"Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a very patient person. Let’s face it…we live in an instant world. The rapid growth of technology has made us accustomed to getting everything in an instant. When I started in business (circa 1985) you typed letters on a typewriter and mailed them at the post office. If you were a field sales manager like I was in the late 80’s, it took you all day to physically complete the mailing of materials to your sales team. Snail mail definitely wasn’t fast enough, so we got email. This was great, but if you weren’t in the office with access to your PC you couldn’t always get your email messages in a timely manner. That led to the invention of the laptop computer and ultimately the Blackberry and PDA. Today, it still blows me away to know that I can run my business from the palm of my hand from anywhere in the world. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring!
The downside of having all of this technology at our fingertips is that it conditions us to expect instant replies to our messages and immediate results. In the process we can become very task oriented and develop what has been called “can’t see the forest for the trees” syndrome. The Christmas season is a wonderful time to force you to slow down. Everyone takes vacation and you probably find it is difficult to get anything done. So, turn off your Blackberry and take time to think and pray about your businesses.
Through the psalmist God tells us to “Be still and know that I am God”. Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day, lived among us, died on the cross and was resurrected for the forgiveness of our human sin and through His sacrifice gave us the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation and have a relationship with the living God. God is in control. Take the time over the Christmas holiday to be still, pray about your business and listen to what God has to say to you.
I wish all of you and your families a blessed Merry CHRISTmas!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Iron Sharpens Iron
“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
Proverbs 27:17
It was a beautiful fall afternoon. Traffic was bad, but it didn’t matter, I was enjoying listening to the radio and preparing mentally for what was to come that day. As I approached my destination, I felt the cold stares of those around me. I parked the car, grabbed my things and began the long walk. People started to realize what I stood for and entire groups began to point and jeer at me. Soon the glares turned into verbal assaults. My pulse quickened and I began to walk faster hoping to arrive safely. An angry mob began to yell & scream, questioning my intelligence for the allegiance that I was showing.
Even with all of this persecution…I was still proud to be a Washington Redskins fan walking into Carolina Panther Stadium.
Some Christians might believe that this is the reaction they will receive if they were to allow those at work to see their spiritual side. They’re afraid that their faith puts them in the minority and they’re afraid that others will talk negatively about them. The truth is that being a Christian in the American workplace is like being a fan of the home, not visiting team.
According to a survey of over 50,000 American adults, 76% identified themselves as Christians.[1] Over three quarters of the adults that you come into contact with have the same faith in Jesus Christ as you do. The problem is that many believers enter the workplace not wearing the home team colors and unwilling to make their faith known to co-workers. When you think about it, it is pretty ridiculous that we’ll “high-five” someone that we don’t even know at the stadium when our team scores but refuse to speak openly about our Christian faith at work with others who most likely share the same beliefs.
Proverbs 27:17 instructs us on the value of fellow Christian believers sharing, supporting and helping one another. Through this interaction our faith is strengthened. Since we’re human, without this interaction our Christian faith is weakened. I challenge you to openly share your faith this week at work and help strengthen fellow fans of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[1] American Religious Identification Survey 2008, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar
Proverbs 27:17
It was a beautiful fall afternoon. Traffic was bad, but it didn’t matter, I was enjoying listening to the radio and preparing mentally for what was to come that day. As I approached my destination, I felt the cold stares of those around me. I parked the car, grabbed my things and began the long walk. People started to realize what I stood for and entire groups began to point and jeer at me. Soon the glares turned into verbal assaults. My pulse quickened and I began to walk faster hoping to arrive safely. An angry mob began to yell & scream, questioning my intelligence for the allegiance that I was showing.
Even with all of this persecution…I was still proud to be a Washington Redskins fan walking into Carolina Panther Stadium.
Some Christians might believe that this is the reaction they will receive if they were to allow those at work to see their spiritual side. They’re afraid that their faith puts them in the minority and they’re afraid that others will talk negatively about them. The truth is that being a Christian in the American workplace is like being a fan of the home, not visiting team.
According to a survey of over 50,000 American adults, 76% identified themselves as Christians.[1] Over three quarters of the adults that you come into contact with have the same faith in Jesus Christ as you do. The problem is that many believers enter the workplace not wearing the home team colors and unwilling to make their faith known to co-workers. When you think about it, it is pretty ridiculous that we’ll “high-five” someone that we don’t even know at the stadium when our team scores but refuse to speak openly about our Christian faith at work with others who most likely share the same beliefs.
Proverbs 27:17 instructs us on the value of fellow Christian believers sharing, supporting and helping one another. Through this interaction our faith is strengthened. Since we’re human, without this interaction our Christian faith is weakened. I challenge you to openly share your faith this week at work and help strengthen fellow fans of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[1] American Religious Identification Survey 2008, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar
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