The resurrection of Colonel Sanders

{source}<iframe style=”float: Left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #c0c0c0; padding: 2px; margin: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;” width=”400″ height=”225″ src=”http://www.youtube.Com/embed/Dh2rHsxYh6U?Rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}I can still remember the special evenings that my dad came in the back door carrying that big red and white bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.  We didn’t eat out very often in those days and fast food was a special occasion in our home.  The meal always ended with someone saying, “That was finger-lickin’ good!”

You have probably seen the new commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken.  The original “Colonel” died in 1980 and recently the franchise has started advertising with a new face, dressed in the familiar white suit and black bow tie.  Jim is not a fan of the commercials but I have to admit that I rather enjoyed the memories those commercials inspired.

I was curious about the original Colonel Sanders so I decided to check out his bio.  Harland David Sanders was born in 1890.  His father died when he was only six years old.  His mom had to work a factory position to pay the bills so he was responsible for the care of his younger brother and sister.  

At the age of ten he began working a variety of jobs starting as a farmer, then becoming a streetcar conductor, a railroad fireman and insurance salesman.  He was forty and running a service station in Kentucky when he started frying chicken for the travelers who passed by.  His fried chicken soon became so famous that in 1935 the Kentucky governor named him a “Colonel.”

Harland’s gas station soon added a restaurant and then a motel.  He had quite a business until Interstate 75 opened and the daily traffic was diverted elsewhere.  He was almost bankrupt when he decided to put his pressure cooker in his car and take his chicken recipe on the road.  He sold his recipe to restaurants and they agreed to pay him five cents for every chicken sold.  Eventually he had “franchised” and a new company was born.

Colonel Harland David Sanders sold that company for two million dollars and earned an annual salary as the “face” of the business until he died in 1980.  He is quoted as saying, “There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do any business from there.  People don’t know that I gave most of my money away. Most of it goes to churches.”

Colonel Sanders accepted Jesus as Lord in his latter years.  His life was transformed by Jesus and he lived those last years with different priorities.  

Colonel Sanders held a job from the time he was ten years old.  His work ethic was eventually rewarded but his life was marked by significant ups and downs.  I’m glad that he came to know Jesus and was able to live his last years knowing his Lord.  Now, with these new commercials, we are reminded of his life again.  

Jesus taught his disciples saying, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”  (Matthew 6:19-21).

You and I can work hard and maybe will be considered a success by the biographers of this world.  We can leave behind a reputation and an inheritance for others to enjoy.  But, we want to be rich when we get to the cemetery one day with the wealth that is stored for us in heaven.

Let’s focus on that financial portfolio more often.  Heaven is our most important investment, and that priority will change our hearts, our reputations and it will likely change what we choose to do with the rest of the day today.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

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