It looks good, but it’s a ripoff …

A gas station in the San Francisco bay area has discovered a very effective way of gouging their customers: a gas station within a gas station!

Recently I needed to get some fuel for the car, so I pulled into a station near the Benicia area. This was a large station with several fuel pumps and a full-service convenience store on the property that also had a Carl’s Jr. fast food restaurant attached. As I drove onto the property, I noticed to the side and set back from the main business area what looked like a smaller fueling area. It only had a half dozen older pumps set close together. It was cramped, out of the way, and not convenient to all the services offered in the main business area. With just a brief look, I assumed it was a separate fueling station for commercial customers. Some gas stations have a separate area not open to the general public but available only for corporate accounts, and I assumed that’s what this second fueling area was.

However, I’m not fond of assuming. So when I recently stopped in the same gas station, I first asked about the “hidden” fueling area. As it turns out, it was simply additional fuel pumps open to the public but offering a much lower rate than at the main fueling area. The regular fueling area charged $3.33 per gallon, while the smaller, “hidden” pumps charged only $3.09 per gallon!

Want to guess where I fueled up?

It was only when I pulled over to the more remote fuel pumps that I first noticed a small sign displaying the lower fuel costs for this area. Most customers pay little attention to this cheaper fueling station because it’s set back, unattractive, more remote than the multiple islands of newer, faster pumps, and just not convenient to the services offered. I would imagine most customers don’t realize this cheaper area is available to them. So, the majority of customers go to the broader, more attractive, more convenient area where they pay 24 cents per gallon more for their fuel!

This experience is much like our experience traveling life as Jesus described it in Matthew 7:13-14, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Satan has rolled out the red carpet and made it very convenient and attractive for us to make our way to hell. It’s not hard. It’s fairly comfortable, and it can even be fun for a while. The problem is the ultimate destination!

However, being a part of God’s kingdom takes effort on our part. It’s not easy to find or enter. The road there isn’t designed for our comfort. But the ultimate destination is worth every effort and difficulty getting there!

Which road are you on?

Scotty