contestants committed themselves to live in a truck. Attached to the truck was a speedboat.
All they had to do was stay in the truck and endure nonstop playing of Wayne Newton’s “Danke Shoen.” That alone would drive me crazy. Contestants got one five minute break every four hours. They were allowed no electronic devices or reading material. There was no air conditioning, but they were allowed to shower.
The last one in the truck would win both the truck and the speedboat.
After a few days, three contestants were left, so organizers decided to change the
rules just a little to make the contest more difficult: the remaining contestants had to stay awake. If one dozed off for more than one minute, he or she was out.
he contest came to a close when Karla Ashley fell asleep. The other two, Paul Stewart and Dr. James Phelan, decided to split the winnings. Stewart got the truck, and Dr. Phelan took the boat. Ashley was given $1,000 for her efforts.
Personally, it seems a little silly to me. But you’ve got to admire their dedication and
perseverance.
On the other hand, take the typical Christian who decides to get up a little
earlier to pray and read Scripture. Everything goes well for the first few
days, but then…
Look back at the name of that contest —“Live In It To Win It Again.” The “Again” part probably just meant that they had done this before. Subtract that one word, and we have an excellent motto for Christians and our relationship with the world. We’ve got to live in it if we’re going to win it.
If these folks (and they’re probably fine people) could commit themselves to a
contest such as this, how much more should we commit ourselves to the task of
reaching people with the Good News of Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but it kind of makes me ashamed of myself.
--Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com