The Christian leader constantly fights the battle for who is in charge of your life. Who should have the last say in what a person does, whether it is in the corporate office or in the home or in the church? We might quickly give the “churchy” answer, “Of course God has the ultimate say.” But is that really the case in your life?
We like to think that we are “Spirit –led” in our decision, but are we really? I often come across individuals who spend much time in prayer seeking the Lord, reading in His Word for guidance and direction, and sharing with other believers what they sense the Lord has told them. These people, in my estimation, are doing their utmost to be led by God in all they do.
There are many others who choose to go through life with the mindset that since we prayed some months ago for wisdom, we can go about our daily business with confidence that every decision we make is going to be a wise decision, whether or not we have ever stopped to breath a prayer to the Father or crack open His Word or a devotional book. Such people are good people, well-meaning individuals, hard working and diligent in their jobs. They have a good reputation, high respect among their peers, a track record of success, and are often asked for advice from others. But are they being God-led or are they simply well educated, experienced, principled and thoughtful individuals?
Now perhaps we need to address one other matter before we get into the core issues. Some think that they need to be spiritually minded only when they are at church or doing “Kingdom” work, whereas while they are in the secular world, they should function with the same drive, determination, and ambition as everyone else employing the same methods and means to accomplish their goals. The problem with this thinking is that when we are saved, we are taken out of the kingdom of this world and put into the Kingdom of God. Though we live in the world, we are no longer “of” the world. We have been bought with a price, we no longer belong to ourselves, we belong to Christ who purchased us with His blood. So there is no longer any differentiation between secular and sacred in our life, because everything now pertains to the sacred as Christ lives in us and now guides us from the inside out.
Several Scriptures come into play here.
1. Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (HCSB).
This verse tells us that there is no way of knowing God’s perfect will unless we allow the Spirit of God to transform our heart and mind. This means we can no longer live by the world’s ways, the world’s standards, and the world’s expectations as a Christian. We have a much, much higher standard to hold to. This is not a once for all event, it is a constant activity in which we must cooperate with the Spirit of God. We can give in to the world’s way of thinking quite easily, and soon we are no longer thinking as Christ would have us think, but seeking our own gain, our own selfish ambitions, our own interests and completely forget about everyone else around us. We must constantly seek the Lord in order for our minds to be renewed and transformed out of the world’s ways and into Kingdom ways.
2. John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.”
I believe when a Christian honors God in what they do, that God will in return honor them, bless them, and cause them to prosper in what they have been asked to do. We must not forget our job, our house, our family, and our skill, attributes, and gifts were all given to us by God. He is our boss, our enabler, our teacher, our controller, our source of strength, our reservoir of wisdom and grace. Even though we may want to think we got where we are by our own intelligence, skills, and drive, God can certainly take it all away in an instant. It is God we need to please and from whom we need to receive accolades, not the world around us. Sure people can appreciate what we do, they can give us honors and awards for our good and timely work, but it is God who first needs to be impressed with our obedience to Him and our desire to serve Him. If we seek first to please God, then the fickleness of the world will not phase us in the least. God will vindicate us in the face of slander, misrepresentation, hostility, and opposition. Christ felt it all the time and won the victory despite his detractors and enemies. If the world hates you it is because they see you are no longer playing the game by their rules, and you are setting a much higher standard according to values, principles, integrity, honesty, and truth – things that are in short supply in today’s corporate world. It is not a bad thing to be disliked by some people. If evil people speak highly of you, there is something wrong. If you are the poster boy/girl for Workaholic of the Year in the staff room, there is a problem. If you are used as an example of how an employee should sacrifices their family and personal goals for the sake of the company, you have not made the impact Christ wants you to make. If the Company rules your life instead of the Kingdom you need to have a serious look at your life and seek God all over again.
3. 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle–is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.” (HCSB)
When we forget we were never created for time and space and this world, that we were created for eternity, to enjoy God’s creation and His presence, we begin to have a distorted perspective on the world and all it has to offer. When we begin to desire the world and its trappings more than God and His Kingdom, we are in danger spiritually, emotionally, psychologically and even physically. To “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” helps us realize the foolishness of chasing after the dreams the world has to offer in light of what God has to offer. If you want to see clear examples of the result of “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” open your newspaper or business magazine and look at those whose address has changed from the corporate office to the prison cell. They were enticed by lust for power, lust for wealth, lust for influence, pride in their position, and felt they were above the law until the law caught up with them and showed them differently. The final words of this verse says, the “world with its lust is passing away”. You’ve heard the statement, “The one who dies with the most toys wins”, well, it seems the multiple failed marriages, the estranged children, the paranoia and desire for more that many of the wealthy and influential exhibit would indicate what they had been chasing all their life turned out to have captured them in the end.
1 Corinthians 2:16 says, “But we have the mind of Christ.” This is no light statement. The implications of this are far reaching, or at least they should be. It should impact all our choices, our actions, our thoughts, and our goals. Somehow, though, there is a disconnect between our work and our relationship with Christ. We too often shut Him out of our daily agenda and decisions preferring to handle things on our own. This, of course, will result in achieving only those things we can achieve, and prohibits God from accomplishing all that He had intended to do through us.
If we choose to leave Christ at home when we go off to work, then we also choose to function according to our own wisdom, our own strength, our own insight, our own limitations rather than having access to the wisdom, insight, vision, power, and knowledge of God who sees the future, the past, and the present and can guide us through safe waters to achieve amazing results if we allow Him to. Who is leading you? Who is in control of your heart and mind? What results do you see in your life, family, and business? Do they look like God has had His hand in it, or do they look more like you have been working hard on your own strength? Bring God into your workplace and let Him have His way in your heart and you will begin to see lives transformed and not just the bottom line looking good.