God Honors Those Who Honor Him

Christian entrepreneur and mentor of Christian entrepreneurs, Tim Darnell had this to say about the high standard of integrity and calling of those who call themselves Christians in the business world.

Christian Champions define themselves by their relationship to Christ and clearly defined Godly principles and ideals, and are directed by their resolve to improve the world. They are inner directed rather than circumstances directed. They are vision directed rather than visually directed. They are positive and hopefully expectant even amidst seasons of roaming in the desert. They operate according to a higher standard and higher goals than MPs do. (MP = Most People) They don't choose their actions based on what is expedient, but rather on what is Godly and right. They see the big picture for the long term; and their destiny as intertwined with their contribution to society and God's direction for their life.

As I read this paragraph just now it reminded me of the testimony of one of the men at our church today. He is a real estate investor, fixing up and renting out houses. Today he told how he had had several renters who had left him in the lurch, owing him rent, water and electricity; simply disappearing without paying. The most recent one, according to him, claimed to be a Christian. His first thought was to try to get redress for the wrong he had suffered, but the Lord reminded him of the verse that says, ...one brother goes to law against another--and this in front of unbelievers!
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? (I Corinthians 6:6,7)

Our friend told of how he then submitted his case to the Lord and within a few days a new renter had called and asked if they could pay a full year's rent in advance! Talk about God honoring a person when he submits to Him and honors Him! His testimony blessed all of us.

Often we will find ourselves in situations in the business world that demand that we listen to a higher voice, an inner voice as Tim Darnell points out. It's a voice that calls us to a higher standard than the world's and gives us the opportunity to see the living God work on our behalf.

Building Character Like Pulling Weeds

Yesterday I was pulling weeds in our garden with the help of my little 2 year old grandson. It has been easy to teach him which plants are weeds and which are not. So together we got most of them pulled and most were pretty small. But there was one particularly stubborn weed near the garden that took a lot of effort, help from a shovel and muscle power to pull. When we got it out I pointed out to him how long the root was and that it was the deep, long root that made it so difficult to pull out. He found it very interesting.

Then this morning as I was praying for him, the Lord began to speak to me about weeds. They are so much easier to pull out when they are tiny, just like it is so much easier to nip bad habits in the bud when they are just beginning. During this young, fresh stage in his life, character can be formed and bad character (weeds) can easily be dealt with.

Even for those of us who are already adults, there is still hope if we allow our heavenly Father to use His shovel to dig the "weeds" out of our lives.

I observed one other thing in my garden yesterday. Where the plants have grown up thick and lush, it is impossible for the weeds to grow. The ground is cool, moist and shaded and the crops are abundant. In fact, I'm not sure how we're going to eat all the kale, broccoli, collards, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers we have planted this year! They are abundant. How I would like my life to be like that! How I would love my children's and grandchildren's lives to be like that - bringing life and abundance into the world around us.

Let's let the heavenly gardener do His job of weeding, making room for His character to bloom and touch and enrich many lives.