Joshua 7:11-12 “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”
This was the second battle in the Promised Land. The Israelite army was large and just came from a victory. They were experienced and strong. The commandment was to not take anything from Ai, but one person did.
Principle: One of the causes of Christian business failure is “sin in the camp.”
A Christian friend of mine bought a printing company and that included presses, equipment, furniture, fixtures, inventory and 50 customers. Among the clients was a local abortion clinic. They were a high value client in that they ordered a lot of printing, paid their bills on time and were reasonable about deadlines. A year into the operation, a large customer merged with an out-of-town facility and suddenly the billing took a dive of 30%. This was followed by a decline in other business and the abortion clinic business became more important.
When the Christian printer took time to actually read the materials of the clinic, he realized that it was wrong for him to continue doing business with them. He put all their materials on disk and handed it to them with a statement about his pro-life position.
It was a clarifying and faith building moment for the business owner. The employees were impressed. There was no drastic upsurge of business but the income from the clinic did not matter and the upswing in business was gradual. The owner grew spiritually and had a sense of peace and contentment that was noticeable.
Discussion:
1. Have you ever dropped business based on moral principle?
2. If “yes” what was the effect on your business?
3. If “no” have you or your company decided in advance that you will not do business of a specific nature and have you made that a stated policy?
