For the first time on this blog, I am going to spend a little time discussing recent political events in the U.S. and how I see they apply to the Christian in business. I am not really interested in digging deep into the actual politics of the now-complete election, but I do want to offer practical advice for all of us to follow – especially regarding how we are seen by our enemies.
It is not often that I break a post into two parts. Occasionally, I will do a series of multiple posts, but even then each one is usually self-contained for the most part. However, my last post was not that way. It was clearly only part one of a two part story about doubt and frustration. If you have not read the last post, you must first go and do it now (click here). Trust me, it is necessary if you want to understand this post.
I have a confession to make. Most of you reading this have never met me, but I will tell you that I am highly competitive and hate to lose. I strive to win and succeed at everything I do. Obviously, I am not always good enough to do so! Even worse, I am able to quickly lose my footing and fall into a pit of despair if I see myself losing. Doubt and frustration can set in quickly if I am not careful.
I hope I got your attention with that headline. I intended to! I did it because too often we are lulled to sleep by the world around us. When this happens, we need a wake-up call. We need to shake the cobwebs out of our head and begin thinking clearly again. In this case, I want to do it by telling you that I am glad they killed Jesus!
I know you have noticed it. There are words your parents use (or used) that no longer mean the same thing today as when they began using them. If you are a parent with teens, you are the one using the words that no longer mean what they meant when you were growing up. I believe the perceived meaning of the word “Christian” has changed as well.
Look around at the business world today and take note of those who claim to be Christians. Include yourself in this assessment. Some are easy to identify because their business practices clearly align with what they believe the Bible says. The rest are more difficult to identify because their practices are no different than the non-Christians around them. Why is this? Are these business people guilty of paying lip service to God or is there more to it?
If you have been following this series on the command to Christian business leaders to be teachers, then you have probably been waiting to hear exactly HOW we are to do this. While I cannot adequately cover ALL of the HOW of teaching in one post, I believe I can get you started on the right path. You can figure out the rest with God’s leading!
[This is the fourth post in a series about how Christian leaders are commanded to be teachers as well. In the first post, we looked at the actual command to be teachers. In the next post, we discussed what it means to be a skilled worker, correctly handling God’s Word. In the most recent post, we looked at being a godly example. In this post, we will determine our GOAL for teaching.]
God got my attention over ten years ago and made it clear to me that He expected more from me than I was giving Him. You can read more about that series of events HERE, but just know that I was changed virtually overnight. He gave me a clear picture of what our business should look like and I began working hard to make that vision happen.
Have you ever made so many copies of copies of something that you eventually end up with a copy that barely resembles the original? Sometimes that is the way I think we can be as Christians – even Christians in business. Maybe we model ourselves after someone else who has modeled themselves after someone else. Eventually, we lose our resemblance to the original – Jesus!