Recently, in response to our daily email, Leonard posted a great question on our blog. He asked, “What does it mean “be wise as a serpent, and gentle as a dove in practical, every day business?” I thought it important enough to make it the subject of today’s email.

The first thing I want to point out is how important it is to ask that kind of question. We should always be asking, “How does this Scripture or that verse apply to our lives?” There is only one interpretation of Scripture that matters and it is God’s interpretation. However, by His abundant grace, there are innumerable applications of His Word to every area of our lives and we should be asking Him daily for that kind of revelation.

The Greek word that is translated here as “wise” refers to practical wisdom that is prudent, clever, discreet and discerning. A person who is “wise,” in this sense, is a person who shows presence of mind and has the understanding and sound judgment necessary to act cautiously, sensibly, even discreetly with foresight. In one sense, it is the ability to navigate around trouble where possible. It’s the idea of not looking for a fight with the wolves, but not being fearful either. In business, I am going to make my case, but I am not going to pick a fight with the wolves. One way we pick a fight with wolves is with the practice known as “mud-slinging” and you can’t do that without getting plenty of mud on you. Also, an unnecessary fight (there are some that are necessary) will pull you off course for what God has for you that day and who knows what opportunities are missed because of that?

The word for “harmless” literally means “unmixed”. It’s the idea of purity as in pure gold. To be unmixed in a practical sense refers to moral purity and integrity. When we lack these, our witness is neutralized and our authority is compromised, leaving us to fight the wolves in our own strength and I have never seen a sheep tear up a wolf yet! Jesus Christ calls us to lead an unmixed life. When we do so, we walk in His strength and in His authority and that is more than enough to succeed in our calling.

To sum it up, walk cautiously with prudence and foresight, in integrity and moral purity. The wolves will not be able to gainsay you and the rest will eagerly receive your message!

We are wrapping up our discussion about day one of the creation story where we learned that light can be a metaphor for vision. Getting vision does more to fuel passion than anything else I know. It will cause you, or those who work with you, to become highly motivated and self disciplined.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The New King James says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.” The bottom line is that vision produces restraint or discipline and the lack of it produces slackness. Another fruit of fuzzy vision is a lack of direction in the day. You might find yourself being entirely reactive instead of proactive.

I recently wrote out the vision I see for my calling and I review it quite often at the beginning of the day to remind me of what’s important and to get me focused on that. It never ceases to motivate me and to cause me to take charge of my day and be very proactive. That isn’t to say that I don’t expect God to intervene and throw me some unplanned assignments from time to time; but when they come, I am at peace because I know where they fit into the scheme of things and I know God has authorized me to work on them.

Our next segment will deal with Day Two of What the 7 Days of Creation Teach Us About Business.

When I speak about vision for business, I am speaking about getting a panoramic 360 degree, three dimensional view of your best understanding of what God desires for the business you are running for Him. That comes from spending time, waiting on Him and entering a place of emotional and intellectual rest with Him.

After Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, He walked along the shore of Galilee and found some of His disciples fishing. It was amazingly big news that Jesus had been resurrected and now He comes to once again reveal Himself to the disciples. But before He does, He starts a fire, gets some fish and takes the time to fix them breakfast. Can you imagine jus how at rest He was “in the moment”?

Jesus then calls to the disciples, invites them to cease from their labor and join Him in His place of rest. Upon accepting His invitation, they join Him in that place of rest whereupon Jesus imparts vision to Peter. Jesus paints a word picture and commissions Peter to feed His sheep. This was reminiscent of the first time Jesus imparted vision to him when Jesus was starting His earthly ministry and called Peter to leave his nets to become a fisher of men.

In both cases, Jesus called His disciples aside from the busyness of their business to enter into a place of rest where they could receive the vision God had for them. If you need clarity of vision for your life, accept His standing invitation to come aside from your work, spend time soaking in His Word and wait for His presence. His words of light will show you the way.

“The earth was without form and void.” The Hebrew term for “without form and void” is “tohu and bohu”. Wherever that term is used in Scripture it conveys the idea of confusion and disorder, but the first time was in Genesis 1:2. So God is looking upon the earth and upon seeing its condition of confusion and disorder, the first thing He brings to the equation is “light.” It is of some interest that many suggest the earth had actually fallen into a state of confusion and disorder somewhere between verse 1 and 2. That is interesting and even fanciful to consider, but not the point of this B-mail.

If the first thing God introduced to remedy confusion and disorder was light and if light is analogous to vision, then introducing or getting a clear vision statement developed may actually help in clearing up confusion and disorder in your life and business. Make sense?

You see, vision provides clarity. Clarity allows for focus. Focus gives certainty. Certainty encourages action. Action produces results. Results are how we are measured. Measurement shows where to improve. Therefore, clear vision is absolutely critical to clearing up your confusion and disorder and lighting a path for you to walk on.

Vision is an inner knowing of exactly what you are doing and why. It sees the result and can communicate its value to others. When others see that kind of clear vision, it is easy for them to run the race. Are you feeling a little sluggish lately? Are your employees trudging through the fog in the mud at night? Take some time and get your vision clear.

Let there be light: God said it - Light happened. We are still trying to figure out what it is and what it means to mankind. It causes photosynthesis, which in itself is a miracle of God. It makes life possible. Jesus said He was the light of the world. Why did God choose to start the creation process on day one with light? Why not the land and sea? Could He not see in the dark?

I don’t pretend to know the depths of God’s wisdom on that or any matter, but I do believe we can study this model of creation and glean life-changing truths that can be easily applied to business. To me, light enables vision and thus the first thing God built was the capacity for vision. Vision must therefore be important. I am not speaking of sight. Helen Keller said, “What a tragedy to have sight, but lack vision.”

Do you have a strategic vision for your life? For your business? Do you know what that looks like? I am not speaking of some snazzy poster you put up in the lobby of your business. I am speaking about a document that describes for you and then for your employees what the experience of being part of your company (or family) really means. It’s detailed, descriptive and moving. If it doesn’t move you, it won’t move anyone. If it doesn’t stimulate a reaction within you that makes you want to take action, then you still don’t have a clear vision.

Just like light causes a physical reaction in plants, so vision must inspire people to action. If it doesn’t, you probably have a trail of words leading nowhere important and no one will find their destiny following that!

We’ve begun to consider What the 7 Days of Creation Teach us about Business and to lay a foundation for this study. Consider this: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and deity.” (Rom 1:20)

Do you get that? Paul says that we can learn a lot about God, His nature and His power by simply studying the things He made. If you want to learn about a carpenter, look at some of the cabinets or furniture he has made and you will learn much about his capability, character, commitment to quality, etc. The same is true with God… Look at His heavens and you will see His glory; examine the firmament and you will see His handiwork (Psalm 19:1)

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Do you ever feel like you have too many plates spinning? I mean, do you ever feel like you have so much going on that you’re not doing a great job at any of them? And you worry that maybe something really important will be neglected or forgotten, fall between the cracks so to speak?

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