From CEO to Pizza Delivery

I saw this story last week, and it made me think of how fleeting material things really are.

The man interviewed in the clip, at his highest salary, made $750,000 a year. Four years after embarking on an unsuccessful entreprenurial stint as a hedge fund manager, and after two years of looking for suitable work, he realized the need to take any job and ended up delivering pizza, for $7.29 an hour, plus tips. The man and his family has run through their savings and retirement funds during this period and, at the same time, they have to contend with $100,000 in credit card debt.

Before his financial fall, the Florida family embarked on luxurious Christmas trips and found other ways to spend substantial amounts of money. They since have been forced to change their lifestyle dramatically. After failure to pay for their mortgage for two years, the family is about to be foreclosed upon. And, but for some generous, anonymous soul who is paying private school tuition for their two children, they would have had to move on from there.

The man was mocked for not being able to avoid his financial hardship on the Web site where I initially saw the story, but the truth is that although his story is extreme, it is not unusual during this challenging time of recession. People of all income brackets are careening into dire straits for a variety of reasons. It seems that God is focusing some of His people away from things and on to Him. For those of us who believe in the Lord, consider that we are being called upon to suspend judgement and extend grace.