God Could Be Holding Back Bigger Opportunities In Your Business Because of This…
Updated: Dec 27, 2020
It’s been hard for me to come face to face with my lack of integrity. A business friend of mine first pointed it out back in 2014 and I became defensive and started justifying all my actions. Then again in 2018 another close business acquaintance brought it up, and again, I became defensive.
But then my business partner pointed it out, and I couldn’t keep running from it – I was living and running my businesses with areas where I lacked integrity.
And now I’m learning everything the bible has to say about it, it’s problems, and how to fix it, and it’s been the most difficult series to write. I’ve been replaying in my mind all the times I’ve fallen short, all the opportunities I had to show integrity in my business dealings and didn’t, and all the moral failures in my personal life.
I hope you’re not surprised…but my list is long. I’m ashamed to admit it, but if I don’t confess this, I know I’ll never change.
Renowned theologian Saint Augustine said that the confession of bad works is the beginning of good works.
We entrepreneurs all have a hard time facing integrity. It could be a self-defense mechanism, pride, or simple ignorance of the subject. We all segment our personal and business lives and figure that this little sin we’re harboring over here won’t affect that other area over there.
But this is a myth we’ve made up in our minds!
When it comes to our whole life, a hole in any area can eventually sink everything. The little “situation” we thought we had under control in our business will eventually take us down.
A lack of integrity in any one area of our business or personal life will affect the people around us because the enemy WANTS our sin to be public so we could tarnish our God-First business testimony.
Additionally, if we don’t come clean with the issue of integrity, little issues become bigger issues in time, and God could be holding back bigger opportunities that we’re simply not ready to face yet because He knows we can’t handle it yet.
But God has had a redemptive plan since before we were born. He knew sin was in us, and he created a way out of it!
The Bible in 1 John 1:9 says:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 KJV)
If you are serious about becoming a businessman or woman of integrity in your marketplace, the first step is to admit that you haven’t had integrity.
You don’t always keep your promises, even to yourself
You gossip about terrible clients, bad employees, or annoying competitors (and you like it)
You slack off sometimes when the business needs you most
You pretend to be someone you’re not
Should I continue?
But here’s the good news! Just admit it all to God!
None of us Christian entrepreneurs are perfect, but God didn’t expect us to be perfect!
God does, however, expect us to have a pure heart, and the starting point of purifying our hearts is to own up to our sins — no matter how long our lists are.
God is more interested in our hearts the marketplace than the sins in our business. We’re never going to be perfect entrepreneurs. We’re never going to be sinless, but we can sin less.
That’s how choosing to have integrity looks like.