to be involved any further in their children's lives. God wants Jill to serve her family - even though this is not what she wants for herself.
This will start with Jill pleasing God with her choices rather than herself or her boss at work - it may mean not being involved in the pet projects which will cause her to lose her popular status, and she may even become - gasp- one of those people who she would not have associated with before because she will not be popular - in fact people will probably say "What happened to Jill? She used to be such a go getter - it is such a pity."
But because of these small changes Jill begins to please God and winds up also pleasing her husband - who feels wanted and needed by her new attention and she pleases her children who are struggling to find themselves in a lost world. Jill - surprising even herself - finds that she is happy with the changes and pleases herself because of the new closeness with her husband and focus on her children.
Jill treats people better - she realizes that some of the people she was avoiding at work - are really a lot like her - many have similar views and are not popular because they have also made choices to put God's will first in their lives - this causes Jill to be more bold with her testimony - first with the other Christians she discovered and then with the very people she used to hold in such high regard. She never would have thought to share her faith with them before for fear of being shunned and labeled a trouble maker. She is actually treating everyone in her workplace better - because she is finally caring about their souls - more than her advancement.
Jill's goal changes - she no longer desires a promotion - instead she desires to do a good job at the job she has been given - she sees her job as more than the 9-5 at work - but also sees her job as a wife and mother as important. Jill is happier, and lives a more balanced, satisfying and God pleasing life.
Want to know what your goal is? What do you worry about, what is on your mind 3 or 4 times a day, what do you spend your time and money on? These are your goals even if they are not what you intended.
I tend to not have Jill's problem as Jill does - I can say - ____________________ is my goal and I can tell you how it was picked to please God - BUT
In truth a goal that I picked to please God might not be the goal that He has for me.
One recent idea was regarding Grandpa Keen possibly moving in with us - his health isn't the best and we would love to have him here. - This goal seems "good"
But talk it through
How will this affect how I treat people? It will most definitely affect relationships with our extended family - they may or may not approve - I will need to be able to treat them well, even if they do not treat me very nicely. We really should sit down with everyone and discuss this - not just us decide - that is how I would want to be treated. This will affect how I have time for Drason and the boys - if Grandpa needs care, I will be the one to provide it for the most part - it will affect everyday from homeschool to ball practices to date night.
Who does it please - It pleases Grandpa - he wants very much to live with family he is very lonely and he is having health problems. It pleases me - I feel as though I will be repaying an obligation to him - he cared for me - I should care for him. Does it please God? I didn't even think to ask - of course such a noble well intentioned goal would please God -right?
Some people won't fall into a Jill situation - they will fall into a good idea vs. a God idea - And the difference is life and death. A good idea says good works outweighing bad should attain heaven - but Christ says - none come to the Father except through me.
Harsh example - but very true - how many good people have good ideas, but no clue about Christ? It really brings back the point that the steps of a righteous man are directed by the Lord.
A good reminder for me.
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