Temptation in the Marketplace
The business owner’s face turns ashen white when he realizes that he does not have enough to pay his staff and to keep the lights on. He is tempted to shore up his earnings by rounding up ‘disbursements’.
Colleague A blamed Colleague B for his poor performance for fear of being reprimanded by their Boss. He contemplates complaining about Colleague B to the other Colleagues in hope of swaying public opinion.
The professional’s heart felt as if it would be torn asunder by the morality tug of war as he debated on whether to falsify a document to avoid a major inconvenience in the project.
The Superior frowns at yet another piece of work done poorly and feels that he is losing his cool and wants to vent his frustration by hurling abuse at the subordinate.
These are some of the many dilemmas that we as Christian business owners and professionals face in the marketplace. It is indeed a challenge to walk the talk, particularly if it is feared that walking the talk may result in one suffering adverse results. Truly, fear of the adverse drives us to commit acts which may be contrary to the Word of God or which at the very least would not make our mothers proud. It is especially in moments like these, we must have a continual regard to God’s providence and remind ourselves of what our God can do for us.
Keep Your Paths Straight
The Word of God says that we must:
Trust in the Lord with all you heart
Proverbs 3:5,6
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make you paths straight.
We are tempted often to see the world through our eyes of flesh, without fully understanding that what we see represents only part of what is real. Our understanding is limited and imperfect.
Rely on His Providence
We are called to rely wholly upon God’s providence and promises, rather than on what we can see and understand, such as wealth, physical strength and the help of our friends or family. We must as Children, trust our heavenly Father for his provision, fully and comprehensively, without doubt and fear, for our heavenly Father has given us a wealth of promises beyond compare and has put at our disposal his entire kratos (demonstrative, manifested) power.
god’s Promise of Deliverance
God promises deliverance from all that vexes us and to simplify our paths, if only we choose not to see the giants in the promised land but choose to believe in our Father’s ability and desire to deliver the giants into our hands. All we need to do is to focus on following Jesus’ example, to walk in His ways and to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control).
So the next time you feel tempted to take matters into your own hands or to simply give in to your fears, take a step back and choose instead to trust God and to submit to His Will.
