Are you satisfied?

When is a rich man poor? When he tries to find satisfaction in his money. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). http://www.lwf.org/site/R?i=M_hM_qndbA3BU_-UPHgt7Q A man of modest income said to a man who was very rich, “I have more than you have.” The rich man said, “How is that so?” He answered, “Because I have all I want, and you don’t.” Many of the people that you see on the street are very dissatisfied with what they have because they believe that they don’t have as much as the next guy or their next door neighbor. But….have you ever wondered about their life or their health? How about yours? Yes, those of us which don’t have much or the means to get as much as others do have more than the rich do simply because, like Paul wrote in Philippians 4:12: “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” How can the vast majority of people get by with humble means or live in prosperity and be content? Most aren’t even satisfied with the coffee that they drink in the morning, let alone the paycheck that they get! It is very true that loving anything other than God can cause a great deal of pain, in your eternity as well as now. Being too attached to silver or gold has a really deleterious effect on our soul which shows up in our lives every day. It shows up in our character which allows it to spill out into our work life and our family life and therefore destroys both in the end. So, what can we do about this type of situation? In all honesty, we ourselves can’t do anything about it on our own power and our thoughts and deeds. We are the cause of the situation not the One Who can cure or fix the situation! Jesus and the mercy which He pours out on us each and every day is the Physician which heals and fixes the problem and He can if we will allow Him to do so. Your life and your business can be…will be so much more effective and less stressful with Him in your heart and in your life.

Politically correct all the way to what?

“We’ve been told to be careful. But we’re going to be careful all the way to Communism if we don’t start standing up and saying ‘no.’”

Political correctness is great, at times, but today it is being used as a way to beat people over the head for their beliefs. Especially Christians. It seems that many people are pushing the belief in God out of their lives or away from their lives altogether. Why? Belief in Him is not a crutch!

Why am I getting into this on a site which is supposed to give advice to business owners? Because, God’s Word contains so much advice to people who run businesses and how to live your life successfully. Truthfully, I am a pastor and I am tasked with telling people about God’s plan for their lives but your business life is also important to Him as well.

I know that some would ask, “Why would God care about my business?” Simply put, it is because He cares about you and those who frequent your business whether it is a brick and mortar business or online. Success in life and in business takes a lot of determination and drive but it also takes a toll on your life in more ways than many people imagine. You are constantly in the front because of being the owner of the business, you are in charge of all of the purchasing decisions, it is your name that is on the line when something goes wrong ultimately.

This kind of stress can wear a person down in ways that, frankly, we were not created to handle on our own. So, what can we do to help ourselves in this situation? Really, not much unless you are a so-called “Type A personality”. Who can help us in our time of crisis or just in everyday operations? Our co-workers can if we learn to delegate authority by allowing them to take some of the burden. Your spouse can help by being supportive in your area of business.

All of these people can assist you in taking some of the stress off of your shoulders, if you will let them. But what or Who can you or will you turn to when the stress builds, as it always seems to do, and it seems that nobody can help you?

You know the times. A deadline is approaching or you have a client that is getting restless. Suppliers and shipping problems compound the issues because you have no control over them or their schedules. Do you have an outlet for this kind of stress? Some people turn to alcohol or drugs but this only adds to the problem, it covers it up temporarily but the problem hasn’t gone away. Your only real help in this situation is God.

Oh-oh, I did it. I brought that up again. Business shouldn’t be run by God! Why not? Isn’t the church a type of business? Some large churches have many people on their staff including lawyers, secretaries, accountants so why can’t God be involved in business? God’s advice is free and available to anyone who will read and study His Word, but the advice that He gives in just one book is worth as much as a college degree.

Bring Him into your boardroom or just into your office and allow Him to change you and your business in ways that you may never have considered. Your clients will thank you for it, some may do business elsewhere but you will acquire better ones when they leave. Your business will be more stable and very likely more profitable. If it is, don’t forget to give back to God His portion. It will come back to you in ways that you might not realize.

Living well in spite of slavery that still exists!

Many people seem to desire wealth and lots of it. Mainly because it can get you nearly anything that you desire. Depending on how much your desires cost and how much wealth you have, of course, you can truly have almost anything that is available for sale in the world. The really sad and cruel part of this story is that even today, slavery is still prevalent in the world. I know that many will say that it isn’t in the so-called developed countries, but it is. It is hidden behind facades that disguise it so that it doesn’t look like slavery or it is hidden from view altogether, but it is there.

The sad part about this is that we don’t have to have slavery at all. It wasn’t needed even when it was “popular” in developed nations of over a century ago, but it existed because evil existed in their hearts. I say, evil because not only did they treat people as property, to be bought and sold and used as they saw fit, but they also used and quoted scripture out of context to justify do it.

My title is “Living well because **** “, and I know that slavery has nothing to do with living well, but (there’s that word again) people can change and many countries and cultures which used slaves have changed. Yet, slavery still exists. Today, the slave trade is in children and women and men for sex slaves, which to me is even worse than in previous times. I know about the use of slaves as mistresses, but today’s slaves are used by perverted, cruel people (men mostly) who care nothing for their slaves except for how they can used them and abuse them.

Living well in today’s society means finding these people and exposing them or rescuing the slaves that have been taken, against their will, into this life. They did not want it, but they were placed in bondage and all that we see in the news is that some girl or boy child is missing.

Nobody knows where they went or what happened and for many, there will never be any news about recovery or rescue. Everyone will forget about their story and move on after a week or so and they will be forgotten, even today with all of the ways to communicate. What has happened to our society and the people in it that causes us to forget about people and news that are truly valuable as soon as the news is over?

Why don’t we care about each other in the way that Christ wanted us to? Why can’t we at least try to be like Him in our everyday life? Is life that crappy? Is it really that bad to be like Jesus? Yes, in a world where slavery still exists, life is crappy but living for Jesus and like Him makes a HUGE difference in your life and in the lives of those around you! People will see the change in you and in your character and your work ethic. Everything in your life will be changed for the better because of Him. God loves you and He always has!

The subject of this essay, post, or whatever you want to call it is a subject that people don’t want to talk about. Because it is supposed to be in our past and not present in modern times, but it is! The slavery that is present now is more demeaning and cruel than that of over a century ago. Why? Because it mostly involves children being kidnapped and forced into a life of being sex slaves and they end up addicted to drugs just so they don’t feel or care what is being done to them! Yes, the slavery that was perpetrated in America was a crime against humanity, because we are all made in God‘s image regardless of our skin color. But, what is being done by these perverts is worse because it is being done by grown men mostly with young boys and girls, some as young as eight!

I know that I have been writing upbeat articles about how to live and be successful in life, but this needs to come to the attention of many more people than just someone like me and those who read this. If you will forward this to someone who might bring attention to this outrage before it really gets out of hand in our world.

Living well in our culture

The culture that we live in, whatever it may be, determines our focus. What we believe, why we believe and how we believe, regardless of the object of our belief. So, what is your cultural belief? Is it religious or secular? Is it centered around a religion or is it atheistic?

Living well means that we are enjoying life. In what manner we enjoy our life is determined by our beliefs and the morality that we were taught while growing up. There are many who think that as long as you aren’t hurting anyone, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you are enjoying it.

What is your focus in life? Is it materialistic? Do you think that whoever dies with the most toys wins? Especially if they are expensive toys? OK, if that is your belief then who gets your toys when you die? You can’t take them with you and it is for sure that you won’t enjoy them from that point on. What is the point in a person’s life in acquiring more “stuff”, expensive or not, when that stuff can’t help you in life at all!

Yes, some stuff can impress people but today is that necessary? Some people say “yes”, but why? Do you really need or even want some “thing” to impress people about you or should they be impressed with your character and your life? Truly, they should be impressed with you and your character, not what you are wearing or driving.

Stuff, is just like idols from ancient times. We worship things like cars, jobs, and positions even though many don’t realize that we place far more importance in these things than we should. Many times, we look at the beauty of a car, or the salary that we are getting from our job or the position that it affords us in society and we don’t see that we are putting too much emphasis on those and not on our personal integrity.

Is it possible to have integrity in your sales position or your specific job, whatever it may be? Do you check the advice that you give to others with your conscience, your own moral code before you give it? Have you considered that life and health and your job all follow each other? How healthy you are is reflected in your life, but it also affects your job and your performance in that job. If your health is not so good, then it will show in other areas of your life. If you are having problems at home, regardless of the kind of problems they are, they will be reflected in your job and in your health.

Your faith in God can help in all of these situations, whether you have faith in Him will affect all of these situations because He is the source of truth and conscience in our lives whether we admit to it or not. Many of the wise sayings that are accepted in our culture come from God’s Word. They may not be quoted that way and it may not be shown as the source, but much of the wisdom that is in so-called “self-help” books that are so popular has its basis in Biblical wisdom.

His love and compassion for all of us was and is shown through the grace that is given to us each day that we wake up to a new day. We should cherish it as a gift, thank Him for it and purpose to do with it something which will edify and glorify Him in the process. In doing this, our life will be blessed, our job will be blessed, the customers that we serve will be blessed and our stress levels will be far less than they would’ve been. Think about it.

Can we decide to live?

Deciding to live our lives in relation to our dreams and our hopes is something that we should do, but do we do it? Many people look at their lives literally and think that there is no place for dreams or hope in some people’s lives. They just give up on their dreams and stop chasing them. The settle for a paycheck and a job that they hate or dislike and then they feel bitter and resentful because they chose to settle for something rather than going after what they really want in life.

Living requires action in one way or another. You have to get up out of bed, go to the loo and then eat something so you will have the energy to get through your day. Of course you also have to take a bus ride or drive to work, eat lunch, work at whatever job you may have, then drive home and hope you get there in one piece.

We live in a mixed up world, one that is fraught with pain, hardship, loneliness, fear and anxiety which has caused the drug companies to become so wealthy that they dictate to the government what can and cannot be used or advertised as a “medical breakthrough”.

Can we make a true “living wage” without all of those side-effects described above? Yes, we probably can but will it be fulfilling for us? Will we enjoy doing it or will it be just another way to tell someone a lie about something so that they will buy it from us? Will we…can we do this while telling the truth about what we are doing? Can we make a living while letting others know the truth about what we are doing and why?

For many people, the answer would be “no”, simply because in today’s world you can’t be totally honest about what you are selling and why you are selling it. Whether it is a law firm, a construction company, a candy company or a person selling shoes or cars, you can’t be totally truthful with everyone about the product being sold. And when the truth is missing from the transaction, that is when the anxiety and stress start to show up between the seller and the potential buyer.

The only “product” that I can be totally truthful about is something which I can’t sell or make money from and it is my faith in Jesus and the good news about Him! I can be totally honest and truthful about it because if I am not, then I shouldn’t be a writer or a blogger and certainly not a pastor.

Jesus loves us and came to Israel as a baby so that He could atone for all of the sins of mankind, not just His people. He died for all of us and that is the “product” that I have, this is the Truth that is told in detail in God’s Word. It is not a product that can be sold, but must be given away because God’s grace is free to all! How can we use these principles to live successfully? By following the wisdom that is contained in it and using it in our daily lives and our business.

Think about it, pray about it, look up the book of Proverbs and read it because it does have a lot of advice for personal and business ventures and doing it the right way.

 

Making a living successfully

Can you make a living at something that you enjoy? Yes, you can but you have to find out what that is first.

Make a plan, work your plan, this is advice given by many coaches on sports fields and in business. So how can we do this? First, of course, is finding out what it is that you want to do or can do that you enjoy doing. Can this be something that you can make into a job that you love? I am not sure.

Many people like to do things which are not marketable as products or services so it is possible that they may not be made into a viable vocation. But, think about this for a minute, is there anything in your daily job that you enjoy doing. If it is, then do this in the best way that you can, treat your job or even your boss as someone that you are trying to impress. Many people do this anyway, but I am not speaking of “sucking up” to anyone. I am talking about treating your job and your boss as if they are the most important person in the world. Also, I am not talking about being a brown-nose (nasty term btw), but what I am speaking of is treating your job and the things that you do in it as the most important job in the world.

Why am I trying to get people to treat their job as the most important job that they may ever hold? In the times that we live in today, our job, whatever it is, just may be the most important one that we have. Although, if you are a parent or a teacher or maybe a pastor then your job is already very important. Because you hold the future of those in your care in your hands or in the words that you speak to them. They are learning from you regardless of the way you say the words, or the truth that you are teaching. Children, whether they are babes in Christ or your children or children in school, learn from what they hear and see you doing, so model the best behavior and morals that you can. They deserve it.

Plan your job, your life around what is most important to you. Work your plan to the best of your ability. Give your life to Christ and allow Him to successfully live through your life and your vocation, because if you decide that you are working for Him then you will do your best at anything and everything that you do!

Living successfully in an upside-down world

In the world today many people are living from paycheck to paycheck if they have one. The question is “Do you live for working or do you work for a living?”

Many people would likely say that it is the same thing. I however don’t think so. For example, do you get up in the morning looking forward to getting to work so that you can accomplish as much as you can today because today is a beautiful day? Or, do you get up feeling tired before getting out of bed, and you are almost hating the drive to work let alone the day ahead?

The first example/question would be someone who lives for working because they are doing something that they love to do and they enjoy doing it. It is not a chore or a bore and it is fulfilling to them. The second is a person who is working for a living wage in order to pay bills and nothing more. Their job is not fulfilling and not something that they truly enjoy, instead it is a job that they are qualified to do and they can do it well enough to get paid for it, period.

Which would you rather have? Something that is a joy to do and that you actually get paid for or something that you have to do because you have bills to pay? Most people would choose the first of those, but how hard is it to find such a job? Does a job like this exist for every person out there?  The answer may surprise you.

I will post back tomorrow with more on this. Thank you for reading and please leave a comment or two.