{"id":35897,"date":"2023-03-24T12:04:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T12:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fortune-500-companies-are-shockingly-transitory\/"},"modified":"2023-03-24T12:04:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T12:04:00","slug":"fortune-500-companies-are-shockingly-transitory","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fortune-500-companies-are-shockingly-transitory\/","title":{"rendered":"Fortune 500 Companies are Shockingly Transitory"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his new book, Jeff Meyers writes:<\/p>\n\n

\n

Human institutions are impor­tant, but they don't last forever. Human institutions, not just our individual lives, are more frag­ile than we realize. Even the most powerful human institutions can falter and die.<\/p>\n

Of the 500 largest companies in 1955, only sixty remained on the Fortune 500 list in 2017. Have you heard of American Motors, Brown Shoe, Studebaker, Collins Radio, or Zenith Electronics lately? In 1955, they were among America's most popular brands. They no longer exist.<\/p>\n

Now the most well-known companies are Tesla, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Netflix. Only one of the founders of these six companies was even alive in 1955 (Bill Gates of Microsoft was born in October of that year). Someday we'll likely look back on these massive brands with nostalgia. I imagine my children someday pulling their children close and saying, "When I was a kid, we had this thing called Facebook.”<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Possible Preaching Angle:<\/h2>\n\n

How do we find meaning in a fleeting life? We must not look to human institutions. Only in God do we find what is lasting and secure. Second Corinthians 4:18 says, "We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." What we see is not all there is. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[433],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3533,3557,3883,4254,4442,4627,4843,4901,4902,4903,4970,5182,5183],"tax_ctp_topics":[386,392,396,403],"class_list":["post-35897","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-business","tax_ctp_tags-change","tax_ctp_tags-eternal-temporary","tax_ctp_tags-insecurity","tax_ctp_tags-meaning-of-life","tax_ctp_tags-permanence","tax_ctp_tags-riches","tax_ctp_tags-security","tax_ctp_tags-security-in-christ","tax_ctp_tags-security-in-god","tax_ctp_tags-short-life","tax_ctp_tags-transience","tax_ctp_tags-transient"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\nFortune 500 Companies are Shockingly Transitory - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fortune-500-companies-are-shockingly-transitory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fortune 500 Companies are Shockingly Transitory - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In his new book, Jeff Meyers writes: Human institutions are impor­tant, but they don't last forever. 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