So your issue is this: “If I run my business according to my Christian faith, won’t that offend customers? I cannot take that risk.”If you are seriously considering any Christian connection to your business, then this is certainly a question that has come up.
In my last post, we started digging into 2 Corinthians 5:20 and figuring out what it means to us. We started by breaking out the various components of the definition of an “ambassador,” applying each component to our own situations. You really need to read that last post [HERE] to get the full effect. Today, I want to cover the remaining points that I believe are most critical in this verse.
I had a conversation recently with someone who asked me when I was called to do business as ministry. Like most people, he understood that there would be a “lightning bolt” type moment when God will speak to you and “call” you into ministry. While I am sure there are those who could argue both sides of the theology of that idea, my intent is to go in a different direction.
As I have planned for this year and completed my goal-setting process, I have determined that I am going to build on some of my successes from last year. In doing this, I am going to take some bigger risks and go after bigger experiences and results. In a word, I want this year to be an adventure!
What about you? Are you living a great adventure? Or are you just watching (and envying) those who are?
In our culture today, if we want something, we just ask for it. And usually, we get it and we get it fast. We can literally pull into a drive-thru and have a hot meal, made to order, in less than 5 minutes. When we are asking of God, however, things are different…sometimes very different.
I have read about people (mostly mothers) that have prayed for years and years for family members or others to come to Christ. Others have been praying for what seems like forever to be able to have children. I have several prayers myself that have been going on over ten years!
So what is the deal? Why is it so different when we are asking of God? Why do we often get no answer (or one we don’t like!) even after praying for such a long time? Why does He seem to delay or withhold what is good from us?
These are very good questions and ones that I think we can answer from Scripture. At the same time, I think it is important that we first answer another question. This other question needs to be answered first because it will help us better understand the answers to the first questions. Make sense?
Good! So let’s tackle the first question in today’s post and the other questions in the following post. The first question is this:
What is our responsibility in asking of God?
While this may seem like a simple question, I would like to turn to a part of the Sermon on the Mount for the foundation to the answer to this question. Let’s look at Matthew 7:7-11 and see what we find.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Matthew 7:7-11
If you read this passage quickly, you could get quickly frustrated. It sounds like God is a vending machine. It sounds like asking of God is a quick way to get anything we want! Fortunately, this is not true. Fortunately for us, He loves us more than that, but we will get to that later!
If you have been a believer in Jesus long enough to pray for something, then you know this is not how it works. You know, likely from experience, that God is not a vending machine. Simply asking of God does not give us whatever we want the way it works in our culture.
However, there is good news! We have some responsibility in the asking and if we will follow what Scripture tells us to do, then we will get what we want (with just a little twist).
This sounds like a simple statement, but there is more to it than it seems. We cannot simply go to Him when we cannot get what we want elsewhere. We are to go to Him alone.
This means we should not be going to the world to get what we want. We should not expect our businesses, our employees, or our co-workers to give us what we want. Instead, we should be relying on God Himself to supply us with our needs.
To back this up, look at Matthew 6:33 where it says to seek Him first. Take a look at Psalm 37:4 where it says we are to delight ourselves in Him. In both verses, it follows that the rest will be given to us. The desires of our hearts will be provided by Him.
The actual verb tense and mood from the original Greek in verse 7 above (ask, seek, knock) means that we are to continually do these things. We are not to ask, seek, or knock once. We are to do so repeatedly, over a period of time, with no sense of an end to these actions.
Look at the parable of the persistent widow from Luke 18:1-8. She continuously asks the local judge for justice against her adversary. She does not simply make a single request, but pesters him over time. He finally relents and grants her request, just to get rid of her!
Immediately after teaching this parable, Jesus says that God will certainly hear the cry of his children for justice and grant it swiftly! Like the widow, we need to make our requests known to God and do so with persistence. Better phrased, Matthew 7:7 might say, “the one who continues to ask as a habitual, ongoing requesting will receive.”
Again looking at the original Greek tells us something interesting about the phrases, “it will be given” and “you will find” and “the door will be opened.” It tells us that these actions are believed by the author to be certain future events, not potential or possible results.
Jesus, the Son of the Living God, used language to say that He believed with certainty that these events (given, find, opened) would absolutely happen! That should be enough for us. For one more exclamation point, look at James 1:5-8.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways.
James 1:5-8
In my next post, we will look at a key condition Jesus puts in this passage about asking of God and getting what we ask for. We will also look at 3 ways to apply this Scripture to our business and personal lives.
Have you made a habit of asking of God first?
Do you ask continuously or once and done?
How strong is your faith when it comes to answered prayer?
When most of us think about the future, what we think about often depends on our age. So much of the focus of our thoughts depends upon what the world has told us we need to be thinking about at our age. Despite Scripture to the contrary, we worry about temporal things instead of focusing on things from an eternal perspective.
In my last post, we looked at a passage in Matthew 6:25-32 in which Jesus teaches us not to worry about the temporal things of this world. He tells us that God knows our temporal needs and that He will provide for us because of His love for us.
We discussed how difficult it is for us to avoid thinking (and worrying) about these things because our flesh is so weak. Knowing this is true, what are we to do?
I think the first priority should be determining what we should be focusing on. If we want to get our thoughts off of the wrong things, it helps to know what the right things are, right?
To figure this out, let’s look at the next verse in that same passage, as well as two related verses.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
Matthew 6:33
So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12
Based on what you read here, what is it that you think you should be focused on right now? What perspective should you have as you go through this life here and now?
I think it is clear that our thoughts should be focused on the eternal perspective, not on the temporal worries of this life. Instead of worrying about our retirement or the travel we are going to enjoy, we should instead be focused on impacting other people for eternity by pointing them to God and sharing His love with them!
Somehow, we need to learn to stop allowing our minds to be occupied with the stream of material desires, social status, and career success. Thoughts of the kind of car we drive (hurts ME to say!) and the clothes we wear should take be replaced by thoughts of how we can best meet the needs of those around us in a way that points them to God.
The point of this is NOT to simply stop spending on ourselves and start giving it away to others. Not at all!
The point is that we should begin to look at our existence in light of a 1,000 year picture instead of the next 30 days, 18 months, or 5-10 years. This is the eternal perspective. When we do this, the worries of today fade and suddenly we begin to realize how meaningless these thoughts are in light of eternity.
When we realize that our actions today could mean the difference between someone else spending an eternity with God or separated from Him, our actions begin to change.
When we realize that 1,000 years from now it will be too late to share the love of Jesus with someone who does not know Him, our attitude toward money will change.
We we stop focusing on what is seen and begin to focus on what is unseen, then we are seeking first His kingdom. We are taking hold of the eternal life we were called to. It is then we are fighting the good fight. It is then we are seeing from an eternal perspective.
I realize this is easier said than done. I struggle with this myself, probably more than you do. At the same time, I am determined not to give up on myself. I am committed to continue training my thoughts to seek the eternal. It is not an easy battle, but it is one I will not quit fighting.
In my next post, I plan to give some tips on how we can fight this battle. Stay tuned!
Do you have trouble seeing this life from an eternal perspective?
What is your biggest challenge in changing this mindset?
What are the potential downsides of seeing from the eternal perspective?
In my previous post, I quoted from L.L. Barkat, in her post The Perverse Monstrosity of our Beautiful Work over at The High Calling blog community. In my post, I described how our “good work” as Christian leaders will meet opposition and criticism in this world. Using Barkat’s quote, I labeled this rejection as “anti-audience.”
“Good work doesn’t just find audience; it also finds anti-audience.” – L.L. Barkat
While it would be nice if the simple knowledge of this “anti-audience” was enough to give us the strength to press on in acting out our Christian faith, I am sure that it is not. It is not enough for us to know this any more than it is enough to tell your husband or wife you love them on your wedding day and expect them to know it from then on!
We are just not that good. We forget the things we learn. We forget important truths and fail to recall them when we need them most. I think that is the primary reason God has given us the Bible. With His Word in our hands, we can regularly remind ourselves of His promises and truths. By memorizing His Word, we can refer to it when we need it.
As Christian business owners and leaders, we go into battle everyday. We battle this anti-audience (the world) as well as the enemy that is in charge of it for a time (Ephesians 6:12). Every time we try to impact someone else for eternity, we are going to face this anti-audience. Whenever we make strides to grow closer to God and bring others along with us, we will get resistance from the world that hates us (John 15:19).
In an effort to help you in this battle, I want to give you some tools that you can use when you face opposition. This list is not an exhaustive list. I am sure you can add some of your own favorite verses or tools that have helped you in similar situations. Either way, I hope you find this list to be helpful.
1. Memorize God’s promises – Pick out a handful of verses that clearly speak to your heart about God’s promises regarding the plans He has for you. Memorize these verses and practice calling them to mind when trouble comes. God’s Word is living and breathing…use it! Here are a few that I recommend for a start.
Even if you (likely) have read these before, try to read them again for the first time, as if offered by the most esteemed mentor you can imagine. Don’t just memorize the words, but internalize them.
Romans 8:39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Isaiah 54:17 – No weapon formed against you will prosper.
Psalm 37:5-6 – Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Romans 8:31 – If God is for us, who can be against us?
2. Find an accountability partner – Find someone of like mind that can understand the fight you are in. Someone who is not out on the field of battle themselves, but is instead on the sidelines, likely won’t make a good partner in this case.
Find someone that has been bloodied a few times themselves. This person will understand what you are going through and can encourage you when you need it most. You can do the same for them!
3. Begin a journal – If you will start by taking roughly 10 minutes a day to write (or type) your thoughts and experiences, you will benefit greatly. First, it always helps to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper (or the screen). For some reason, this just makes it easier to deal with.
You will also find that you can go back during those times of heavier opposition from the anti-audience and read about your past successes. This does wonders for your confidence! Many electronic journals (I use LifeJournal) allow you to tag and categorize entries for easier searching later.
4. Get in the habit of prayer – Of course, this seems like a no-brainer. It is also really tough to do because so many people feel like their prayers need to be clean and organized. I read something the other day about praying sloppy (I know the grammar doesn’t work, but it fits!).
God does not need us to clean up our thoughts before we pray any more than He wants us perfect before we enter the church. Give God everything on your mind AS IT IS in your mind. He can handle it! The more you do this over time, through smooth AND rough times, the more peace you will have.
5. Keep reminders of your positive results – Build a scrapbook, Evernote folder, or other method for organizing any evidence of past results. I have an Evernote folder where I store such reminders as “Thank You” notes, letters, voice mails, and other scraps that remind me of successes I have had in the past. I return to these when I am feeling worn down by the anti-audience!
I hope these tools help you. If you have other ideas I can add to the list, please include the in the comments section below! I would love to hear your thoughts.
Which of these do you need to add to your arsenal?
What has worked for you in the past?