Our past sometimes still punishes us.

[TrueFollowerOfChrist]

Why is the world so determined to punish people for past mistakes? I have a very good friend I've known for years.  He used to be a pretty bad guy and went to prison.  Now he has a wife and kids and can't find a decent job because employers want to treat him like a leper for things he did years ago.  It's hard to watch sometimes and it breaks my heart that people can be so evil.  Some people have made terrible mistakes.  Sometimes those people completely change for the better.  The amount of people in this world that believes you should always pay for your past seems to be the majority.  If you ever get robbed or mugged,  take a moment to think,  could that have been someone who really just needed money and had no other means to get it? Anyway,  this is more of a venting thread. I probably won't get many responses and that's ok.  God Bless everyone. 

[Starise]

There are two sides to this. An employer has a business to run. They are looking for reliable people. Many of them will give a person a chance. There are jobs a person like this could take to build up a track record in order to step into a better job later. Much like a person with bad credit needs to rebuild their credit reputation in order to have good credit again. One could then say, I worked at so and so for several years, maybe even show some community service like coaching a team or volunteering, making restitution to those who were mistreated...that sort of thing shows a person really has turned around.

I'll never forget one of my first jobs was as a part time mechanics helper. While I worked there, they hired another person with a pretty shady past, but the owner decided to give him a chance. One morning when I went in to work, we discovered this person had robbed the auto shop of tools amounting to thousands of dollars and skipped town. There was another time years later I made verbal contract with a person to help me with my siding. Although I had the impression this person seemed a bit shady, I was willing to give them a chance. They did a great job the 1st day and were supposed to return to help me finish the second day. I made the mistake of paying them for the 1st day in cash. They never returned. My hunch is it was enough money to get the drugs for a nice hit and they decided they would not return. You get into a lot of this kind of thing in construction work. Think about it- It's the kind of thing where you can be dishonest, do bad work or not show up at all, not keep to schedule commitments and what are they going to do, fire you?  You can skip the job and go to the next sucker.

Another true story- People we are aware of have a business and they hired a girl. This girl claimed she was mistreated. It was never proven, but she collected a huge sum of money over it. You also have to watch out for the gold diggers.

It's those who are like this that have led to employers being very careful who they hire.

 

[Sower]

18 hours ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

Now he has a wife and kids and can't find a decent job because employers want to treat him like a leper for things he did years ago.  It's hard to watch sometimes and it breaks my heart that people can be so evil.

I can understand your wanting to help your friend who you believe needs a break. You have shown you are a good friend. And maybe you might want to consider hiring him yourself if that is possible, or help find someone who having known his past would be willing to try him out. But to group everybody into the category of being evil because they have to consider their entire business, all the employees, possible insurance escalation with a convicted felon employed, is unfair.

 

[NCAP]

3 hours ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

Why is the world so determined to punish people for past mistakes?  

Your question seems to be a distorted view of reality. Consider, for example, the subject: faithfulness.

We all make mistakes. But really, what employer is looking for someone unfaithful to be part of a hired team? Consider what Jesus said:

10Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own? (Luke 16:10-12 BSB)

Starise: "One morning when I went in to work, we discovered this person had robbed the auto shop of tools amounting to thousands of dollars and skipped town.

Comment: You gotta have tools to run an auto repair shop. Someone stealing them is not a desirable person.

Why do some people say the whole world is evil just because someone messed up his whole life and didn't think ahead in terms of 10-, 20-, and 30-year ramifications? 

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by NCAP

[Dennis1209]

4 hours ago, Starise said:

There are two sides to this. An employer has a business to run. They are looking for reliable people. Many of them will give a person a chance. There are jobs a person like this could take to build up a track record in order to step into a better job later. Much like a person with bad credit needs to rebuild their credit reputation in order to have good credit again. One could then say, I worked at so and so for several years, maybe even show some community service like coaching a team or volunteering, making restitution to those who were mistreated...that sort of thing shows a person really has turned around.

I'll never forget one of my first jobs was as a part time mechanics helper. While I worked there, they hired another person with a pretty shady past, but the owner decided to give him a chance. One morning when I went in to work, we discovered this person had robbed the auto shop of tools amounting to thousands of dollars and skipped town. There was another time years later I made verbal contract with a person to help me with my siding. Although I had the impression this person seemed a bit shady, I was willing to give them a chance. They did a great job the 1st day and were supposed to return to help me finish the second day. I made the mistake of paying them for the 1st day in cash. They never returned. My hunch is it was enough money to get the drugs for a nice hit and they decided they would not return. You get into a lot of this kind of thing in construction work. Think about it- It's the kind of thing where you can be dishonest, do bad work or not show up at all, not keep to schedule commitments and what are they going to do, fire you?  You can skip the job and go to the next sucker.

Another true story- People we are aware of have a business and they hired a girl. This girl claimed she was mistreated. It was never proven, but she collected a huge sum of money over it. You also have to watch out for the gold diggers.

It's those who are like this that have led to employers being very careful who they hire.

 

As you may be aware, there is a solid push to eliminate life sentences and extended stays in prison for Capitol crimes. They claim it is too harsh and unfair.

You heard it here first: How things are going; I foresee a day in the near future when people with criminal records will be added to the list of groups not to discriminate against in employment.

As a wise woman (Mom) told me on occasion growing up, “you made your bed, now sleep it.”

[NCAP]

3 minutes ago, Dennis1209 said:

You heard it here first: How things are going; I foresee a day in the near future when people with criminal records will be added to the list of groups not to discriminate against in employment.

But here is the thing, too. How many small business owners, for example, feel or believe that they owe a living to people with criminal records? What is in it for the business owner? What is in it for the customer if a business is robbed, for example, of the tools to fix the customer's car?

[Dennis1209]

1 minute ago, NCAP said:

But here is the thing, too. How many small business owners, for example, feel or believe that they owe a living to people with criminal records? What is in it for the business owner? What is in it for the customer if a business is robbed, for example, of the tools to fix the customer's car?

No argument or debate here on my behalf. That is one of the problems with our society today, "use owes me." Respect is no longer earned, but demanded. I had best quit before I go off on one of my tangents. 

[missmuffet]

7 hours ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

Why is the world so determined to punish people for past mistakes? I have a very good friend I've known for years.  He used to be a pretty bad guy and went to prison.  Now he has a wife and kids and can't find a decent job because employers want to treat him like a leper for things he did years ago.  It's hard to watch sometimes and it breaks my heart that people can be so evil.  Some people have made terrible mistakes.  Sometimes those people completely change for the better.  The amount of people in this world that believes you should always pay for your past seems to be the majority.  If you ever get robbed or mugged,  take a moment to think,  could that have been someone who really just needed money and had no other means to get it? Anyway,  this is more of a venting thread. I probably won't get many responses and that's ok.  God Bless everyone. 

If a Christian has confessed their sin to Jesus Christ and asked for forgiveness it is time to move on. Sometimes it is harder for a person to forgive themselves. Why live this life with guilt when Jesus has given you a chance to move on and be free from the guilt?

[missmuffet]

6 hours ago, Starise said:

There are two sides to this. An employer has a business to run. They are looking for reliable people. Many of them will give a person a chance. There are jobs a person like this could take to build up a track record in order to step into a better job later. Much like a person with bad credit needs to rebuild their credit reputation in order to have good credit again. One could then say, I worked at so and so for several years, maybe even show some community service like coaching a team or volunteering, making restitution to those who were mistreated...that sort of thing shows a person really has turned around.

I'll never forget one of my first jobs was as a part time mechanics helper. While I worked there, they hired another person with a pretty shady past, but the owner decided to give him a chance. One morning when I went in to work, we discovered this person had robbed the auto shop of tools amounting to thousands of dollars and skipped town. There was another time years later I made verbal contract with a person to help me with my siding. Although I had the impression this person seemed a bit shady, I was willing to give them a chance. They did a great job the 1st day and were supposed to return to help me finish the second day. I made the mistake of paying them for the 1st day in cash. They never returned. My hunch is it was enough money to get the drugs for a nice hit and they decided they would not return. You get into a lot of this kind of thing in construction work. Think about it- It's the kind of thing where you can be dishonest, do bad work or not show up at all, not keep to schedule commitments and what are they going to do, fire you?  You can skip the job and go to the next sucker.

Another true story- People we are aware of have a business and they hired a girl. This girl claimed she was mistreated. It was never proven, but she collected a huge sum of money over it. You also have to watch out for the gold diggers.

It's those who are like this that have led to employers being very careful who they hire.

 

It comes down to the world we live in. It is pretty darn dark. 

[Dennis1209]

11 hours ago, missmuffet said:

It comes down to the world we live in. It is pretty darn dark. 

I will take this observation as an opportunity to go off on one of my frequent rants and tangents. 😊

Only one, two, and three decades ago, I never imagined I would witness the absurdity occurring today. To mention a few of dozens; Critical Race Theory, wokeism, counter-culture, defunding law and order, sanctuary cities for criminals, open borders, Covid control and movement, gender identity, people getting fired from jobs refusing to use gender pronouns when asked, men competing in women’s sports, political treason, Congressional prayer to Bhrama, closing that prayer with Amen and Awoman. Now the push to legally identify with animals.

In historical terms, this is recent and coming on fast. How deep can the human heart sink into depravity, and what abomination is next? The lead-up, as mentioned above, and precursor to Matthew 24 and the coming Tribulation, IMO.   

How much darker will it be 3-5 years from now? As a pretribulation believer, how much of this will we be allowed to witness before Jesus snatches His bride away? One thing that is indisputable is that we are one day closer with each passing day.