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!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 31st, 2006 at 4:21 pm by Michael Pink and is filed under Selling Among Wolves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.