Missed Opportunities

A missed opportunity can cost a ton of regret in the future.  Consider these examples of great opportunities that just weren’t taken:

• ABC once passed on a sitcom proposal featuring comedian Bill Cosby.   NBC snapped up the idea and enjoyed collecting billions of advertising dollars over the next decade.
• In 1982, the makers of the mega-hit movie, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”, wanted to use M&M’s in their movie.  Mars (the makers of M&M’s) did not see that as a particularly appealing opportunity.  Rival candy company, Hershey, took advantage and collected great rewards when their new product, Reese's Pieces, soared in popularity.
• In 2006, Yahoo had the opportunity to buy Facebook for $1 billion, but backed away.  Now Facebook is worth many times that.
• Tony Fadell, an engineer at Philips Electronics, pitched an idea to his employer for combining a music player and an online content-delivery system.  They rejected it.  So he took the idea to, then industry giant, RealNetworks.  They also passed.  Finally Apple bought into the idea and the iPod and iTunes were born.  It could have been Philips or RealNetworks that dominated digital music, rather than Apple, but they missed their opportunity.
• In 1962, a little known band, managed by Brian Epstein, auditioned for Decca Records.  Decca rejected them saying that the band had “no future in show business.”  Later EMI would sign the group, called “The Beatles” (you might have heard of them) and the rest is music history.

Can you imagine the bitter regret that some of those involved in passing over these golden opportunities must have felt later?  Imagine how much they might love to go back and do it again better.  There is one final story of regret that I want to call to your attention now.  It is found in Luke 16:19-31:

(NKJV) "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' "

This man had many missed opportunities -- opportunities to prepare for the judgment, opportunities to share comfort with others like Lazarus, opportunities to teach his family to live rightly.  Now he longs desperately to have chosen better.

Today, you still have those opportunities.  But those windows of opportunity will close, and you will have eternity to think about what you did with them.  

(For more information about preparing for eternity click here.)