Close enough is not enough

An accountant in response to an ad applied for a high position with a large auditing firm. He went through a battery of tests and panel interviews. At the end of the final interview, the chairman of the board asked, “One last question—what is three times seven?”

The accountant impulsively answered, “Twenty-two.” After the interview, he realized he gave a wrong answer. He thought he lost the job. But he was surprised when the firm offered him the post later. So, he asked why he got the job despite the fact that he gave the wrong answer. The chairman with a shrug answered, “You were the closest.”[1]

Of course, that can’t be true. Accounting is an exact science. It is not enough to be close enough. You have to be right... down to the last centavo. That’s not being narrow. That’s the truth.

However, there are people who mistakenly think that God is like the interviewer. They think it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re close to the truth. But, in heaven as it is in accounting, close enough is not enough. You may be sincere yet that is not enough. There are people in hell who are sincere but sincerely wrong. You have to be right. That’s not being narrow. That’s the truth.

That’s why Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV) Without Jesus, you are lost for He is the way. Without Him, you are wrong for He is the truth. Without Him, you are dead for He is the life. I wonder why people can accept the truth when it comes to accounting. Yet when it comes to salvation they can’t. Today, they will accuse you of being narrow if you say that only Jesus saves. But that’s the truth. And we are commanded to “preach God’s message. Do it willingly, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do.” (2 Timothy 4:2, CEV)

Brethren, people need to hear that close enough is not enough.

[1]From the illustration database of Biblical Studies Foundation (http://www.bible.org).

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