You have the perfect idea and the perfect plan. But now you find yourself off course and in a ditch. You begin to ask yourself, "How did I get so far off course?" "How could I let these distractions have such control on me?"
Anytime God gives us an idea and a plan to accomplish the vision, it requires that we remain committed to the plan. As we looked at Joshua and his victory in the battle at Jericho, we discovered that a member of his team, Achan, had lost focus by being distracted with the things of the world. As a result, God's judgement came upon Israel and Joshua lost a battle at Ai.
We do need to get out of the ditch and back on the plan, but at some point, we need to figure out how we got there in the first place. Romans 1: 18 - 25 offers us an answer to this question. Every verse in this passage is critical and points us to the problem. Verse 25, however, hits the nail on the head of the problem. "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen." Lies are the tool of Satan. He disguises these lies as truth by making them seem to be the answer to a significant, fulfilling life, and the marketplace is his haven.
Ten lies that Satan uses to cause us to loose focus.
*The Word of God is not always true. It is out dated, irrelevant to todays times, and does not apply to business.
*Our sin is our business. A little sin is okay as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.
*Jesus alone in my life is not enough to make me happy, there has to be something else.
*Human reasoning is superior to God's. We can set our own morals and ethics. There are no absolutes.
*I can handle it and no one will know.
*We have plenty of time to get right with God. We will do that when we retire.
*God will make an exception in my case. Look at all the good I am doing.
*There will not be a judgement day. I am only accountable to myself.
*I can love both God and money. No one else can, but I can.
*Real success is measured by the amount of material assets we acquire.
Achan believed everyone of these lies when he stole some of the things devoted to God and hid them for himself. I would imagine if we had asked him if he thought he believed these statements above, he would be like us and say no. But his thoughts led to decisions, which led to actions that caused him to exchanged the truth for a lie.
Ultimately, Achan placed his own ideas and plans above God.
