Some of the thoughts in this series are taken from a series by Bruce Wilkinson, Leading a Company For Christ
BELIEFS VS COMMITMENTS
" Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will." Romans 12: 2
"Our life is but a dot in the span of our eternity. What we do in that dot will determine all of our eternity." Bruce Wilkinson
One of the most common frustrations for business people is trying to figure out how our daily busy schedules can fit into something of eternal value. We really would like to have some impact for the Kingdom, but we don't seem to have the time or know how. We spend countless hours making the business work, and there just doesn't seem to be enough time or energy left at the end of the week or month to think about Kingdom building, much less doing something about it. We have all these great visions for our work, but struggle with the concept of bringing our faith into our work.
We are running two separate lives, not including the family. There is something inside of us that keeps pounding on us to do more for the Kingdom. But we don't , we can't. Therefore, frustration fills us and we feel disconnected from God. We end up excusing ourselves with the thought that our life is not actually that critical to God's plan. He can replace us with someone who has a lot more talent, a lot more time, and unfortunately, a lot more commitment.
What is the responsibility of a Christian in the marketplace? Many adopt the philosophy that church is church and business is business and the two should never cross paths. That is exactly what the world has taught us. Never in our life has anyone ever presented anything different. We go through college, business school, get an MBA, and enter the workforce, and no one has approached the idea of church and business.
There is still that pounding in our hearts. We want to please God and we desire to make a difference for His kingdom. The question penetrates our minds as to whether we can, or should, bring our faith into our business. We explore the thought, but the more we discover the more we realize what is required in the process. We believe the concept is true. We actually believe the principles presented in the Bible. But the more we delve into this the more we see the battle between what we say we believe and what we are actually committed to. The battle between eternal things and temporal things is not an easy one to fight.
How we respond to the principles we discover is based on our convictions. We may say we believe something but we may not allow ourselves to be controlled by that belief. Our belief system says one thing and our actions may indicate another. It is our convictions that control our behavior. God has an interesting way of showing us the difference between our beliefs and our convictions. The moment we say we believe something is the moment he will test us on that belief. If we say we believe Biblical principles should be practiced in business, God will surely provide a test on that belief. If we pass the test, we have now developed a conviction and that conviction will control what we do.
Our tendency is to work on our behavior. We want to do better, to be more this or more that in our behavior. We work hard at fixing our behavior when we should be working on developing convictions. Only problem, developing those convictions can be painful. Therefore, many when faced with the challenge of their beliefs falter and go back to living two separate lives. Our beliefs become confused and thus our behavior is confused,
Unfortunately, the rest of the world looks at us and they either never see the church side of us, or, walk away not really knowing who we are or what we stand for. There is no distinction to be made between our personal life and our business life. Our call to be disciples of Christ affects every area of our life. What this world needs is men who have strong beliefs, beliefs that have gone through the painful test and are now solid convictions. They are convictions that never cause us to waver, but motivate us to keep on seeking, submitting, and staying with God even in the world of the marketplace.
QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT:
What is God building in your work for his kingdom?
Do you consider your life critical to God's plan in the marketplace?
What beliefs do you have that have been tested?
* How are you using your business so that others see God?
