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Proverbs 29:18 (NASB) Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law.

I hate to see any company die. I saw K-Mart die. Oh, there are a few K-Marts here and there, but it’s no where near the robust business it was when I was a child. K-Mart died. Ponderosa died. And I am afraid a company I came to know and respect because of Steve Jobs … I am afraid Apple is going to die. Why? Because like K-Mart, Ponderosa, and dozens of other businesses that have died Apple has forgotten it’s reason for being.

I originally purchased a MacBook Air because my son Michael recommended it. Frankly, I’ve never been disappointed. The battery life is outstanding. I can usually run around 8 hours before recharging. The charging system unparalleled. The Magsafe system charges the Mac in about an hour. The lighted keyboard is genius. The SSD system run super fast, perfect for a busy professional. With one Thunderbolt port, two USB ports, headset jack and a card reader it does everything I need it to do. Fast, light dependable. Please, may I have another. Pricey? Yes, but I’ll pay for performance. So Apple comes out with the new MacBook Pro. 

It’s a bust. It is the first Apple in recent history to not receive a recommendation from Consumer Reports. NOT RECOMMENDED. Consumer Reports writes:

“The MacBook Pro battery life results were highly inconsistent from one trial to the next.

“For instance, in a series of three consecutive tests, the 13-inch model with the Touch Bar ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and just 3.75 hours in the third. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. And the numbers for the 15-inch laptop ranged from 18.5 down to 8 hours.

“Those were just a few of the results; we tested battery life on these laptops repeatedly.”

The “Touch Bar” is a nice addition. But Apple has removed all USB and charging ports from the new Macs. Depending on the model you can get it with two or three “USB-C”, then you have to buy adapters to modify the these new type ports into USBs or whatever. The price of the unit didn’t go down with all these additional adapters the customer will have to purchase . No, the Mac is priced higher than ever. Over $4000.00 for the top of the line. Are you kidding me? The “Touch Bar” is nice, but not that nice.

When Steve Jobs died I believe the company lost its vision. And if it doesn’t get it back – and soon – it will soon be another dead corporation. That will be sad. Never lose the vision of the Founder.

The Church of Jesus has largely in this United States lost the vision of its Founder. We are called to be light, not part of the darkness. We are called to speak the truth in love, not in hatred. We are called to love God and one another sacrificially. We are called to get outside of our comfort zone and go forward, together, carrying our crosses while we look to Him Who carried His Cross. We can become like K-Mart, Tast-E-Freeze, Ponderosa, and other defunct and broken businesses. There is no government bailout for the Church like there was (shamefully) for GM years ago. We stand together in Christ following Christ being like Christ or we fall into dissolution. The power is in looking to our Founder, to His Word. May God help His people do this in the new year.