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DIECAST Collectible
Model Cars And More
| Item# |
Description |
Stock
Status |
| Free
Figure |
Special
on going promotion. Place an online order and get a free
Motorhead single pack scale figure. Free figure is limited
to figures in this category: Motorhead
Single Packs . Just place one in your shopping cart.
When you check out and at the end of the order, we'll
automatically apply a credit for a free figure. Offer
is for online orders only. Note that the order for the
figure must be placed with your online order; Toy Wonders
will not retroactively apply this offer. |
New |
| 4821 |
Sun Star Platinum - Buick Limited Wells Fargo Convertible (1958, 1:18 scale die-cast model, Wells Fargo White) 4821 |
Restock |
| 92365 |
Jada Toys Toon Garage - Lincoln Navigator SUV (3.5", Asstd.) 92365 |
Restock |
| 92367 |
Jada Toys Toon Garage - Dodge Charger R/T Hard Top (2006, 3.5", Asstd.) 92367 |
Restock |
| 92506 |
Jada Toys Toon Garage - Volkswagen Beetle (3.5", Asstd. w/ Stripes) 92506 |
Restock |
| 96118 |
Jada Toys Toon Garage - Hummer H2 SUV (2003, 3.5", Asstd.) 96118 |
Restock |
| 90218KE |
Jada Toys Dub City Bigtime Muscle - Chevy Corvette Stingray Hard Top (1963, 1:24 scale die-cast model, Asstd.) 90218KE |
Restock |
| 2101D |
Mail Truck (4.5") 2101D |
Restock |
| 9661GD |
Farm Tractor (4", Green) 9661GD |
Restock |
| 9911D |
Garbage Truck (6", Asstd.) 9911D |
Restock |
| 9921/4D |
Fire Engine (4.75", Asstd.) 9921/4D |
Restock |
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Thank you
Lu Su
Toy Wonders, Inc.
www.toywonders.com
201-229-1700
God and the Art of Toy and Diecast Marketing
Setting the Bar
By Lu Su
My brother-in-law works in the public school system. He evaluates kids and makes recommendations to the school, teachers, and parent(s). He gave me a great quote that he once spied on one of those inspirational posters. I guess this quote comes in extra handy for him when he needs to tell the child's parent that their child isn't the sharpest crayon in the crayon box. "Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard."
For me, the "hard work" quote conjures up images of athletes in training for the big event.
This hard work great quote isn't limited to just sports, but can be applied to probably every aspect of living life (i.e. staying fit, building a home, building a career, finding employment, keeping your marriage together, making music, catching your dog when he escapes). Especially in America (the land of opportunity) we get instilled in us that if you work hard, you can get ahead. But I know this same type of thinking, creeps into our theology.
I once asked a friend what he thought would happen in the afterlife. Without an conceitedness, he told me that he believes he is a good and moral person. And that if God were to judge him, if there is a God and if a loving God were to do something like that, he'd do alright. So to my friend, and probably majority of the inhabitants on this Earth, the level of your goodness and morality affects your next life. So in essence, my friend was telling me that he was above the bar when it came to comparing his righteousness to others.
"They think he's a Righteous dude." -Principal Rooney's secretary tells the dean about Ferris' popularity.
Don't let this "R" word turn you off. It sounds like one of those religious words. I've already established in my column Lemon Poppy Righteousness, that righteousness just means "right way" or "right path". We need and want the people we interact with to be righteous. When people aren't, it messes up your life.
Okay need to get some disclaimers in. First of all, I don't dispute at all that my friend is a good person. And second of all, I do not believe that a person needs to believe in God in order to be a moral and righteous person. So you can be very righteous and religious and still be very far away from God.
Now in order for any person to conclude that he's a good person, that means there must be some bad persons milling about -if there weren't, you couldn't make that distinction. So in order to state that "I'm a good person", you are making a comparison. But couldn't anyone then be a "good" person; just go find a person that is more lousy than you.
In comparison to Timothy McVeigh or Jeffrey Dahmer, I'd conclude "Yeah, my friend is way more righteous." But in comparison to Mother Theresa, my friend doesn't compare. So if you were to chart it, where would we would put ourselves? We'd probably be much higher than those murderers but far lower than that Albanian nun. (Maybe the thing to do is locate where Bill Clinton is on the chart and put ourselves a couple clicks away from him).
I think what happens in most people's mind is that God draws a line (sets the bar) somewhere. People above this bar get something nice in the next life. People who fall below the bar gets something not so nice in the next life. This is where most religions insert themselves and tell their followers that you need to DO certain things and don't DO certain things in order to advance higher.
To DO things might include: attend a place of worship regularly, love your neighbor, pray a certain amount of times a day, and help those in need. Don't DO things might include, don't curse, don't drink, don't cheat, don't pick your nose in public, and don't eat yellow snow. So the more you do or don't do (i.e. the more religious you become), the higher your sense of righteousness becomes.Then a very reasonable question is, where has God set the bar?
Some of us want to know so we can cram for the test and at squeak by with a passing grade. From my observation, man seldom searches for God, but rather searches for where God has set the bar. Interesting enough, this question was asked of Jesus several times. People where constantly asking Jesus what they had to DO in order to get themselves over the bar.
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" -Luke 10:25
A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" -Luke 18:18
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" -Mark 10:17
And wouldn't you know it, Jesus actually tells them where the bar is set.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 5:20
During the day, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were the most "righteous" men of their times. They constantly practiced their trade (religion). They were professionals. They would attend synagogue regularly, abstain from food regularly (fasting), say prayers regularly, give to the poor. And their do NOT do list was probably three times longer. The Pharisees actually had a prayer that thanked God for not making them like other men -robbers, evildoers, adulterers and tax collectors. Perhaps a modern translation would be "I'm telling you that unless your righteousness surpasses Billy Graham's and the Pope's, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven".
Realize that Jesus didn't say your righteousness must equal; he said surpass. So Jesus picked the most righteous people of his time and tells everyone that the bar is set higher than them. This is an impossible standard for us to reach. Basically the bar was set so high, you have to be perfect to reach it.
Here, the Christian world view makes a radical claim. It starts with premise that we were all dead (spiritually). Because of God's love for us, he provided a SINGLE path back to him. God incarnates with the overall purpose of dying and to becoming a perfect sacrifice for us. Upon Jesus' death, three Gospel writers record this event.
"At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split." -Matthew 27:51
The temple curtain ripping in two from top to bottom has huge significance and symbolisms on multiple levels. I like to go into them one day; but the key one is that access to God was again possible. Upon Jesus' death, God takes the impossible to reach horizontal bar and flips it vertical. Remember God could have torn the current horizontally, but he didn't. God could have also lowered the bar, and say okay people who are equal or higher to Bill Clinton's moral standard are now allowed in. But God turns the bar 90 degrees. Instead of measuring people above and below the bar, people are now measured left or right of the bar. This has ramifications that many of us won't be comfortable with.
Now , no matter where on the righteous scale people fall, all people now have the ability to enter the kingdom of heaven. The most righteous and the most unrighteous are all qualified contestants. So even murderers like Moses, King David, guilty death row sentence convicts, prostitutes, smugglers, spammers, and people with really foul breath can now reach God. And the dividing line, which determines whether you are on the left or right of the bar is faith in Jesus Christ.
