The Damage of an Inside Job

I love watching Breach, whether on DVD or when cable networks have the guts and cojones to broadcast it late at night.  It deals with espionage and government secrets. However, the underlying thematic undercurrents deal with personal betrayal and undermining the person more than the system.  


It is a lot like the Gospels and the rest of the Scriptures. 






Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.  - Matthew 26:15

Judas was a disciple of Jesus.  We tend to see his betrayal without getting a glimpse of his beginnings.  We hardly ever hear or read about him as a zealot or how he was the one who was not a Galilean disciple.  Yet, we are certain to remember that he betrayed the Master for thirty pieces of silver, that he kissed the Lord as a sign to the Lord's captors and that he hung himself some time afterwards.

We rarely get an authentic, biblical view of Judas because his tragic betrayal stands out beyond anything else he could have ever done.

But Judas was a follower of Jesus.  In fact, Judas was one of the Twelve.  Judas did not choose to walk away when Jesus shared one of His so-called hard sayings (John 6:66).  The truth of the matter was that Judas was trusted among the disciples because he handled the treasury of funds for the ministry.  We know that Jesus said that one of the Twelve was a devil, but he never tossed Judas out nor called him on his eventual betrayal of Him.  

But Satan entered into Judas' heart.

For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.- Psalm 55:12-13

Judas was subject to many of the troubling things that we all experience while serving beside great leaders.  Wasn't Benedict Arnold a trusted leader serving with General George Washington for the Colonies?  Wasn't Brutus a comrade and friend of Julius Caesar? Oftentimes, it is the inside job's betrayal, deceit and disloyalty that damage us more than the act itself.

We come to realize that Judas' betrayal of Jesus was part of the prophecy.  Judas was used as part of the plan for salvation; no betrayal = no conviction, no cross.  Judas was a necessary evil for the good to come about for us all.

Think about it.  If all of that can occur with someone who walked with Jesus for three years, what is going to happen in your in-house small group or local ecumenical association? Jesus' ministry was not immune to the treachery of a traitor or the deception of a devil, so you surely cannot expect the Lord will not allow you to suffer in a similar fashion.  He knows that you can recover from the damage.

If you ever find it hard to believe that you can live on after having been bruised and battered by betrayal, read Isaiah 53 and Psalm 55 then read Jesus' words to His disciples upon His resurrection.  His words comfort and heal.  We see the betrayed innocence emerging as beautifully clothed in holiness.  Look at Jesus.  After all, He lives on as the result of the after effects an inside job.

Biblical Business Principles for Your Book Shelf

Christians who are in business could always use some help, especially the type of help that can build up their faith as well as strengthen their skills or abilities to manage a workplace balance.  I have compiled a list of my favorite Bible-inspired books for business owners and leaders.

Jesus CEO Laurie Beth Jones
This is definitely an all-time and hands-down exceptional book that is also an easy read.  Jones shares anecdotes, examples and  illustrations that interweave with the Scriptures for a delightful book on leadership.

Running with Giants John C. Maxwell
Maxwell takes the reader on an inspirational journey through the hall of Faith (Hebrews 11).  He utilizes the biblical sketches of these standout biblical characters to inspire and uplift business professionals as they seek to grow their own faith as much as they seek to succeed at growing their business.

God is My CEO Larry Julian
Julian breaks down the principles required of Christians to succeed in the business world by highlighting the lives of successful Christian business men and women.  These profiles provide a wide breadth of pointers for Christians in need of inspiration and insights into the real bottom line.

The Management Methods of Jesus Bob Briner
Bob Briner lays out a compact book that packs a powerful punch.  He shares his personal business journey as a Christian in the sports media world.  He accentuates each chapter with the methods Jesus utilized with His disciples and others.  This is a great book for first-time managers who fear that their faith might endanger their own success.

Business by the Book Larry Burkett

This is a must-read for any Christian who works in the world or even in the church as an employee or volunteer.  Let Burkett's mastery of money matters and biblical principles sink deep into your soul and mind.  After reading this, you will find some real nuggets for getting ahead in business while maintaining your integrity.

If you have other suggestions for great business books for Christians, please submit the title and author to us via comments on http://revbruce.wordpress.com.

The Day of the Lord is Coming

² 

“I will utterly consume everything

From the face of the land,”

Says the Lord;

³ 

“I will consume man and beast;

I will consume the birds of the heavens,

The fish of the sea,

And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.

I will cut off man from the face of the land,”

Says the Lord.

-Zephaniah 1:2-3 (NKJV)

Consider yourself warned.  God will have a day of reckoning.  he prophets spoke of it.  In particular, Zephaniah spoke explicitly about it.  It would be the type of day that no one would want to see in their lifetime.

Think you have had a bad day? That's nothing like what will happen when this day comes about.  The Lord will not be slow to anger on that day.  He will set forth His wrath like it has never been unleashed before.

Take care of business, brothers and sisters.  Know that how you manage your business affairs is part of how you reflect God in your daily life to others, especially those who are not of the faith.

• Are you viewed as shrewd and crafty, ready to cut costs at the expense of the livelihood of your employees and vendors?

• Do you readily examine the bottom line or the heart of the matter when making decisions?

• Do you pray over your business decisions and seek godly counsel from other Christian business men and women?

Consider how you handle your business.  Others are watching you.  Others take into account that you say that you are a Christian.  God is watching.  God will not always be waiting.  One day, and we we do not know when, God is going to call us on what we have done and what we haven't done as His children.

Pet Projects Present Problems

"The greatest self-delusion is the belief that the outlook for a product improves the more resources are poured into it." - Peter Drucker, Managing for Results

Pet projects present a problem.  You can find yourself pouring good money after bad time after time.  You can lose your mind as you lose your shirt.  That can really shake up your ego, especially if your ego is tied into the project.

Drucker pointed out the failure of the Ford Edsel in Managing for Results.  He considered the automobile "the most publicized American product fiasco." He shared the Edsel as an "investment in managerial ego" amid six other "problem children" mentioned within the eleven major categories of business products.  Forget the Edsel as poor example of American ingenuity.  Think of it as an endeavor in egotism.  Ford kept trying over and over again, but America was not buying the Edsel.

Imagine what would happen if the CEO decided to oversee a project that he felt intimately attached to despite the all of the analysis and findings by the research team.  What would become of the nonprofit that allowed its chairman of the board to serve as the lead on a youth mentoring project without ever having mentored a single soul? Think about how it would be if your pastor decided to run the culinary ministry when he could never manage to boil water without scalding himself.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." - Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Ego can cause some real disasters.  It can get us into some territory where we do not belong at all.  Watch yourself before your ego leads you down the wrong road. 

Try reading some of the titles listed below to keep you on track with your goals:

Starting at the Top

Gordon Gekko: "The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good." Wall Street (1987)

Truly, characters like Oliver Stone's Gordon Gekko should cause us to either applaud or cringe.  He either exemplifies all that we love about corporate-raiding moguls or everything we simply cannot stand about the stock-splitting takeover scumbags.  One major notion that Gekko's character shared at a stockholder's meeting on screen was that management had no vested interest in the company.

Management, beware! People are no longer going for the norm.  Know that you are one proxy vote mailer or quarterly earnings report from being ceremoniously dismissed.  CEO, COO and uh-oh go together these days.  Companies are no longer afraid to trim from the top.  Today's middle management and upper management are not securely in position like in the days of Carnegie, Ford and Mellon.

After the recent stock market dives and hedge fund scandals, most people are afraid of the words market and meltdown appearing in the same sentence anywhere near one another.  Mention Madoff in some circles and find yourself standing alone with your cocktail in your hand and egg all over your face.  The average Joe is no longer going to wait on his pension fund to tank or his 401(k) nest egg to burst like the market bubble.

Management and its bedfellows had better stay alert these days.  The masses are expecting results.  The investors have higher expectations these days.  The public has higher expectations of corporate managers, too.  Keep your eye out for the bold and brazen businessmen who sip brandy from goblets and snifters as they puff on imported Cuban cigars in exclusive clubs and brag about the mess that they made of a merger for the sake of corporate integrity.  For the sake of corporate integrity? Imagine that.  It seems to be more at the sacrifice of corporate integrity.