Business and the Bible (part 7b)
Copyrighted, written and edited by
Lara Velez of Moms of Faith (momsoffaith.com),
Rachel Lower of Christian Mommies (christian-mommies.com)
By the grace of God

Bad Attitude(s) - Part 2

R: Here is a simple list with verses showing attitudes to avoid or grow out of, in life and in business:


Paranoia and envy
Proverbs 24:19 Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, and be not envious of the wicked.
Rushing in
Proverbs 24:27 Prepare thy work without, and put thy field in order, and afterwards build thy house.
Futuristic illusions of grandeur
Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth.
Tooting ones own horn
Proverbs 27:2 Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Flattery
Proverbs 27:14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be reckoned a curse to him.
Imitating infallibility
Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.

This list could top 100, even 1,000 PAGES if I went on, so I'll simply urge you to keep in God's word and remember to consider how each verse applies to your entire life, including the business side. Stay in the Word, reading your Bible daily. Study Proverbs often. Oh, and did I mention “Read your Bible?”

Next we have some specifics from Lara:


Paranoia and envy
We have nothing to fear from those who hate us in this world. They have no authority or ability to permanently hurt us unless we ourselves allow them to.

Jesus did not leave us without a defense. He left us the Holy Spirit and His Word. When you are faced with evil and the trouble in this world, pick up your sword (the Word) and fight. The Word is not powerful unless it is spoken.

God Himself used words to create all things. Words are to be spoken. And the Word of God is a weapon that no foe can withstand if it is USED!

Rushing in
Before we make important decisions, we need to make sure that we are asking God for the plans. He knows what is best for us, much better than we do. When we jump in to something blindly, we are risking our peace of mind. However, when we ask God to be at the helm, we can be assured of keeping our peace. He will NEVER steer us wrong.
We need to keep God at the center of every area of our lives. He should be included in every task from grocery shopping to what we will be making for dinner. This may sound radical to some, but really it's not. We want to know God and have all the “fringe benefits” that come with being His heirs. Yet, we never take the time to know Him on a deep and personal level.

He wants our childlike love and friendship more than anything. He wants to be our All in All. And when we get to a place where we really delight in Him, all of the benefits are just a bonus!

Futuristic illusions of grandeur
It's always good to have a plan, goals, and a good attitude. The problems start when we get so full of our selves and all the “things” that we want. All we think about is more success, more stuff, more, more, more!

No one cannot predict tomorrow. Tomorrow is unknown to us and comes with no guarantees that our own plans will come to fruit. If we put all of our hopes and dreams into tomorrow, we will miss out on all of the glory of today!

Tooting ones own horn
Meekness goes a long way with God. He is unimpressed when we become full of ourselves. When we do this, we are forgetting Who gives us blessings and success. It does not come from what “we” can do. “We” can do nothing without the grace of our Beloved Father. Every good thing comes from God and God alone. Every talent, success, increase, and goodness, it all comes from God.

As soon as we get that into our hearts and minds, we will gain the fruit of meekness and lose that dreaded horn!

Flattery
It's one thing to compliment someone, it's quite another to flatter someone for our own gain.

Christians need to be authentic and sincere. If we are not, then we are giving our Savior a bad name. It is part of our calling to live lives that bring glory to the Name of Jesus- not shame!

Imitating infallibility
When you make a mistake, own it. Admit that you were wrong and ask for forgiveness. We are allowing pride to enter our hearts when we think or act like we are never wrong.

We are ALL imperfect and we ALL make mistakes. Admitting them makes us better. Denying them is sin and fills us with the deadly seed of pride.