An electrician from Perth, Australia, would clock into work — and then leave to play golf for several hours before clocking out again. This went on for two years before he was finally caught. An anonymous tip to his company finally ended his golfing spree. The letter stated that he had been golfing for at least 140 times when he should have been at work. In one month, he reportedly went on a real golfing binge, golfing for at least 21 days during the month of April! At 60 years of age, he was promptly fired from the job that he had held for the previous 20 years.
How did he manage to escape detection for so long? As with all employees, he had been issued a personal digital assistant, or PDA, which is a fancy phone-like device, where you keep track of job assignments and completed tasks. It also has a GPS function to track your whereabouts. He simply sealed his PDA in a foil-lined Twisties bag (a cheese-based snack that is popular in Australia), which blocked the GPS signal from being received by his employers. Somehow, he was able to update his job assignments as if they were completed. Incredibly, his absence from work was not noticed for two years!
Mr. Colella had used the foil-lined Twisties bag as a Faraday cage. In 1836, a gifted English scientist named Michael Faraday noticed that a continuous metal covering blocked electromagnetic fields from whatever was inside. A plane acts as a Faraday cage. When it is struck by lightning, the lightning slides along the metal surface, leaving those inside unharmed.
Excuses
At first, Mr. Colella tried to say that his PDA had a glitch. But Australia’s Fair Work Commission, a workplace tribunal, disagreed. “I can find no plausible explanation why Mr. Colella would create a Faraday cage around his PDA, except to obstruct the GPS collecting capacity of the device,” said Bernie Riordan, one of the commission members. Yahoo News Australia further reports that the tribunal agreed with the firm’s firing of Mr. Colella, stating that he had been “deliberate in trying to hide his whereabouts and deceive his employer.”
The Faraday cage was not the only evidence against Mr. Colella. The tribunal also consulted records from the golf club and records from an electronic gate which showed that he had not entered a workplace as required. Not only had he stolen time and money from his employers, but he had also deceived and lied to them. Therefore, his firing was totally just.
Reckoning Day
One day, we must all stand before God to give an account for ourselves. There will be no secrets in God’s holy presence. He knows our thoughts, everything that we have ever done, and every word that has come out of our mouths. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest [known] in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:1313Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13)). Knowing our sinful state before God, that “there is none that doeth good, no not one” (Romans 3:1212They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:12)), God has made a way of salvation for lost souls. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on Calvary’s cross for our sins. Yield your heart to God, confessing your sinful state before Him, asking for His forgiveness. He will forgive you, immediately. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:99That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)).
Having received forgiveness for our sins and being made right with God, we are clothed in garments of salvation. It is like being in God’s Faraday cage! We are forever saved from the wrath of a sin-hating God. When we come to God in faith, trusting Him for our soul’s salvation, He promises us eternal life. “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:2828And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)). Why not trust Him today and ask Him to help you to live for Him? He is able to help you to live in a way that is pleasing and honoring to Him. You will never regret trusting Him!