Ship Captain
The story is told about a ship Captain who had a route that ran from California to Columbia. One day, as he was preparing to leave California, he was approached by some drug dealers who offered him $50,000 to allow a small shipment of drugs on his vessel. He immediately said no.
On each of his next three trips, they raised the offer, finally reaching $150,000. He hesitated. Then he said ‘maybe.’
As soon as he was alone again, he contacted the FBI an they set up a sting operation and successfully arrested the drug dealers. One of the agents asked the Captain, “Why did you wait until they offered $150,000 before contacting us?”
His reply: “They were getting close to my price.”
3) Gene Haraldsen, Defeating Temptation, July 2002, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=30170 – ship captain illustration