Business and the Bible (part 8)

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



Make Amends

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirreth up strifes; but love covereth all transgressions.

R: Being slow to anger and forgiving others (70x7 times or more if need be!) are both major Christian virtues. However, it is very easy to slip into defense mode when we feel our livliehood is under attack. Our tongue can take command. Everything can spiral out of control.

Proverbs 18:19
A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city;
and contentions are as the bars of a palace.

2 Out of 3 people (my estimation) won't react kindly to a riled up reply, even if it seems to you like you didn't cut into them. If you wrote it out of anger, the anger probably noticably crept in. “A soft answer turneth away fury” (15:1) applies in most cases. You must carefully guard your tongue, or fingers in this age. Remember it is best to diffuse a situation out of love, not react out of emotional pain.

Sometimes no answer is best, when you're dealing with a stranger who is obviously unreasonable and just trying to cause trouble for you or discourage you. I learned that the hard way. There will probably be people along the way who just want to mess with your head with vile sayings and curses, especially if you wear your faith on your sleeve.

If you have any contact with customers or web site visitors, you are going to deal various stirrings now and then, in business. You'll probably need to remind yourself to stay cool and level headed, especially the first dozen or so times. Walk away. Cool down. Ask the Lord for guidance.

Remember:

Proverbs 11:8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble...

Lara makes a brilliant point below...

L: In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus compares hate to murder. He takes hatred that seriously and so should we. As Christians we should be striving to walk in love on a regular basis. Yes, there may be times when we fail. However, our lives should consistently be lived out in love and forgiveness.

Jesus set a higher standard while He was here. Even adultery was no longer committed only by an action. It only takes a lustful thought. Our minds and hearts are what God is watching. It's one thing to make a mistake. It's another to live in sin of the mind and heart.

Making amends can be very difficult. Especially when we think that “we” are in the right in the situation. If we choose to remember what Jesus has said we will have a better chance at success. We can always react out of the Spirit, of love.

(James also compares Hate to murder in James 4:1-2a)

I certainly do not want to commit murder. Do you?



More References
Pr 10:19,11:13, 12:16, 14:21, 14:29,
15:1, 15:18, 16:6, 17:9, 17:14,
17:17-19, 17:22, 18:18, 19:11,
20:22, 21:14, 25:21-22, 29:22