Friendship That Brightens

Proverbs 27:17 (MSG) You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.

• (CEV)  Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.


• (DARBY and KJV) Iron is sharpened by iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.


• Proverbs 27:19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.


• Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.


• Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.


• Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father.

The celebrations of the Christmas season revolve around family and friends. Family you are born with:  friends you choose.  What then is this thing we call friendship? One pundit says that "friends are people who see through you and still like the view." A lot to be said for that point of view. Aristotle suggested that a friend was "A single soul in two bodies." Emerson commented, "A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud."

A very old rendering of this verse gives us an insight into the complex meaning of the Hebrew:  "as iron delights in iron, so a man rejoices the countenance of his friend." The various translations above demonstrate the richness of meaning in this simple verse.

The "sharpening" is a stimulating activity and there is meaning that is beyond simply helping a friend "think through" something:  there is this idea that a friend can "read" the body language and get right to the real issues - the heart issues - Real issues between real friends.

The sharpening of the mind suggests the concept of conversation as a way of not only building exemplary thought, but also "lightening the load" or the changing of the countenance of a friend. There is in this idiomatic Hebrew language the picture of a file achieving its purpose by making the piece of metal being filed bright as a result of the filing. The brightness will not be revealed until the file is applied, the sharpening begins and the sparks cleanse the metal. Friends are like that. Or they should be. But, there is even more here in this word picture.

This verse is not about superficiality. It is about "depth" as vs. 19 makes clear (see above). The countenance of a friend can be bright because the conversation has penetrated the heart of the other. Conversation promotes “intelligence” that the face exhibits. Real issues are discussed. The underlying question is: What's really going on in your heart?

Some of us are great at wearing masks: some not. The friend spoken of here removes the mask and helps his/her friend deal with the heart issue. This can happen because from a friend like this, no matter what is revealed behind the mask, a "friend loves at all times" (Pr 17:17). Friends work to sharpen the dull thinking, sharpen the lens used to look at the world, and, for Believers, sharpen ones understanding of the faithfulness of God.

Contrast the supposed friends of  Job who, wrapped in their conceit and did not look to God for answers for Job, but pontificated out of their ignorance and arrogance. As Christians,  we want to be friends who are first in tune with the Spirit so that we might provide just the right touch to the sharpening effects of our file. File marks leave patterns- and our patterns must be a balance mixture of grace and truth. That’s what Jesus called us to, and so, in confidence, in love, and in tune with the Spirit, each can offer the other advice the goes beyond solving a business problem, a personal problem, a living problem. We can offer advice that sometimes goes behind the problem and directly to the heart. That's what friends are for – speaking directly to the heart.

Do you have friends like this you can count on? Maybe a better question is: Are you a friend that will “brighten” your friends with the balanced mix of grace and truth?

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Got a Light?

Proverbs 20: 5, 27 (AMP) 5Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.   27The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.

In John Kotter's 1990 article What Leaders Really Do he observed that:  "Well-led businesses tend to recognize and reward people who successfully develop leaders." I would posit that developing leaders is not the result of "proud hearts" and "haughty eyes" (the NIV rendering of the first phrase). Developing and nurturing others to lead takes, at least, an attitude that they can have something to offer, too. The burning question is, "Why would anyone want to be led by you?" That question and "What business are you really in?” have fueled the longest, deepest and hardest discussions in my consulting career.

In fact, I discovered that Goffee and Jones had asked this very question in a ten-year study and the results published in the Sept-Oct 2000 HBR, Why Should Anyone Be Lead by You?. They discovered four "unexpected" traits of "inspirational" leaders and the first is that these kinds of leaders "reveal their weaknesses." Proud people would shun away from that kind of leading. Their only "light" for their path is themselves. No one else can do it better, think in through better or explain it better. It is all about them. As Coffee and Jones point out, people who try to communicate that "there will be no need for anyone to help them with anything...signal that they can do it themselves." That is not leading: preening, maybe. Leading no! Vision is needed. Sense of command is important. Passion. Strategic thinking vital. But as important as these traits are to leaders, they will fail to lead if they try to from a position of pride.

Moses led millions. He learned to better manage the process by his father-in-law who immediately saw a managerial flaw early in Moses' career as the leader. Moses listened, set up the system to manage the process. And Numbers 12:3 reminds us that "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." Leading from a position of humility works.

Christians should have a natural advantage as business leaders. After all, we have "put off the old" haven't we and now have "the mind of Christ" who is to be ruling in our lives, right? But humility is hard work - and for the driven and successful, very hard work. We are so used to solving problems on the fly, driving action, dynamic presentations, and on top of things, that it is very easy to forget that we are stewards of those gifts of leadership, and we are called to manage ALL that God has given us for His glory. Our flesh is not about humility, rather about what "lights us up!" And God calls this sin.

Lamps whose light source is self, is a dead light. It's a lamp that lights the path to destruction. On the other hand, we are told to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

It's all about His light. Not ours. Are you shining? Is it your feeble light or His strong light?

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Impact of Leadership: Positive or Negative?

Proverbs 19:12 (NLT) The king's anger is like a lion's roar, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

Powerful CEOs expand the influence and authority of those around them by being careful of their personal impact on not only their senior staff, but also team as a whole. Any CEO, however, must be aware of the impact of his demeanor on those around him/her. In fact research has borne out the truth behind the verse above.

Work done by Porter, Lorsch and Nohria, reported in the October 2004 HBR found that seven surprises await the new CEO and Surprise Four is "You Are Always Sending A Message." A leader's anger may not be voiced particularly loudly, but it is heard like a "lion's roar." The leader's favor may be small, but it is experienced like "fresh dew on the grass." Everything is magnified.

I remember one CEO who would wear slacks with one of his Cutter Buck golf shirts to work the first week to see what his staff did. The second week, he would dress to the nines. The third week was usually sweater week - all this for the purpose of gauging impact on the staff. Would his staff wear what they thought appropriate? Would they immediately conform? Would they rebel? (This was the Silicon Valley days when dress codes really became varied).

One senior pastor of a mega church commented to me that he had to choose the type of car he drove very carefully because of the congregation's expectations. He refused to drive a Mercedes Benz, even though one of his members basically "gave" him the car to drive. He felt uncomfortable in his Lexus.

The leader, often subject to misinterpretation, must be aware of the complexities of how different groups within the organization will interpret the same facial expression. The same "news" from the lips of the CEO, perceived differently than from another staff member. The same strategy may be understood differently - and the larger the organization, often the greater degree of confusing signals. The presidential debates suffer from these phenomena also, where the President remains the President and sometimes cannot answer the way he would wish because of things he knows, talks he is having with foreign leaders and the signals he would send.

What’s the answer to the magnifying of the leaders words, facial expressions and actions? The research suggests striving for consistency in the message: a simple clear message. Repeating the message and illustrating with memorable stories. Sounds like our Lord Jesus who told stories to illustrate his message Do you have a process to stay on message; to hone the message; and, keep to a disciplined walk with the Lord? Each will help you be consistent in the non-verbal messages - those messages that reflect your internal "peace."  Knowing that a CEO's behavior is magnified beyond it original intended purpose takes Wisdom and the internationality to be Spirit-directed in all workplace interactions.

Easier said than done. I know. Even as a young manager, I caused myself many problems because I was not aware of the impact I was having in a small group. I did not operate from a base of humility (where I looked for other's needs before my own.) CEOs have a far, far greater responsibility and the solution begins with the humility to recognize the same Lord that allowed everyone to hear Peter's preaching at Pentecost in their own language must govern the impact CEO's might have on staff and the team. Since God can do that, He certainly can manage our interactions with people  - if we allow Him.

We are called to be "fresh dew" on the lives we impact. Nourishment to the thirsty. Hope for the hopeless. We cannot do that if we are roaring.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

The Eight Ps of Planning

Proverbs 16:9,25,33 (NLT)     9 We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.   25 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.  33 We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.

• Psalm 37:23 (NIV) If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm...


• Jer. 10:23( NIV) I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps

It was D.D. Eisenhower who said:  “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”  Planning. Indispensable. Sometimes, even after all the careful plans, one "throws the dice" to determine a decision since one course of action cannot be weighed effectively against another--the correct one cannot be determined. Mintzberg & Quinn have observed that the planning process plays a key role in strategy formation and a well-structured process will provide a framework for change management. Good planning is vital to an organization's health and growth.

One quote from their work strikes me as important in the context of the verses above:  "Strategy deals with the unknowable, not the uncertain." Business leaders work hard at looking at patterns, factors, trends, research, known and unknown needs - elements, among others that go into plans; but they do not know the future. God does. When success comes from great strategy formulation AND implementation, man often takes the credit - robbing God of his Holiness.

Self-propelled plans produce death. If it is about me or us (as a firm) and not about God, it is worth nothing. Eternity matters, now. Even with planning, nothing happens anywhere without God's involvement - either as a sovereign directed authority of sovereign permission, His sovereignty is so majestic that we don't understand how our freedom, even to commit sin, can be used by Him for His glory. Although He does not author sin, His purposes are so powerful that He allows man's rebellion to achieve His eternal paradigm.

The Christian business leader should use good planning and management techniques to control the business: but s/he does this with the absolute certainty that the LORD determines the outcome. Because God does that, this in no way excuses people from planning, thinking, strategizing. In fact, His Word has much to say about that strength of counselors when formulating plans. A new way of thinking might include this formula:  Plan. Pray. Practice. Perform. Pray. Ponder (what is God saying is this performance about Himself and about my role in His kingdom?) Pray. Perform. (The 8 Ps of Planning). There is a constant here: our Creator cares; His care continually calms our concerns when we practice prayer.

It is Jeremiah's assertion that strikes me as a life-changing realization. His life was by no means, from the Worlds' point of view, enviable. But he understood what God called him to do - and he did it, sometimes kicking and screaming, but always with the resolute understanding that God is sovereign and loving and caring and Holy.

Believers rest in the promise in Psalm 37 - we must first think about what we do as "Lord-delighting-plans" - and then marshal our people to plan - developing the discipline for our managers to look ahead and to be intentional about communicating goal progress, resource allocation and the impact of short-term plans on the vision and mission (the strategy) of the organization, remembering that strategy begins in the heart.

Planning is good. Praying is essential.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Sticks and Stones May Break the Bones, but Words Can Destory.

Proverbs 15:23 (NLT) Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!

• Proverbs 12:14a (NIV) A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,

• Proverbs 24:14 (NIV) A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

• See also Proverbs 16:21,23-24

The tongue is a dangerous muscle. Powerful. Words do hurt. Godly leaders are called to offer a distinction to the world by their words. Words that encourage and do not destroy. Insightful words. Communication that motivates and inspires followers. Words that correct without demeaning the hearer. Words appropriate to the occasion.

Saying the right thing at the right time is scripted in movies, but it is not in real life. The witting rejoinder, the pithy comment, the quick insight seem to travel so swiftly off the tongue of actors, that viewers are sometimes wishing they could be that quick. It is not real, for the Evil One even counterfeits God's way of appropriate speech - of attractive communication. Sure, non-Believers can, at times, exhibit gracious speech: but the truth emerges when life gets ugly.

How does a fitting reply, words aptly spoken become part and parcel of a Believers speech? I'm not thinking here of the witty rejoinder that flows out of a personality type. I'm thinking here about words that bear fruit. Good fruit.

Both Nehemiah and Joshua are examples of "apt" speech in trying situations. Nehemiah before the king; Joshua before the people he is now leading. In both stories, prayer preceded their proclamations. And interestingly enough, both were "afraid." But it was their relationship with God that made the difference. They communicated to Him first and then they were better able to communicate to the king (Nehemiah) and the people (Joshua). Nehemiah's words to those at Jerusalem were filled with the leader's language of intrinsic motivation. He chooses words that touched the heart that rang of truth and that were painted with the brush of authenticity.

Observation certainly supports the theory that extrinsic motivation (most generally the If...Then approach) does produce results; but that motivation proves to be prone to pandering to the flesh. Think about it:  the first source (The Evil One used this approach with Eve) in Scripture demonstrates both the power and the potential destructive nature of extrinsic motivation. There are times it must be used – but do so wisely.

Christian leaders must be different in this area of speaking to others - so different that the world would notice. Christian employees and employers must bring their heart to the workplace - a heart that is cleansed by the Holy Spirit:  a heart given over to God. The result will be "apt words" for the fruit of the Spirit would be borne in our speech.

In Ecclesiastes 10:12 Solomon observed, "Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips." Graduate school can well prepare the mind for leadership:  it is only God who can prepare the heart. We are warned that out of the mouth comes what the heart intends. Leadership is a heart thing. It begins there. It lives there. It ends there.

Christian business people, who make a difference in the marketplace, have dealt with the issues of the heart. Have you?


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Seeking Love in All the Right Places

Proverbs 8:17 (MSG) I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. [18Wealth and Glory accompany me--also substantial Honor and a Good Name. 19My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.]

• (NIV) 17 I love everyone who loves me, and I will be found by all who honestly search


• Psalm 40:4 (NIV) Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.


• Psalm 40:16 (NIV) But may all who seek you [God] rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"


• Psalm 37:30-31 (NLV) The mouth of the man who is right with God speaks wisdom. And his tongue speaks what is fair and right. The Law of his God is in his heart. His steps do not leave it.

Although Wisdom is speaking, our eternal destiny begins in the heart, not the head. Driven from the beginning, not by us, but by God's love for us.

And we, we are to love, to seek.  The consequence will be that we will find in God Himself true love. Verses 18 and 19 are consequences of this verse - and not a goal.

Love is used twice in this verse and what I found interesting is that in the Latin and Greek translations of this passage, the first love is rendered as "agapao" love and the second as "phileo" love. The word "love" in Hebrew is the same word but in different voices. The first love is in the voice that drives the future - that love is on-going - in the hear-and-now and forever. The second "love," written as a participle, might be translated "lovely" and describes how we might look at God - thus the rendering of the Latin and Greek translations. God's love for us is without height, depth, or width - it is all encompassing.

All he wants from us is a love that drives action - not an observational love (I love sunsets when I happen to see them); it is a love that includes the willingness to always look for sunsets, putting myself in a position to see them and to manage my time to be available for them. It includes sacrifice of inconvenience (its foggy where I am so I'll drive to where it is just to see the sunset! - as an exaggerated metaphor). Psalm 40 cements this idea of obedience and trust. We who love the Lord do not look to the world (false gods) for our guidance.

This meaning of love is reinforced with the word "seek" -- a constant process of learning, study and prayer. It's not a casual glance at Scripture nor is it a quick prayer. It not the "seek" of hide-and-go-seek, where a well-hidden child could cause the other players to give up and play another game. This is the "seek" of an adventurer, a pioneer, an archeologist. It is seeking that results not in the seeker being praised but by the LORD being exalted. The more I learn and pray the greater the Wisdom - for it is found only in God.

When God is really found, everybody around you will know exactly what it is you have found - see Psalm 37. God will be exalted in our lives and our businesses. What we say (speaking Wisdom) and how we do what we do (law of God in heart) will reflect God in us - and not us.

Who do I (you) love? What am I (are you) seeking?


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

What Seduces You?

Proverbs 7: 1-4 (NLT) Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey them and live! Guard my teachings as your most precious possession. [as the apple of your eye.]  Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

• * Luke 10:27 (NIV) 27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[a] ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b]"    [a. Deut. 6:5   b. Lev. 19:18]


• John 14: 15, 21, 23 (NIV) 15 - If you love me, you will obey what I command; 21 -Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him  23- Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.


• Rom 6:16 (MSG) You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do.

Obey me; the father admonishes the son (the metaphor used in this book). And what follows in this Chapter 7 rings the clarion call to live a life of sexual purity for the hormone-driven young son. Important? Yes. Vital? Yes.  Is there more to it than just some esoteric guideline from God? Is this only some rigid rule to run your live? Yes.

The guidelines are not to be diminished but I'm seeing them in a greater context. There are other things that seduce any human, but especially the businessperson. In fact, anything that turns us from worshiping God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind falls into this category.

The list that is equivalent to a seductive woman is long. Troubling. The seduction of the small adjustment in Quarterly bookings. The seduction of the labels given to goods when Inventory Tax time arrives. The seduction of the "mutual back-scratch" that skirts the intent of accounting rules. The drug of power. The lure of prestige. There are many things each of us clings to that become the "seduction of the other." I know how I think and my prayer is: Search me Lord - expose those hidden areas that seduce me that I don't even consciously think about.

I am convicted of not living my life so that I have guarded God's Word as my "most precious possession." What this chapter is really pointing out is that "[t]hose that blame strict and careful walking as needless and too precise," fail to "consider...that the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye; indeed the law in the heart is the eye of the soul." Matthew Henry

The "seduction of the other" is always painted by the Evil One as a path to freedom- the freedom to think, to be, to run our own lives. Very much the opposite of freedom - very certainly slavery.

Lord, I want a heart that is soft toward You and Your Word: a heart that makes friendship with you a priority for living - a friendship that reflects communication that is deep, meaningful and is reflected in how I think and behave.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Leadership Shouldn't be Lonely

Proverbs 6: 23 (MSG) For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, and moral discipline is a life path.

• Psalm 19:8 (NIV) The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.


• Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.


• 2 Peter 1: 19 (NIV) And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Management is tasked with leading. Leaders light the path – let’s assume for this essay that leaders lead - not direct. They are "out front." The advice leaders give should be a beacon ahead - giving focus to the purpose of the organization and a reason to be on the path.  

This chapter in Proverbs is on living skills and in the section on warnings about sexual morality comes this gem about the qualities of a leader who provides sound advice, good teaching and moral discipline.  Christian leaders in management are really in the lighting business. Their model leader, Jesus Christ, is the “light of the world” and believers are called to be a light. However, sometimes, a leader's eyes get adjusted the amount of light around them so that it takes someone else to point out how dark it has become.

To keep from becoming complacent with the ambient “light,” three questions should be answered on a fairly regular basis:  Where are you getting your "sound advice?" Who is teaching you? Who is holding you accountable? The answers to those questions will help mark the complex path leaders must light for others to follow. Life is not simple, neither is leading. Complexities arise fraught with gray areas. Discerning truth and righteousness demands of leaders something beyond their natural skills. Business is in constant flux. Capital gets depleted. Priorities change. Boards demand progress. Individual contributors are often driven by self-centered motives painted in the texture and hue of team effort. No person is truly altruistic. Because managing is often lived out in the gray areas, or in ethnical dilemmas that are not easily parsed, it is imperative for Believers to have around them people who have a foundation in truth and light.

For some organizations, that advice can come for a Board. For most organizations, it must come from a group outside the Board.  John Donne reminds us that "no man is an island" and yet many in management, claiming it is lonely at the top, do not actively seek out interconnections that would help them be a consistent beacon. Moral Discipline is the backbone of an intentional process to make the Sunday stuff work on Monday. Its about both being and doing. Congruent. Being accountable for life path stuff.

Have you found a group who are bound together with a love for the Lord and a love for his people we are being called to serve the marketplace? There is strength that comes with varying business experience in a group committed to helping each other grow in the faith, and grow a profitable business.

Being known as a Christian business leader should have an impact on the lives around you. Impact is needed for the world of business today seems to value a paradigm of self-centeredness and greed. Prestige and power drive many in an organization.  Tolerance for sincerity of belief - even for beliefs that will destroy-is the dominant paradigm. Standing for God's truth is not about tolerance. It is about being a light. Light has a way of reveling. Christian leaders must distinguish right from wrong even in the face of what might be “legal” but not righteous in God’s eyes. Being aware of the ramifications of those little decisions about inventory, booking orders, managing staff that will have an eternal impact.

Society is focused on correctness, not truth. Standing for truth does not have to be lonely. You plus God make a great team. You, God and God's people are a cord of three that is not easily broken. Got your cord?

Copyright (c) 2004 by P. Griffith Lindell     

It's a Journey - Step by Step

Proverbs 5:21 (MSG) Mark well that GOD doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take.

Proverbs 5 is about living a blameless life -the focus being on sexual purity. Important topic. Tough stuff; however, in all the admonitions of this chapter, it was Verse 21 that got me thinking this morning, especially since I was also reading in Mark10: 17 -29 about the Rich Young Man (who Jesus "loved") and was told to sell all and follow Him.

This Proverbs chapter also made me thinks of King David (When I read Chapter 5, I thought of me, too; but I also thought of David) who was a man after God's own heart because he loved Him wholeheartedly. And even when he fell, he returned "wholeheartedly" because he understood, better than I often, that everything must take second place to God so that He can put into proper order family, fields (business) and feelings  (heart) [my loose transliteration of the Mark passage]. So, when I am having issues in any of those areas, it's more about the "steps" that I am taking that would focus me on my stuff instead of Him.

And all this reminds me of what Richard Kriegbaum said in his book Leadership Prayers in the section on Integrity he points out that we are not business leaders every moment  (every step), but we are ourselves every moment. Imagine that. Every moment counts. And our lives are a much stronger message than our words. Integrity – being whole – means that we must be ourselves in all situations and God has called us to be holy – set apart for righteousness. Can’t do that on my own. It takes two. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit. Are you allowing the Spirit to work in you and for you? It does mean giving up what you want to and letting Him shape you into His image – one step at a time.

“Lord Jesus, may my life be reflective of the family you have adopted me into; I don't want to live it like a stepchild; I belong to your family and I don't want to make you ashamed to call me your brother.”

Hebrews 2: 11 "Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters."


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Relax. Take It Easy. Really?

Proverbs 1: 33 MSG  "First pay attention to me, and then relax. Now you can take it easy--you're in good hands

• Isaiah 32:17 (NIV) The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.


• Luke 8:15 (NIV) But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.


• Phil 4:6-7 (NLT) Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

So, you want to relax? Do a Goggle search on "relax" and your eyes will be opened to all the possibilities for learning how to relax. There's music. Quieting videos. Unique DVDs. Special cassettes. Spectacular CDs. You name it. Someone will sell you something to help you relax. Amazing the number of Internet sites devoted to just the concept of relaxing.

Chapter one of Proverbs says there is a simple method that will provide what you need to learn to relax. Doing life right. Right living - you know, be righteous. Practice righteousness. And this is something that you plant, nurture, grow and it produces fruit. And how is this done? Wisdom says (that is who is speaking in verse 33) listen to her. And this hearing demands of us the discipline to read and meditate on the words of Wisdom. Practicing righteousness is not a mystery - it is a discipline of being absorbed with God - hearing the Word, retaining it and preserving. The result. Living a relaxed life.

Being God-absorbed - seems like it should be very simple, doesn't it? But notice the beginning of that verse: "first pay attention to me..." It should not be, but that is the hard part. Just how do we listen to God? It certainly is not the way we normally "listen" to someone next to us, speaking. It is more like "hearing the voice" of a parent, or a close mentor, when you say something or are about to do something. But it's not just that, either. It is a process of reading, meditating, praying and being aware that God does speak to us in our thoughts, in images He brings to our mind, and in verses of scripture that suddenly arise in our thinking. Listening. It is a type of listening that becomes a conversation with God. A communication that is better experienced then described. The result is not more money, more power, and more prestige. It is relaxation. Taking it easy. Resting in the good hands that only God - not Allstate - provides.

The key as I see it is to (as Paul says) "live in Christ Jesus." The "absorbed with God" decision.  So absorbed that no matter if wars rage, if the economy falls flat, if sickness ravages the family or me, if the business falls apart, I can relax. I can live without anxiety. Easy words to write. Much harder to do. And the reason? I think it so much easier to be self-absorbed. It's my nature. I suspect that it might be yours, too.

Self-absorbed equals anxiety. God-absorbed equals relaxation. The choice should be clear.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

What's Your Hope Built On?

Proverbs 30:5-6 (NLV) Every word of God has been proven true. He is a safe-covering to those who trust in Him. Do not add to His words, or He will speak strong words to you and prove you to be a liar.

• (DARBY) "Every word of God is pure..."


• Psalm 12:6 (NIV) And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times


• Psalm 119:140 (NIV) Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.


• Romans 15:4 (MSG) Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it's written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next.


• 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT) Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. Be gentle as you speak and show respect.

Biblical hope is not based on some outlandish wish or desire for something that has no basis in reality. Recently, in our nation, there is a group "hoping" that the course of nature will "somehow" be overturned so that a person might continue to live. Others are hoping that this path (living without food or water) will take it course and she will die. This is not the kind of hope spoken of in these verses.

We hope in the reality of the Word of God. That it is true. Protected by Him. Pure in its original autographs. Its promises fulfilled.

We hope in what we know can be, has been, and will be. What God has said is "pure" - i.e. full of integrity - whole and complete and proven true. Something that is pure needs nothing added to it: in fact, whatever is added renders it to be no long pure.

Because His Word can be relied upon, I can have hope and expectation that He will come again. Those Jews, who trusted the Word, recognized the Messiah as the fulfiller of their Hope. And He, today, fulfills our hope. We can have faith in what is unseen because what has been proves that His word always yields what was predicted. It is truth, even if it is yet not seen. Many today, however, want to shape His Word and Him according to their image and hopes. They want a God to fulfill their needs, not His glory. If we are going to offer authentic hope to a dying world, it must be based upon God who does not change - who is love, justice and righteousness. Hope that because His Son who suffered for us, He understands our pain. Like Him, we can be alive with hope that is being purified in the furnace of life.

Ahhh...there's the rub. Our culture demands "tolerance" for behaviors that God called sin,. Tolerance for life-styles that do not please Him. Tolerance for visual stimulation in music videos and movies that only appeal to our prurient natures. Tolerance to accept many ways to God when our hope is in one-way, one truth and one life. To be really Christ-like in this environment takes both faith and hope.


Our hope is not only in His return again, but also in His promise that in our daily living, He is our shield - our protector. He is our hope for a reason: we must not only live in hope - our life must also reflect that hope within us.

Our hope has meaning. So should our lives. Does your life offer hope?

"Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure." I John 3:3


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell

Being Thankful for Who, not what.

• Proverbs 24:17-18  (NASB) Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

There is in business an interesting metaphor about competition. One of the prevailing views vibrates with military images - the competition is somehow the enemy. Jim Collins discovered that Nike's values at one time included "crushing" the enemy - the competition. Sure does not line up with Biblical principles. Some have even asked if a committed Believer can be a good marketing person. There is this paradigm that all business people are about winning no matter what or who is crushed in the process. Might be true for some but it certainly is not true for all.

Marketing is not about crushing the competition:  it is about differentiation:  about distinguishing your offering and its compelling benefits to the user. No crushing needed. Targeted messages produce positive results. Good business is what's called for.

This verse has it genesis in Exodus 22:21 "If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him." I don't know about you, but for me that is rather jarring and hard to fathom. Solomon also directed in Pr 25: 21 and the Apostle Paul reiterated: "If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals on their heads, and the LORD will reward you."  

Now the Apostle had enemies. The early Christians misunderstood him after his conversion (after all, he was about the killing of followers of Christ!). The Jewish leadership lied about him; he shook up the ruling classes.

Unlike me, and probably you, enemies surrounded him and he spent much of his ministry in prison, leading his jailors to the Lord, writing praise letters (Philippians) and generally being content in his captivity. How could he do this? He practiced Jesus' teaching in the Beatitudes (Matt 5:44) "But I tell you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Paul got it. We are called to be different.

It was Paul who told us when to rejoice: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" This attitude about rejoicing did not begin with Paul. Hab 3:17-18 (MSG) Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, though the sheep pens are sheep-less and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful praise to GOD. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God". That verse sets a standard. It's not about rejoicing in circumstances: it is always about God - he alone is worthy of our trust.

It was Job that observed that the "mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment." (Job 20:5) Our joy comes not from what happens, but our relationship with the Lord. Our joy comes from doing business to build the Kingdom and to please God - especially in how we treat the competition. The ethical issues, which grow from hearts that treat competitors as war-like enemies, would dissolve. This is the story of Thanksgiving.

A Christian business leader handles ill-gotten competitive information differently. We are not to rejoice in the receipt of information we should not possess (see Ex 22), but rejoice in the Lord who rewards the faithful and return what is not ours.

Are you solely rejoicing in Him? No matter the circumstances? Be thankful for Him.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

This Little Light of Mine

• Proverbs 21:4 NLV Eyes lifted high and a proud heart is sin and is the lamp of the sinful.      

The lamp theme that we explored in Proverbs 20:27 is contrasted here in today's verse. It's the natural inverse of the Heavenly lamps that sheds light on our conscience: this lamp is the lack of humility and darkness of pride that is only focused on preening pride.

In John Kotter's 1990 article What Leaders Really Do he observed that:  "Well-led businesses tend to recognize and reward people who successfully develop leaders." I would posit that developing leaders is not the result of "proud hearts" and "haughty eyes" (the NIV rendering of the first phrase). Developing and nurturing others to lead takes, at least, an attitude that they can have something to offer, too.

The burning question is, "Why would anyone want to be led by you?" That question and "What business are you really in? have fueled the longest, deepest and hardest discussions in my consulting career.

In fact, I discovered that Goffee and Jones had asked this very question in a ten-year study and the results published in the Sept-Oct 2000 HBR,
“Why Should Anyone Be Lead by You?” They discovered four "unexpected" traits of "inspirational" leaders and the first is that these kinds of leaders "reveal their weaknesses." Proud people would shun away from that kind of leading. Their only "light" for their path is themselves. No one else can do it better, think in through better or explain it better. It is all about them. As Coffee and Jones point out, people who try to communicate that "there will be no need for anyone to help them with anything.... signal that they can do it themselves." That is not leading: preening, maybe. Leading no! Vision is needed. Sense of command is important. Passion. Strategic thinking vital. But as important as these traits are to leaders, they will fail to lead if they try to from a position of pride.

No matter where we are and no matter what we do, we lead. As parents, as team members, as friends, each offers an opportunity to lead. Leading -or just plain living - can best be accomplished with a light that clearly illuminates the path. Those who choose self are limited in their light. Those who chose God, as revealed in Christ, have the "light of the world." A light that shines so brightly that man, in his natural state cannot look at it. This light attracts. This light divides. This light, when shining through us, illuminates all you fall under its beams.

What is your light source?


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

To Plan or to Pray?

• Proverbs 16:9,25,33 (NLT) We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. [25] There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. [33] We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.

• Psalm 37:23 (NIV) If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm...


• Jer. 10:23(NIV) I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps

Planning is important. Sometimes, even after all the careful plans, one "throws the dice" to determine a decision since one course of action cannot be weighed effectively against another--the correct one cannot be determined. Mintzberg & Quinn have observed that the planning process plays a key role in strategy formation and a well-structured process will provide a framework for change management. Good planning is vital to an organization's health and growth.

One quote from their work strikes me as important in the context of the verses above:  "Strategy deals with the unknowable, not the uncertain." Business leaders work hard at looking at patterns, factors, trends, research, known and unknown needs - elements, among others that go into plans; but they do not know the future. God does. When success comes from great strategy formulation AND implementation, man often takes the credit - robbing God of his Holiness.

Self-propelled plans produce death. If it is about me or us (as a firm) and not about God, it is worth nothing. Eternity matters, now. Even with planning, nothing happens anywhere without God's involvement - either as a sovereign directed authority of sovereign permission, His sovereignty is so majestic that we don't understand how our freedom, even to commit sin, can be used by Him for His glory. Although He does not author sin, His purposes are so powerful that He allows man's rebellion to achieve His eternal paradigm.

The Christian business leader should use good planning and management techniques to control the business: but s/he does this with the absolute certainty that the LORD determines the outcome. Because God does that, this in no way excuses people from planning, thinking, strategizing. In fact, His Word has much to say about that strength of counselors when formulating plans. The formula is this:  Plan. Pray. Practice Perform. Pray. Ponder (what is God saying is this performance about Himself and about my role in His kingdom?) Pray. Perform. There is a constant here: our Creator cares and His care calms our concerns when we practice prayer.

It is Jeremiah's assertion that strikes me as a life-changing realization. His life was by no means, from the Worlds' point of view, enviable. But he understood what God called him to do - and he did it, sometimes kicking and screaming, but always with the resolute understanding that God is sovereign and loving and caring and Holy.

Believers rest in the promise in Psalm 37 - we must first think about what we do as "Lord-delighting-plans" - and then marshal our people to plan - developing the discipline for our managers to look ahead and to be intentional about communicating goal progress, resource allocation and the impact of short-term plans on the vision and mission (the strategy) of the organization, remembering that strategy begins in the heart.

Planning is good. Praying is essential.


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

The Heart and the Tongue

The Heart and the Tongue.

• Proverbs 15:23 (NLT) Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!

• Proverbs 12:14a (NIV) A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words…

• Proverbs 24:14 (NIV) A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

• See also Proverbs 16:21,23-24

The tongue is a dangerous muscle. Powerful. Words DO hurt. Godly leaders are called to offer a distinction to the world by their words. Words that encourage and do not destroy. Insightful words. Communication that motivates and inspires followers. Words that correct without demeaning the hearer. Words appropriate to the occasion.

Saying the right thing at the right time is scripted in movies, but it is not in real life. The witting rejoinder, the pithy comment, the quick insight seem to travel so swiftly off the tongue of actors, that viewers are sometimes wishing they could be that quick. It is not real, for the Evil One even counterfeits God's way of appropriate speech - of attractive communication. Sure, non-Believers can, at times, exhibit gracious speech: but the truth emerges when life gets ugly.

How does a fitting reply, words aptly spoken become part and parcel of a Believers speech? I'm not thinking here of the witty rejoinder that flows out of a personality type. I'm thinking here about words that bear fruit. Good fruit. Both Nehemiah and Joshua are examples of "apt" speech in trying situations. Nehemiah before the king; Joshua before the people he is now leading.

In both stories, prayer preceded their proclamations. And interestingly enough, both were "afraid." But it was their relationship with God that made the difference. They communicated to Him first and then they were better able to communicate to the king (Nehemiah) and the people (Joshua). Nehemiah's words to those at Jerusalem were filled with the leader's language of intrinsic motivation. He chooses words that touched the heart that rang of truth and that were painted with the brush of authenticity. Extrinsic motivation (most generally the If...Then approach) does produce results but it is prone to pandering to the flesh. The Evil One used this approach with Eve.

Christian leaders must be different in this area of speaking to others - so different that the world would notice. Christian employees and employers must bring their heart to the workplace - a heart that is cleansed by the Holy Spirit:  a heart given over to God. The result will be "apt words" for the fruit of the Spirit would be borne in our speech.

In Ecclesiastes 10:12 Solomon observed, "Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips." Graduate school can well prepare the mind for leadership:  it is only God who can prepare the heart. We are warned that out of the mouth comes what the heart intends. Leadership is a heart thing. It begins there. It lives there.

Christian business people, who make a difference in the marketplace, have dealt with the issues of the heart. Have you?


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Welcome! 

Your Life: A lesson.

• Proverbs 13: 14 (MSG) The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, so, no more drinking from death-tainted wells!
• Proverbs 14:27 (NIV) The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

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Teaching. Law. Instruction. Doctrine. Rules. All those words are captured in the phrase “the teaching of the wise.” Great for religious studies. Sunday School or maybe even a Bible Study. But for running a business? For leading a team? For managing a company? The answer depends on an understanding of the real end game.

If you believe that what you believe and do while you are on earth has value after your journey here is over, then the answers to those questions would be resounding YES!

This metaphor “fountain of life” is used at least six times in Scripture and its companion phrase “living water” which is used almost a dozen times. Something important is being said here. Part of the meaning is that as water is important for just simply living, so the counsel of the wise, the fear of the Lord is vital for living a meaningful life.

Do I see learning from the foolish as a “death-tainted well?” Frankly, I never thought of it that way. Of course, there is much that can be learned from those classified as “fools” in Scripture: I would dare say the vast majority of teachers in college and graduate school fit this classification.

As I pondered this verse, I was driving to ask: How much has my thinking been influenced by their belief system? By their world-view? By their system of morality. I’m thinking more than I would like to admit. The press of building a business too often interfered with building a life that really matters..

I see the modern evangelical church conforming to the culture of this age and if the church can, I certainly can. I have said in other places that I am intrigued with the idea that Seminaries should provide a business track and teach MBA students. I know that when I teach at the college level, I am using the text as a base point, but constantly adding a Biblical perspective – after all, much of what “works” rings with universal truth – truth that came from our Creator.

I have come to understand that a setting where Godly business people can “teach” each other and where the Word is used as the source book is a way to drink from that fountain. Those who have disciplined themselves to the process are a “fountain of life” to their employees, suppliers and customers.

Think of it: people looking to you for more than just a business solution. They want a life solution. Now that is a mission field.
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Copyright © 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell

The Discipline of Learning

Proverbs 12: 1 (MSG) If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it--how shortsighted to refuse correction!

• 
  (AMP) Whoever loves instruction and correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is like a brute beast, stupid and indiscriminating.
• 
  Eccl 7:5 (NIV) It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
• 
  Matthew 7:26-27 (MSG) [Jesus speaking] But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. 27When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.
• 
  John 7:7 (MSG) The world has nothing against you, but it's up in arms against me. It's against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions.
• 
  Heb 12:5 (NIV) And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you…”

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Humans are not perfect! We often require correction. But we don’t like it; so much so, we often take offence and even go so far as to “do it our way” despite advice to the contrary. And in the workplace, if the correction comes from a peer or from a subordinate, some people really respond inappropriately!

At home, as young people, most of us have grown to expect correction – even discipline. This has been part of the parenting paradigm since the first family.

It is in the workplace where we must learn to always be open to learning. We have to rely on those around us (all around – above, beside and below) to be effective and productive and achieve expected results. Positive collaboration produces those results. The problem is that many workplace cultures are more directed to catching people in a mistake instead of catching them being good. The cultural energy flows to the mistake or bad behavior – trying to fix problems, instead of understanding the issues surrounding the genesis for the mistake and redirecting the behavior toward a positive result.

Years ago, when I was a teacher, I used the

paradigm of “Catching U Being Good,” rewarding even the smallest increases in positive behavior. In my consulting work, I suggested the same principle to help clients change employee behavior and set an example of positive reinforcement. Ken Blanchard has taken that a step further in his book Whale Done, which I heartily a recommend.

A wise person’s rebuke is centered on reinforcing what is done well and redirecting what has caused the mistake or bad behavior. If this approach had been the dominant paradigm in parenting, we all would love to learn. The scripture is very clear about our attitude in learning. It must be an attitude based on humility. God rewards positive behavior and disciplines with love our pride and willful refusal to do it His way.

I’m learning as I daily write that there is much to be corrected in me. It’s often pretty clear and it is amazing how easily I rationalize my thinking or behavior.

There are times when I resist humbling myself. I don’t want the discipline – just the reward. Can you relate?

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Copyright © 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell

Wisdom and riches

Wealth is not the goal of being a wise person, but it is often a consequence. And it is this kind of wealth that one should aspire to.

Today’s verse is quite a promise when you think about it: riches with no sorrow. Wealth without anxiety. No disquieting spirit, worrying about who might take it away; or how you might loose it; or the tax burden because of it; or the misunderstandings about you because you have it.

When God blesses, it is a blessing from Heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt; where thieves cannot break-in and steal.

Blessings of God release us to give it back to Him allowing Him to use us as His straw through which His living water may flow. But you might say, wait a minute; verse 4 in this same chapter tells us “…the hand of the diligent makes rich…” it’s hard work that will make us rich! It could seem that diligence rather than laziness has a consequence and Proverbs certainly has repeated references to diligence yielding riches. But maybe there is another view.

If we make ourselves slaves to this world – slaving away at work for riches – we have missed the point; we are slaves of Jesus. Not a servant hired to work so many hours. Slaves. Owned by Him. Always working for Him. It is about Him. We rely on Him for food, clothing, and shelter. Slaves.

But here is the paradox: we can be rich and be slaves. And with no sorrow.

Blessings from the Lord do not come with continuing lust or passion for more riches. Free from the incentive for yet more and more. Blessings from the Lord are freeing, not enslaving. But we can only arrive there when we become slaves of the Lord – or as Paul said, “bondservants of Jesus Christ.” So, just whom does the Lord bless? Those who are diligent to know Him and His kingdom. Diligent to be like Him. Diligent to bless others as He did. Diligent to obey Him. Without a scent of self-centeredness; without a hint of disputing His law; obeying wholeheartedly. I think of it this way: Heaven is the ultimate blessing of the Lord. In Heaven, there is no sorrow. Sorrow here is an attitude: there it is a state of being. The promise here is that in this life if we would only just realize that “in Him we move and have our being…” that in that state of living it is the Lord, and only the Lord, who will bring a person wealth without sorrow. Wealth that frees us.

Christian business leadership should be focused on who we are, not what we are. Leadership that keeps the focus on Him – “seek you FIRST the kingdom of God.” That’s true leadership. Let the Lord determine who will receive the blessings of riches that have no sorrow. Let us determine to be faithful followers, leaving the results to Him.

Copyright © 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell