patience – Called To Work

Oblivious to the Obvious

May 15, 2023

Devotions/Partners

Proverbs 18:1 (KJV) “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.”

COMMENTARY: “Oblivious to the obvious” means to be unaware or neglectful of that which is easily seen and in need of immediate attention.

If something is so obvious, how can we be so very blind to it? Sometimes it’s ignorance, and sometimes it’s denial—a refusal to acknowledge reality. If we’re not careful, our own wishful desires can blind us from wisdom, and cause us to separate things that are normally and logically joined together. Through our intense yearning for a particular outcome, we can interfere with wisdom and hinder the successful pursuit of that outcome.

APPLICATION: There are an endless variety of business applications of this Scripture in the business world. For example, all businesses must make a profit, or they will not stay in business. Revenues must exceed expenses. Accounts receivable must be current, so that accounts payable can be current. Payroll and benefits must be in-line with the company’s financial resources.

Many employees and their families do not understand the arithmetic of running a business. Some are simply ignorant. Others do not want to understand. In their relentless pursuit of career, higher pay, more benefits, a bigger house and more “stuff,” they blindly push management for more. When push comes to shove, employees get laid off, businesses close or move away. By meddling with wisdom, a man or woman can hinder or destroy the very dream that he or she yearns for! Do not self-destruct by meddling with wisdom. Be reasonable. Pray for wisdom. Instead of battling with management, minister to them. God is fully capable of giving you wisdom, raising you up, and making you a modern-day Joseph right where you are.

Joyfully yours,

Drew

For Further Exploration

For further exploration about Proverbs 18:1 (KJV)，read Proverbs and Work from the Theology of Work Bible Commentary.

Non-Violence @ Work

Devotions/Partners

Exodus 20:13 (KJV): “Thou shalt not kill.”

COMMENTARY: Today’s workplaces seem to be full of angry people. Discontent people. Stressed-out people. Manipulative people. Abusive people. Violent people. Sad to say, bizarre news accounts of disgruntled executives, employees and ex-employees entering workplaces with guns and going on shooting sprees have become alarmingly common. In the flesh, the scenario is scary. In the Spirit, we know that there’s always hope for positive change.

APPLICATION: The Lord has saved us and brought us into workplaces to be salt and light. To be Godly examples. To be ministers of reconciliation in the public square. It’s time for Christian employers and employees alike to understand that emotional, mental, physical or spiritual manipulation, abuse, and violence have NO place in the workplace (or anywhere else, for that matter).

Satan is continuously at work to kill, steal and destroy. The Holy Spirit wants us to be fountains of Living Waters springing forth love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. He wants you and me to be Christlike in our relationships with our bosses, co-workers, employees, customers, suppliers and anyone else with whom He brings us in contact.

You can “kill” someone with your tongue, body language, overbearing micro-management and oppressive controlling spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to sensitize you to ways that you are being destructive instead of constructive. We all have dysfunctional behavior patterns from the past that need to be eliminated by the washing of the water of the Word and the Spirit.

Joyfully yours,

Drew

For Further Exploration

For further exploration about Exodus 20:13 (KJV)，read “You Shall Not Murder” (Exodus 20:13) from the Theology of Work Bible Commentary.

Patience & Praise in Marketing & Sales

January 3, 2023

Devotions/Partners

1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (KJV): “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

Image by mohamed Hassan / Pixabay. Used with Permission.

COMMENTARY: For decades, I’ve seen many parallels between Kingdom-building and business-building. Many times, I’ve told businesspeople that you’ll never take the mystery out of sales and marketing. You can try to forecast, but prospecting has a mysterious cycle that you’ll never be able to neatly fit in an Excel spreadsheet. Yes, everyone should do what they know they should be doing. Beyond that, your team has no good and noble option but to trust the Lord of the harvest to bring in the business in His time and in His way. Otherwise, you can drive yourself and everyone around you crazy trying to manipulate outcomes in an unnatural, forced way.

APPLICATION: Today’s a new day! Keep making those sales calls. Keep reaching out to existing, past and prospective customers. Keep promoting your products and services. Don’t get flustered, don’t get impatient, don’t try to aggressively force the sale. Faithfully plant, water, and trust God for the increase and praise Him when He provides it. It’s part of His divine provision for your life and organization.

Joyfully yours,

Drew

For Further Exploration

For further exploration about 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (KJV), read Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain (1 Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19) from the Theology of Work Bible Commentary.

“Layers of Green” @ Work

December 12, 2022

Devotions/Partners

Image by 453169 / Pixabay . Used with Permission.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (KJV): “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

COMMENTARY: Here in the rocky hills of northeastern Connecticut (USA), spring still hasn’t completely sprung, but as I hike the local trails, I’m watching new life gradually and sequentially sprout up in vibrant layers of green. It’s like a painter who keeps adding new splashes of green to a giant outdoor, 3D canvas, eventually completing a wonderful new masterpiece.

During a local hike on Sunday afternoon, the deciduous trees were still barren, but along the streams, skunk cabbage (which is a really bad name; the plant doesn’t deserve such a bad rap) was gloriously emerging, adding a beautiful green dimension to the wetlands and streams. The reason why it’s called skunk cabbage is that if you break the surface of the leaves, it smells a little “skunky.” In reality, skunk cabbage has some fascinating features and purposes. For example, as it begins to pop out of the ground in late winter, it creates its own heat and melts surrounding ice and snow. It is also very important early-spring food for black bears who have just come out of winter hibernation. Can you imagine what a delicacy it must be after not eating for months?

APPLICATION: When your faith in Christ comes alive, the Lord wants you to grow in Him for a lifetime. As the days of your life pass, and you are continuously nourished by streams of living water from the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the Lord wants you to mature and show various “layers of green.” Layers of new, abundant life.

If you will, in today’s Scripture passage, faith could be construed to be the early-stage “skunk cabbage;” the first layer of green that He wants you to show, followed by other layers of green such as virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity. As these various layers of green blossom inside of you, your knowledge of Christ will not be barren or unfruitful. You will be a living canvas radiating with life-giving greenery, a living testimony and blessing to all with whom you come into contact at work and elsewhere. Praise God!

Joyfully yours,

Drew

Called To Work

Tag: patience

Oblivious to the Obvious

Non-Violence @ Work

Patience & Praise in Marketing & Sales

For Further Exploration

“Layers of Green” @ Work

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