Life Purpose Image

At a recent speaking opportunity, I shared a specific image with the group to illustrate how I view living out my life purpose. This is a picture I believe God put on my heart ten years ago and it has motivated me since then. As I reflected on my presentation, I realized I had never fully described this image on the blog. I want to share it with you today, but before I get to the image, I want to set the stage.

If you have been reading my blog for long, you have likely read a post that contained the Greatest Commandment(s) and the Great Commission. These passages are found throughout my blog. It is in these two passages that I believe we are most clearly given our life purpose – not just for me, but for all disciples of Jesus.

What Does The Bible Say?

In the Greatest Commandment(s), we are told by Jesus that all of the law and prophets boil down to two commandments: love God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. If Jesus says these are the two greatest commandments, then I believe that is what my life is supposed to be about.

In the Great Commission, I believe Jesus tells us how we are to carry that purpose out in our daily lives. When you look at the original language, the “Go” actually would be better translated into “As you go…” or “As you are going…” and includes all that we do as we move through this life on earth.

“As we go,” through life – at home, work, school, etc. – we are to make disciples of all nations. This is not a suggestion from Jesus. This does not only apply to those we think have the “gift” of evangelism. No, it is for anyone that calls themselves a disciple of Jesus and it applies to any and every vocation.

My Life Purpose

Having said all of that, I believe it is my purpose in life to love God, love others, and make disciples of Jesus. I think it is really that simple. I also think that is your life purpose. I believe these passages apply to all of us – the differences between you and me is how we carry out this purpose.

For me, I believe I am to carry out my life purpose (at least for this season) by operating a business as ministry in order to impact people for eternity. I believe that it is my job in the marketplace to run this business in a way that maximizes the eternal return for its Owner rather than the temporary return for my family, the temporary stewards of the business. If I do this, I believe I will hear the words that drive me…”Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Work Tested By Fire

The last piece of setting the stage comes from Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. In this passage, Paul describes the foundation of Jesus in our lives. On top of that foundation, Paul says we will build our lives. He talks about how everything we build will be tested by fire on the day of judgment.

If what we have built survives the fire, then we will be rewarded. If what we have built with our lives is burned up in the fire, then we will still escape, but just barely. As you think about this passage, also think about what you are building with your life. Will it burn in God’s fire or will it survive?

My Picture

So, in light of that passage, I want try to describe the picture God has given me and what it means to me today. It is this picture that drives me and keeps me going when everything around me makes me want to quit.

In our business, we have four buildings in a row on 15 or so acres and they are all adjacent to each other. Normally, this property is busy and lively with cars and people everywhere. But that is not the way it looks in the picture I want you to imagine.

The Results

Instead, the property – all 15+ acres – is completely scorched. There is nothing left from the buildings. There are no cars or trucks remaining, not even those steel racks we use on the front line to display cars. I will say it again, there is nothing but black earth. It has ALL burned in the fire.

Intuitively, I know that this also means that any and all bank accounts are gone. They have burned up as well. Nothing remains from the 3+ generations of our family business…except one thing.

Silhouettes

As I scan the property, I see silhouettes…hundreds of them, maybe more. I realize that these are silhouettes representing those souls that we have impacted for eternity because of the way we have decided to run our business.

As I first considered this picture in my mind, it all clicked. In turning our business over to God, I realized that He was going to use it to draw people toward Him. It was these people that made up the silhouettes and they were the only part of our work that would last into eternity. All of our bank accounts, all of our buildings, and all of our cars would burn up in the fire, but those souls (silhouettes) would be all that remained.

My Daily Goal

I then realized that my goal every day was to wake up and go to work for the purpose of adding to those silhouettes. That is what drives me. That is how I believe I am to live out my life purpose. It is this picture that keeps me going when everything else tells me to quit.

Can you get a clear view of this picture in your life?

What would be different about your picture?

What do you need to do to better live out your life purpose?

Another Free Book Give Away?

You read that right! I am offering a free copy of Andy Stanley’s book, When Work and Family Collide: Keeping Your Job from Cheating Your Family!

How Do You Win?

If you scroll down just a bit you will see the Rafflecopter entry form which outlines a bunch of ways to enter the When Work and Family Collide giveaway. Just complete as many as you would like to be entered to win!

Why Am I Doing This?

I started this blog in an effort to spread the message of integrating the Christian faith into our businesses. I want to see more Christian business owners and leaders begin looking at their businesses from an eternal perspective and running them as platforms for Christian ministry.

While I know my posts are written toward this effort, I thought I would try to step it up a notch for 2013. My plan is to give away one book a month for the entire year! All I am asking from you is to follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. As you enter, you will be helping me to spread the word about this blog at the same time. We both win!

This Month’s Book: Andy Stanley’s When Work & Family Collide

Is Your Occupation Also Your Preoccupation?

Let’s face it. With all the demands of the workplace and all the details of a family it’s only a matter of time before one bumps into the other. And many of us end up cheating our families when the commitments of both collide. In this practical book, Andy Stanley will help you…

• establish priorities and boundaries to protect what you value most.
• learn the difference between saying your family is your priority and actually making them your priority.
• discover tested strategies for easing tensions at home and at work.

Enter The Give Away

Follow the instructions below to enter the When Work & Family Collide contest and then spread the word to others! The contest ends at midnight on Friday, May 31st and the winner will be announced on Saturday, June 1st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Clarity Tool From Andy Stanley

In my last post, I began to describe how Andy Stanley maintained clarity during these times. As he told us in a recent Chick-Fil-A Leadercast session, Andy faced these same issues as they experienced growth with North Point Community Church and its associated ministries.

Because of the complexity he knew he would face, Andy wrote three simple questions on a 3×5 index card during the early years of his ministry. This index card went with him every time he moved offices or took on more responsibility. It was from these three questions that he and his staff have been able to manage the increasing complexity and maintain clarity.

3 Questions For Clarity

While I covered the first question in more detail in my last post, I thought it wise to give a quick summary of it here. Below is that summary, as well as the remaining two questions from Andy’s card.

Question #1

What are we doing?

Andy’s point in asking this question was to keep the main purpose of the organization in the forefront of everyone’s minds. It is too easy for members of the organization at all levels to forget their original purpose. When this happens, energy is diluted among many good-intentioned activities rather than focused on the main purpose of the organization.

When the leader is consistent in asking this question, clarity is maintained. People can focus their energy on contributing toward the main purpose. Progress is greater and morale soars.

Question #2

Why are we doing it?

I have posted before on how important this question is to the overall purpose of the organization. While all three of these questions are critical, I personally believe this may be the most important of all.

If you do not have a good WHY, then you will falter when the going gets tough. Without knowing and being reminded of your WHY, it is easy to let obstacles stop you in your tracks. It is often the WHY that gives us the extra energy or desire to keep going even when we don’t FEEL like it.

It is also the WHY that influences HOW you do the WHAT!

Wait a minute…what was that? Read it again.

WHY Is Critical

For an example, consider an individual or business you know of that crossed the line and behaved in a way that was either illegal, unethical, or immoral. Their WHAT may have been perfectly good. Maybe their WHAT was to win a race or achieve a goal. Maybe it was even to grow a church.

Now consider their WHY. If their WHY was to honor God, would they have crossed the line like they did? If their WHY was more personal – more self serving – it is more likely they would be willing to cross a legal, ethical, or moral line to achieve the WHAT.

On the other hand, for those times when the WHY is focused on honoring God and doing His will, the methods we use to achieve our specific purpose (our WHAT) will be more likely to honor Him as well, right?

WHY Must Be Communicated

Andy made a final point on this question. He said that the answer to this question of WHY must be cascaded down throughout the organization. Team members at every level must know the WHY and be bought into it if we are to maintain clarity throughout the organization.

As leaders, it is our responsibility to communicate (and over-communicate) this answer to everyone on a consistent basis. If we do not, clarity is diminished.

Question #3

Where do I fit in?

Not only does every team member need to know the WHY discussed above, they also need to know exactly how they fit into the effort as an individual. If each individual is not clear on how they fit in, then they will not fit in! They must know – and be reminded of – their part in the machine or it will break down.

In Andy’s organization, this is achieved in an unusual way. Every position within his organization has a one-sentence job description. Obviously, these sentences cannot completely address everything that the individual team member is to do in their job. At the same time, that is the purpose.

One-Sentence Job Descriptions

Instead of covering everything, these one-sentence job descriptions cover the most important aspects of the job that individual is to complete. For the sake of clarity, here are some examples:

Sr. Pastor – To inspire our staff and congregation to remain fully engaged in our mission and strategy.

CFO – To create, implement, and monitor systems that ensure our organization remains fiscally secure.

Asst. to Sr. Pastor – Keep Andy’s path clear of nonessential tasks and decisions so that Andy can do what only Andy can do.

One final example comes from a book mentioned by another speaker at Chick-Fil-A’s Leadercast. His name was LCDR Rorke Denver, a Navy SEAL and star of the movie Act Of Valor. He referenced a book (Gates of Fire) about the Spartan’s battle with the Persians at Thermopylae. In this book is the following quote from a helot, an attendant to a Spartan warrior and similar to an armor-bearer:

“I supervised the care and transport of his armor, maintained his kit, prepared his food and sleeping site, bound his wounds and in general performed every task necessary to leave him free to train and fight.”

When members of your team know WHAT the team is doing, WHY they are doing it, and have that kind of understanding of WHERE they fit into the overall plan, there is clarity. This clarity allows every part of the “machine” to work as it should and great progress is made toward the WHAT.

Do you see how these 3 questions can help you maintain clarity?

How do you envision using these questions with your team?

Can you recall a time when you needed these questions?

Chick-Fil-A Leadercast

One topic that I talk about a lot in my posts is the idea of continuous learning. I am a strong believer in the need for leaders to always be learning in whatever ways are available. My most recent learning opportunity came this past Friday at the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast.

Clarity Card

It was during this event that I heard Andy describe the 3×5 index card that he has kept with him all of these years. He talked about how he had written three simple questions on this card back at the beginning of his efforts in starting North Point Community Church. Since then, he has referred back to this card many times over the years. Every time he moves or changes offices, this card goes with him.

He talked about how this card has continuously given him clarity when he needed it as he has faced increased complexity due to the growth of his ministry. As he talked about this card and the three questions, I knew I had to share them here.

Work To Be Done

I will go ahead and tell you that I can already see holes in my leadership and in our organization as a result of these three questions. If I am successful in implementing these questions for the purpose of clarity in my leadership, it will take me years. At the same time, they are so simple that I can start immediately!

Enough introduction…let’s get started! I hope you find these questions to be as useful as I have.

Question #1

What are we doing?

As simple as this question is, when applied to your organization, it can be powerful in bringing clarity amid complexity. So often, we get so busy dealing with the alligators, we forget that we came to drain the swamp.

Apple Computers

Andy gave a great example of this question being applied in a business setting. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company was not doing well. Supposedly, there were 30+ different versions of the Macintosh computer at the time! There certainly was no clarity in what they were doing.

Steve responded by stating, “We are going to build easy-to-use computers.” Anything they were currently working on that did not match that purpose was to be scrapped! As a result, clarity returned to the company and you know the rest of the story.

Clarity Is Critical

When there is clarity around what you are doing as an organization (of any size), there is power and speed. Without clarity, confusion exists and can cripple a team. No one knows exactly what they should be doing OR they have extreme focus and are doing exactly the WRONG things, but doing them very well!

Obviously, a company mission statement is a great start here, but there is more we can do to allow this question to bring clarity. Communicating the answer to this question across the organization brings clarity to everyone, not just the leadership.

We Need The Reminder

Unfortunately, none of this happens if you forget to ask the question. And as we all know too well, it is easy to forget. Distractions add up. This is exactly why Andy took this card with him every time he moved. He knew he needed the reminder to ask the questions on a regular basis. Otherwise, confusion would prevent him from seeing the impact he desired.

In my next post, we will look at the next two questions on Andy’s index card. I think you will find these two questions to be just as effective in bringing clarity to your ministry and business.

Can you answer this first question with confidence?

Would others in your organization give the same answer?

What does your next step need to be?

As I did this, I realized I have never shared these components on this blog. I do not expect anyone to take a look at our mission, vision, and core values and immediately decide to copy them because they are so good! However, I do think someone reading this may get some ideas for their own company statements.

Because I have already covered in previous posts the benefits to creating these statements of mission, vision, and core values, I will not review that here. Instead, I will simply communicate and explain these statements for our company.

Mission Statement

The Mike Patton Auto Family seeks to honor God by impacting the lives of our employees, customers, and community.

We believe that God owns this business and we are simply His stewards of it for a season. We want to make sure that all we do in and through the business honors Him. By the same token, we do not want to do anything that will dishonor Him.

We believe that we are here, and that this business exists, for the purpose of impacting people for eternity. We believe that this is our ultimate goal.

Vision Statement

Moving people.

This statement is short, but is full of meaning. First, it obviously references transportation, reflecting the automobile business we have chosen. But it goes much deeper than that.

We want to take employees, customers, and those in the community and we want to “move” them from their current position (or circumstances) to a better place. Regardless of where they are in life (financially, professionally, emotionally, etc.), we want to move them to an improved situation. Regardless of how they interact with us, we want them to be better off having done so.

Core Values

Integrity – We do what is right even when no one is watching.

This core value comes first for a reason. Without integrity, we will not have the impact that we desire. We take this very seriously. We will extend grace when it comes to mistakes and errors, giving people a chance to grow and improve in their jobs. We are not as tolerant of violations in this area. We need to know we can trust our coworkers without question.

Excellence – We are constantly redefining our goals, expectations, boundaries, and potential.

Our team’s talents and performance vary from person to person. That is normal. We simply believe that regardless of your talent or performance today, you should want to be better tomorrow. We want teammates that are constantly striving to learn and grow, improving every day!

Employee Development – We strive to create an atmosphere that inspires and enables people to reach their full potential.

As a company, we want to meet our employees where they are as they strive for excellence. Our goal is to provide the resources and inspiration required to “move” them forward on their path. Sometimes this means they advance within our company and sometimes it means they move on to other opportunities. Either way, we want to help!

Spiritual Growth – We provide the opportunity for all to know God and make Him known.

No one who works in our company is required to believe what we believe. However, we make it clear early on that God is the owner of our company. Therefore, all that we do centers around Him. This includes many efforts to sow seeds of faith all around through various efforts. We will not force anyone to believe, but they will certainly have opportunities to hear.

Community Impact – We use our talents and treasures to make a difference in those who need it most.

We believe we are part of the community in which we work and therefore have the responsibility to give back to that community. Whether through benevolence or sponsorships, community service or fundraising, we are going to take the time and energy to give to those who need it.

Your Mission, Vision, And Core Values

Hopefully, you have found this helpful as an example of a good set of mission, vision, and core values statements. If you only gleaned one idea from this, I consider it worthwhile.

If you have any questions or comments about mission, vision, or core values, please comment below!

Lessons On Little Sins

In my last post, I described how I had inadvertently dropped a small piece of onion from my burger in my truck while traveling out of town. Unfortunately, I did not immediately retrieve the onion, leaving it to stink up my whole truck! If you have not read the whole story, you really need to do that now so you can understand the lessons on little sins that I will describe in today’s post.

To simplify these lessons, I am simply going to list them in order, with brief explanations of the parallels with little sins. Let’s jump in!

I was aware, but did not react immediately!

I mentioned that I noticed something fall from the burger into my lap. I did not know exactly what had dropped, but I had a very good idea of where it had fallen. I could have (and should have) investigated at the next opportunity. Had I done so, the onion would never have had the time to smell up the entire truck.

The same is true of little sins. If we address them immediately, the consequences are reduced. Even if we are not sure of exactly what we did (or said) that was wrong, that fact that we know SOMETHING is wrong should be enough to cause us to take action – seeking forgiveness and repentance.

I allowed my “hurry” to override my judgment!

As soon as I parked at the game, I knew I should have crawled under the seat . Instead, I allowed the fact that I was running late to take priority. I did stop long enough to get rid of the easy evidence, but that was not enough. It just eased my mind a little.

Too often, we run so fast (and so far behind) that we fail to do the right thing when the opportunity arises. We know we should deal with our little sins of saying the wrong thing or overlooking an injustice, but we are in a hurry. We assume the situation will either take care of itself or maybe disappear altogether. This is a mistake that will cost us more later.

I thought getting rid of the obvious evidence would be enough.

I thought whatever had dropped would not be enough to cause damage. As a result, I only removed the box that held the burger. As I found out later, this was not enough to prevent the smell.

When we are guilty of little sins, we usually do not recognize the huge damage they can do when left unaddressed. We simply get rid of the obvious evidence and try to move on, thinking we are clear. Unfortunately, that rarely, if ever, works.

I got used to the smell.

Maybe the fact that I had a smelly soccer player next to me helped me to forget about the onion smell. More likely, I just got used to it. I kept thinking I would deal with it later, but the longer I was around it, the less offensive the smell was to me.

Can’t you see how the same is true of sin? We slip and say or do the wrong thing. Consequences appear – like a broken relationship or cloudy conscience. At first, these consequences are very uncomfortable, but over time we find we can get used to them. This is often easier than dealing with the little sin that caused it.

Fatigue clouded my judgment.

When we got home, it was close to midnight and I was exhausted. I did not want to crawl under the seat at that point. I just wanted to go to bed! Another 12 hours won’t hurt, right?

Fatigue will do the same thing to our minds when it comes to sin as well. We simply are not thinking as clearly when we are not well rested. We tend to delay and compromise more when we are tired. We should not put ourselves into this position if we can avoid it.

I thought masking would work!

This may be the dumbest thing I did in this whole series of events. I still can’t believe it. Though my idea of using coffee grounds would eventually help, I still went out of my way to try to mask the smell rather than taking the time to address it. The crazy part was that I took longer to set up the coffee trick than it would have taken to climb under the seat!

As dumb as this sounded when you were first reading it, you have done the same thing! We have all tried to simply mask our little sins rather than addressing them. We try to spend more money on someone (without apologizing) to make up for being inconsiderate. Maybe we try to offer a customer a perk (without coming clean about our mistake) to win them over. Whatever the case, the masking is not the fix.

I am still paying the consequences.

Even with the onion finally gone, the truck still stinks. It is not nearly as bad as it was with the onion there, but it is not back to normal. While it was only there for roughly 24 hours, that was long enough.

Little sin is the same way. The longer we let it linger, the longer and more painful the consequences. Even after we finally address the issue, the consequences will likely continue for some time. We simply cannot afford to ignore even the little sins. Our awareness should initiate our immediate action.

Have you come up with lessons I may have missed?

Have you experienced something similar?

What did you learn?

Lessons All Around Us

Have you experienced this? This happens to me a lot. I can be in a conversation with someone about a funny story or something stupid I did and suddenly it hits me! Something one of us has just said strikes a chord inside of me and I get an immediate picture of a life lesson. In some cases, I file it away for later. Today, I felt the need to immediately share it!

Just this afternoon, I was in my office catching up on things with our chaplain. I described to him how I had been on my way out of town last night to watch my son’s last soccer match of the season. I had stopped for a burger and was hurrying to eat it while driving because I was running a little behind.

The Event

As I was taking a bite at a traffic light, I felt something drop onto my lap. As I looked down, I did not see anything on my pants where it hit, but I knew it had come from the burger. I figured it had fallen into that “black hole” between the seat and the center console, but I was not worried about it. I figured I would get to it later. After all, I was in a hurry and I would have had to pull over to dig down and find it.

I kept going and made it to the game with a few minutes to spare. As I got out of my truck, I knew I had better remove the box that once held the burger or else the cab of the truck would really stink later! I put all of the evidence of the burger into the box and placed it into the bed of my truck. I would throw it away after the game.

First Signs Of Trouble

After the game, I returned to my truck to find that removing the box was evidently not enough to prevent the smell. It was bad. Of course, after a few minutes in the truck, my son and I got used to the smell. So we headed home without thinking there may be more to the smell than just the bag. Once on the road (a two hour drive), we forgot about the smell.

I did not give it another thought when we arrived home just before midnight. Even if I had remembered, I am convinced I would not have crawled under the seat to investigate. As it was, I was tired and just wanted to get to bed so that is what I did.

It Still Stinks!

At this point, you are probably thinking that I making this up as I go. Unfortunately, I am not. This is all true. Fortunately, there is a huge amount of learning we can glean from my stupidity! Read on!

When I got into my truck this morning, the odor was terrible. The smell of onion was unmistakeable! So what did I do? I went back inside the house and came up with a brilliant idea.

Masking The Problem?

I remembered an old method I had learned in the past for removing odors from a used car. I put about two cups of fresh coffee grounds into a small plastic container and took it back out to the car with me. The idea is that the coffee grounds smell great AND they absorb odors.

Proud of my ingenuity, I drove to work. I parked my truck and did not return to it until lunch. I was fully expecting to open the door and feel like I was entering the local Starbucks coffee shop. Instead, I was shocked to smell coffee…AND onions! In case you are wondering, these two distinct smells do not go well together.

Final Resolution

Finally, I gave in. I realized that I would have to crawl in behind and under the driver’s seat and try to find whatever it was that had fallen in my lap the night before. It took me a minute or two, but I came out with a piece of an onion that was half the size of a penny! I could not believe something this small had caused so much damage!

Unfortunately, the truck still stinks. It will likely take a few days for all of the smell to go away. Until then, I will have to suffer through the consequences of my delay! Hopefully, I will learn from this!

Lessons Still To Come!

I apologize if you have gotten to the end of this post and you are expecting the lesson. Amazingly, I have run out of room in this post! You will have to wait until my next post to get the points I want to make.

While I am sure you already have a hint of the lesson here, I would encourage you to read back through the post and consider ALL of the points that parallel our experience with a “little sin.” Just like the game on the kids menu at your favorite restaurant, I will challenge you to see how many points you can find in this lesson!

How many points can you make about the lesson we should learn?

Why do we ever let this happen?

What is the best way to prevent it?

Outrageous Leader?

What adjective would people use in front of the word, “leader” to describe you? Are you a visionary leader? A predictable leader? A boring leader?

How about an OUTRAGEOUS leader?

My glance across the leadership front often leaves me slightly perplexed. I find myself straddling the models of old-school leadership and new-school leadership. My disarray is due in part to the intersection of my leadership experiences and a shift to a very different model.

New-School Leadership

The new model of leadership asks, “How can I help you succeed in your task?” That’s a little different than, “I hired you to do a job.” The best people on your team aren’t looking for a J-O-B. They are looking to make a difference; to do something bigger than themselves; to do something outrageous.

What it Takes to be OUTRAGEOUS

Leading your team members to use their God-created gifts to accomplish things they never thought possible requires an OUTRAGEOUS leader. This breed of leader understands a few key principles that help them standout and get noticed. All four of these come from the life of Gideon (Judges 6):

My Contribution is Critical
When God challenged Gideon to go save the Israelites from the oppression of the Midiantes and surrounding nations, all Gideon saw was what he could NOT do before ever considering what he COULD do.

OUTRAGEOUS leaders don’t hide behind limitations. They know how God has gifted them and how He hasn’t. They delegate their weaknesses and play to their strengths.

Obstacles are Opportunities
When given the challenge to deliver his nation, Gideon went straight to making excuses. This is a natural response when we are pushed outside of our Comfort Zone.

OUTRAGEOUS leaders know the area outside their Comfort Zone is called the Growth Zone. They embrace challenge as an opportunity to grow their faith and for God to do something outrageous Himself.

Fear is the Signature of Success
Any time you consider attempting the OUTRAGEOUS, fear will always show up with a Sharpie, ready to autograph your task. Gideon was covered in fear. So much so that he tested God with a magic show of sorts and a fleece.

Fear is the natural by-product of any faith-driven task. The OUTRAGEOUS leader embraces fear as part of the formula for success.

Small Plans Can Limit Big Possibilities
Gideon obeyed the Lord’s command and rallied his army, but he had 32,000 too many. God wanted to do something outrageous and knew He had to stack the cards against Gideon. He told Gideon to send them all home but 300.

The same is true for OUTRAGEOUS leaders. They realize the potential for God to do something beyond their limited ability and vision and allow Him to show off in their lives.

What About You?

Are you a candidate for an OUTRAGEOUS leader? Are you in a place where the Lord feels confident that you will allow Him to challenge you to do something beyond your ability? It’s a great experience to be a part of something bigger than we can imagine and to see God do something outrageous!

Which of these four components do you need to work on first?

What success have you had with one of these components?

Do you see your potential to be an OUTRAGEOUS leader?

Wisdom Ignored

In my last couple of posts, I have been discussing the problems that surface when someone seeks wisdom from godly counselors and then ignores or dismisses the wisdom they are given. We have all seen this happen and have likely been guilty of it ourselves at one point or another in our lives.

For various reasons, we seek out wisdom from godly advisors, but we do not take it and apply it as they prescribe. Maybe we were actually seeking someone to agree with us or to confirm our own wisdom. Maybe the wisdom offered requires more work or discomfort than we are willing to experience. There are many more reasons this could happen.

Various Problems

Regardless of the reasons, ignoring wisdom causes problems. In my first post on this subject, I showed how ignoring wisdom can lead to serious trouble for the one doing the ignoring. The next post described how godly advisors can (and should) stop offering advice to someone who repeatedly ignores it. In today’s post, we will look at how this issue affects those who are following the repeat offender.

Higher Standards

First, lets remind ourselves that as Christian business owners and leaders, we are held to a higher standard. The Bible is clear about this and we have spent a lot of time in this blog discussing this fact. We cannot allow ourselves to forget that we are not only responsible for ourselves. We are not the only ones facing the consequences of our decisions.

We are also responsible for those who work for us and with us. We are responsible for their families as well. We have responsibility for our vendors as well as our customers. Everyone with whom we come into contact is relying on us to make wise decisions in one way or another. Whether we like this or not, this is the path we have chosen.

As a result, when we run into a situation that requires us to seek wisdom from godly advisors, it is likely a decision that carries significant consequences. It is likely a decision that will affect all of those we mentioned above. If we decide to ignore the wisdom we receive for whatever reasons, then we are sentencing others to our same consequences. We are taking them with us!

What Does Scripture Say?

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about this…

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
– Proverbs 13:14

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
– Proverbs 10:17

Leading Others Astray

Here you see that when we ignore the teaching of the wise, not only are we headed toward the snares of death, but we are also leading others to that fate as well. These are people that have trusted us to lead them. When we ignore the wisdom in front of us and choose our own path, we take them with us to face the consequences!

Even if we are okay with our own personal consequences of ignoring wisdom, we cannot allow others to be led astray as a result. Either we need to step down from our position of leadership or we need to step up to the responsibilities that come with it!

Pray For Clarity

I would encourage you to pray (as I will) that God would reveal to you situations where you ignored wisdom offered. Pray that He will make those situations clear to you and show you how to avoid them in the future. Pray for Him to give you wisdom, along with discernment to see it in others. Pray for the humility necessary to accept wisdom from others the next time you ask for it.

Have you witnessed disastrous results for those following one ignoring wisdom?

Do you accept the responsibility for leading others according to godly wisdom?

How do you maintain the humility needed to remain open to wisdom offered?

Wisdom Not Common

I don’t know about you, but I do not see an oversupply of wise counselors hanging from trees. Maybe the world’s wisdom is plentiful, but finding a mentor or someone that has godly wisdom to offer us in times of struggle is difficult. In fact, that is one of the reasons I have enjoyed C12 as much as I have…for the multiple sources of godly business owners and leaders that are willing to share without hesitation!

The problem that is often overlooked when we choose to ignore the wisdom offered to us is that we may soon find the well dry when we really need it. If we keep coming and asking for advice without truly intending to accept and apply it, then we are likely to find it is not readily available when we decide we are ready to listen.

Various Reasons

Think about it. The people that are offering us their God-given wisdom are doing so for a couple of reasons. First, it is likely that someone else gave them godly wisdom when they needed it most. They give now because someone gave it to them.

Maybe they are motivated by Scripture that says “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)” They realize that giving wisdom out when asked will result in them gaining even more wisdom!

Frustration Comes

Regardless of the motivation of the giver, eventually they will tire of giving advice to someone who clearly does not intend to follow it. At some point, they will quit dispensing wisdom to this person and move on to more productive uses of their time. They will finally give in to the frustration. Frankly, we really cannot blame them, can we? (One exception to this rule may be parents of teenagers! We can’t quit!)

So, what are we to do?

My Advice

If you are one that is seeking wisdom and advice, but not listening to it for one reason or another…take this as a warning! Pray for God to reveal to you your motivations and the intent of your heart. Pray for Him to show you where you are closed-minded and to help you open your ears to hear. Do this with a sincere heart!

If, on the other hand, you are in a position of offering wisdom to someone that refuses to listen, I think you need to have a heart-to-heart with this person. Share with them what you are seeing and ask them to consider whether your perspective is accurate.

Do not make this a confrontation. There is no need to let it get ugly. Simply state your position and ask for their consideration. Once you have done this, expect the best. Plan for a new relationship and an open mind on their part.

Advice From Scripture

If you get a stone wall, then don’t fret. Simply walk away knowing you have done your part. Take a look at the following verses and see if maybe they speak to this situation:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feetwhen you leave that house or town.
– Matthew 10:14

Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.
– Matthew 7:6

Do you fall into either group?

Do you think my advice in your case is worth following?

What would you add to this discussion?