New Ownership, New Lesson, New Life
New ownership can lead to a new lesson which can lead to an understanding of new life.
Let me introduce you to Marko. Marko bought his first company at 40. It was a new beginning for him as an owner. He was confident as a leader and manager, but ownership was something altogether-new. Ownership meant practicing his faith freely, learning from God alone, and eliminating interference from senior managers. Little did he realize that lessons would begin much sooner than he expected.
Lesson one came on day one! Marko gathered his employees and spoke to them. “I want to run this company Biblically,” he said. “If you see me doing anything which you believe is unchristian, I want you to tell me. I promise no reprisals!”
It seemed like a straightforward commitment, which Marko expected results from, months later when trust was developed. But consequences came minutes later. A meeting of senior staff ensued, and the task of starting to run the business, Marko’s way, began. Fifteen minutes into the meeting, a staff member began to “blow smoke!” A term which only Marko understood, and it was explosive to him. “Blowing smoke” meant speaking sloppily, without factual backup, and with bravado taking the place of credibility. Marko was livid! The first curse words were on the tip of his tongue, and he was about to give the first lesson in doing business his way, when God spoke to Marko. Here is how Marko describes it.
“A voice sounded in my ‘mind’s ear.’ It was not audible, eerie, mystical, or anything weird; however, the message was clear. Here is what I heard. “You just committed to run this company Biblically. Now, are you going to honor that or are you going to defile Me?” I had never considered my cussing as defiling God, and I had never publicly committed to wanting a godly enterprise. The Holy Spirit had my attention. It was like God touched my tongue with a hot coal, and the curse words would not come out. I could not speak them, and I did not!”
God changed Marko that day and taught him a lesson which was a new beginning—a new way of speaking with no cursing; but more than that—a new way of “becoming” that resulted in doing the impossible. Marko had struggled with tongue control and cussing after he became a believer. He knew swearing was sinful and he had tried to quit on his own. Having grown up an athlete, and then joining the Navy, every environment he had been in, encouraged, and often rewarded colorful language used to “get the job done!” But in seconds, God did what Marko could not do. Here is how Marko expressed it.
“I am now 70. You could count on one hand the slip-ups since that day. He went through great lengths, short of going hungry, to run a company that would honor God. God did it all! He changed me from the inside out and helped me see ‘what hungering and thirsting for righteousness’ can do. That lesson has been invaluable. It taught me that God can do ‘immeasurably more than we ask or imagine’ if we become Christians who ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness.’ That new beginning has led to many more, and each one is a new introduction into the character of Christ.”
