But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. – 1 Cor 2:14
There is something about the business environment that presses us out of a spiritual frame of mind and into a natural one. At least in part, it may be because of the fallacy, that is constantly presented as fact, that if we just know enough and do enough of the right things, that smart business gurus (who have sold tons of books) tell us to do, then we will inevitably succeed. The obvious problem is that the wisdom of this world misses out on a whole dimension of reality, and in doing so, offers solutions that are, at best, only half right. As a result, we simply begin to accept things that are not true as though they were.
- We believe that success results from being in control of all of the variables of business. There is the myth of control that we have to get beyond. No matter what we do, how smart we are, or how well we make decisions, there will always be factors that are outside of our control. That is why the spiritual battle is so essential. We are not in control but God is. Only when we rely on Him to protect and guide our businesses, will we find peace and security. The myth of control, pushed by hell itself, leaves us anxious and vulnerable. Of course, God expects us to exercise stewardship, which means that when we have the opportunity, we control what we can. Yet, it is always with the knowledge that, ultimately, our businesses success is in His hands and we are obediently dependent on Him.
- We act as though our biggest struggles are people issues. While the Bible clearly tells us that, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12) Our actions and reactions tell a different story. The voice of the Accuser whispers in our ear, “It’s their fault. You have to stop them. They are out to get you!” Or, on the other side, we begin to believe that a human being is our savior. If we can just land that one account or star employee then everything will be fine. We enter effectively into this spiritual battle only when we realize what, and who, we are up against. Yes, Satan might use people to bring destruction into our businesses. Yes, there are times we have to take action to confront and deal with people. But we first need to win the war in the air before we try to win it on the ground. In prayer, we need to get the mind of God on our situation and ask for His grace and provision. Only then, is it time to take action on the level of people issues.
- We accept the idea that the harder and longer we work the more success we will have. Paul tells us that we do not win favor with God through our own efforts. While he is giving us a spiritual truth, he is also revealing an entrepreneurial one as well. Satan would like nothing better than for us to run around in little circles, keeping very busy but accomplishing very little. The lie we often hear is, “If you just work a little harder you will succeed.” The truth is that success results from obedience and obedience is only possible when we slow down and listen. Further, what is success? Is making more and more profit at the cost of our health and family success? Not really! God is always on the side of a holistic approach to a successful life, not just a successful business or more profit. To win in this aspect of spiritual warfare, it requires us to let God set the bar for success and allow Him to show us what we must do (and nothing more) to achieve it.
- We start to listen to the voices that say small moral compromises are sometimes necessary. This is the spiritual warfare equivalent of fraternizing with the enemy. When we begin to compromise, to make those small, wrong, ultimately dangerous decisions out of the fear that if we don’t we can not succeed, we begin to lose our way. Let us call it for what it is. It is sin and this sin has the power to cloud and confuse our mind and dull our spirit. Small compromises make big ones easier. When we lie to the IRS or shade the truth to a supplier, vendor, or employee our soul begins to become dull to right and wrong and Satan now has a playground in our minds to create havoc and destruction. In the end it is really an issue of trust. We have to answer the question, “Will we trust God enough to do the right and moral thing?” Sometimes doing the right thing seems dangerous. The truth is, moral compromise is more dangerous because it cracks open the door to demonic attack–from the inside.
If this is what we get wrong, let’s start getting it right. It could make all the difference in our businesses, marriages, and lives.
– posted by Randall Sanford