Christian Faith at WorkMatthew 6:19 Archives - Christian Faith at Work

Are You Willing To Walk Away?

Chris Patton — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 02:00:20 +0000

I love movies. One of my favorites is the movie Heat, with Robert Deniro and Al Pacino. Likely my favorite scene in that movie is the coffee shop scene. During this scene, Deniro, a bank robber, is talking face to face with Pacino, a cop. During this conversation, Deniro shares advice he once received about being willing to walk away from anything.

Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.

While Deniro is referring to “heat” in the sense of law enforcement catching up to him and his crime-filled lifestyle, I think we can apply this same advice to our own lives and even our businesses.

Strangers In This World

See, we are strangers in this world (1 Peter 2:11). It is not our home (Philippians 3:20). We will only be here a short time (Job 8:9). Everything we have here will be destroyed by moth and rust (Matthew 6:19). It will burn one day (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

At the same time, we are disciples of Jesus…not just for this life, but also for the life to come. We are God’s children, now and forever. The treasure we lay up for ourselves in heaven is also eternal. It will never be destroyed by moth or rust. It will never burn.

Can you see the contrast here? Our relationship with this world we live in is temporary. Our relationship with our Lord and Father is eternal. Therefore, our attachment to the things of this world should be temporary and our attachment to the things of God should be eternal.

How Does This Apply?

How does this look in our daily lives? How does it look in our businesses? How should it look in our relationships?

I think we are to take the mindset of Deniro and apply it here. We should not become so attached to anything here in this life that we are not willing to walk away from it. We should be be so consumed with our love for Jesus and the life we want to live for Him that we would not hesitate to walk away from anything if He asks.

Would You Walk Away?

What if He asks us to walk away from our dream home so we can have more resources to give? What if He asks us to walk away from some friendships we enjoy because they are damaging our commitment to Him?

Do you get the picture? Whether material things, business deals, or relationships, I believe the Bible is clear that we are to have a detached mindset and a willingness to walk away from them. Here is a quote from Watchman Nee in his book Love Not the World.

I am not suggesting by this that we must try to dispose of everything; that is not the point. The point is that as God’s children, you and I may not accumulate things for ourselves. If I keep something it is because God has spoken to my heart; if I part with it, it is for the same reason.

I hold myself in the will of God and am not afraid to give if God asks me to give. I keep nothing because I love it, but I let it go without regret when the call comes to leave it behind. That is what it means to be detached.

God Honors The Decision

I went through this very process myself back in 2001. I posted about it here (Why I Decided To Walk Away…). While I have not yet seen the end of this path, I can give you my word that I would not change my decision for anything in this world! God has honored that decision many times over since then. I have confidence He will continue to do so going forward.

I do still struggle with this mindset in every area of my life. This battle is not one that you fight just once and win! It is one that you will likely fight on many occasions in varied circumstances.

It is not easy to maintain a willingness to walk away. I fail at it as much as I win, but I will continue to fight. I am determined not to attach myself to a temporary world. I will trust Him instead.

What attachments do you have?

Have you seen God honor your decision to walk away from something?

Is He asking now?

[Original Post Date December 26, 2011]

Do You Have An Eternal Perspective?

Chris Patton — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:30:07 +0000

This post on having an eternal perspective is the first in a series of posts that come from the material I recently used in a presentation I made to a small group of Christian business owners and leaders in Chandigarh, India.

The focus of this material is also the focus of this blog – God’s call for us to run our businesses as a platform for Christian ministry. Hopefully, after reading this series, you will agree that it is God’s will that we run His businesses as stewards with an eternal perspective. You should also have a better understanding of what this looks like in today’s marketplace.

Focus on Scripture

For the next minute or two, I want you to forget about work, business, etc. and concentrate instead on the Scripture I will highlight below. This post will have the greatest impact on you if you will read each passage in full as you go. If you need to come back to this later to do that, so be it.

However, if you are like me, you will likely never come back to this. You will put it off repeatedly and then finally delete it. If that is the case, please stop now and take the time to do it right.

We Must Have An Eternal Perspective

Let’s start with these passages below. You can follow along in your Bible or just click on the Scripture links.

From these verses, it is crystal clear that as humans, our life is extremely short. The Psalmist calls our life a vapor. Job calls it a shadow that does not last.

Question # 1 – Do you TRULY BELIEVE that our lives are short and not guaranteed?

Surviving The Fire

Next, let’s read the following passages:

It is easy to see from these verses that a day is coming when everything on earth will be tested by fire. Only those things we have done that survive this fire will bring us reward. Everything else will burn.

Even between now and that day, we can expect rust, moths, and thieves to destroy or steal anything temporary we possess. Nothing we think we own today is guaranteed to survive intact for our entire lives, much less for eternity. It is all subject to the elements or theft.

Question # 2 – Do you TRULY BELIEVE that all of your earthly possessions will deteriorate and eventually be destroyed on this side of eternity?

Laying Up Treasure

Finally, take a look at these verses:

In these verses, God promises us that we can store treasure in heaven that will survive the fire. He promises that, in effect, we can make deposits into an eternal savings account for future use! The only requirement is that we understand the difference between temporal and eternal value.

Question # 3 – Do you TRULY BELIEVE that we can store treasure in heaven through our actions here on earth?

Summing Up The Eternal Perspective

I want you to read back over the three questions listed above. If you answered any of these questions with a “No,” then I recommend you do further study on the infallibility of Scripture. You are certainly welcome to disagree, but, if so, the rest of this post will pretty much be meaningless to you.

IF, and I mean only IF, you answered “Yes” to all three of these questions, then I want you to answer two final questions.

Final Question #1 – Does your personal life (decisions, actions, focus) reflect the fact that you believe these three truths?

Final Question #2 – Does your business life (decisions, actions, focus) reflect the fact that you believe these three truths?

For a great visual illustration of this idea, watch this Francis Chan video on eternal perspective:

Are You Willing To Walk Away?

Chris Patton — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:00:20 +0000

Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.

Strangers In This World

How Does This Apply?

How does this look in our daily lives? How does it look in our businesses? How should it look in our relationships?

Would You Walk Away?

What if He asks us to walk away from a highly profitable business deal because it would require us to be unequally yoked with an unbelieving partner? What if He asks us to walk away from our home town because He has another plan for us? What if He asks us to walk away from our dream home so we can have more resources to give? What if He asks us to walk away from some friendships we enjoy because they are damaging our commitment to Him?

I am not suggesting by this that we must try to dispose of everything; that is not the point. The point is that as God’s children, you and I may not accumulate things for ourselves. If I keep something it is because God has spoken to my heart; if I part with it, it is for the same reason. I hold myself in the will of God and am not afraid to give if God asks me to give. I keep nothing because I love it, but I let it go without regret when the call comes to leave it behind. That is what it means to be detached.

God Honors The Decision

I went through this very process myself roughly eight years ago. I posted about it here (Why I Decided To Walk Away…). While I have not yet seen the end of this path, I can give you my word that I would not change my decision for anything in this world! God has honored that decision many times over since then. I have confidence He will continue to do so going forward.

I still struggle with this mindset in every area of my life. It is not easy to maintain a willingness to walk away. I fail at it as much as I win, but I will continue to fight. I am determined not to attach myself to a temporary world. I will trust Him instead.

What attachments do you have?

Have you seen God honor your decision to walk away from something?

Is He asking now?