Genesis records Jacob, the son of Isaac, traveling to the land of Paddan-aram where he lived for some twenty years. While there, he married Leah and Rachel, and tended his father-in-law, Laban’s flocks. Jacob fell out of favor with Laban, and the Lord told Jacob to travel back to the land of his fathers.

One day as they traveled, Jacob sees his brother Esau off in the distance. He sends flocks ahead as a present to Esau in hopes that the peace offering will be met with favor. Esau asks about the gift of the flocks, telling Jacob to keep them as he already has “enough.” Jacob responds, please take them, “because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough” (Gen. 33:4-11).

It would seem both men have “enough.” Interestingly though, the word translated “enough” in these two verses is not he same Hebrew word. Esau’s “enough” is the Hebrew word rab, which means “much.” But Jacob’s “enough” is the Hebrew word kōl, which means “all,” and is a derivative of the word kālal which means perfect.

So why all the fuss you might ask? Enough is enough, right? No! Esau’s enough is “much,” referring to earthly possessions. But, despite his trials and difficulties with Laban, his twenty years of labor, having to flee with his family and flocks back to his home country, and wrestling with God all night, Jacob says he has “all.” Jacob’s “all” includes God! Jacob recognizes that without God, no matter how much or little he has in terms of earthly possessions, it is always enough when it includes God. In fact, it is just perfect!

So the next time someone asks you when enough is enough, tell them enough is never enough, until it includes God. Then it is all!

Whether you are just beginning your career or are a seasoned veteran I am willing to bet at some point you faced a storm that threatened to capsize your career. Surviving a storm is never fun, but it is often a period of significant personal growth.  We can improve our ability to survive life’s storms if we keep in mind some truths Jesus taught the disciples.

Recorded in Matthew 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8 is the miracle of Jesus calming the storm. Just prior, Jesus had been teaching the disciples through parables about the new Kingdom. At the conclusion of these teachings Jesus tells the disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side of the lake. A terrible storm comes upon the boat threatening to capsize it. The disciples in fear of their lives, wake up a sleeping Jesus and implore Him to save them. Jesus rebukes the sea, and asks the disciples if they still have such little faith.

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:35-41 (ESV)

There are five important lessons about surviving storms in this short passage:

1) Jesus put them in the storm. The truth is life is not all about achieving personal comfort—there will be storms in our lives—especially when we follow Jesus. We don’t grow much when we are comfortable, but we can grow a lot by surviving storms. Jesus knew there would be a storm and He used the storm to teach the disciples another important lesson.

2) Jesus cares about your anxiety. Jesus could have sent the disciples on ahead in the boat to face the storm on their own, but He did not. He never left their side, and He is with us always.

3) Jesus has the power to make a difference. It may not be when or how we want it, but He has the ultimate power to make a difference in our lives. Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea quieting the storm with the spoken word.

4) My fear hinders my faith. These seasoned sailors, familiar with the sudden storms, knew they were in trouble and panicked thinking they were about to perish. Just earlier in the day Jesus had been teaching the disciples about the glories of the new Kingdom, but in this moment of desperation and fear they forgot what Jesus had been teaching them.

5) Never lose sight of the power of Jesus in my life. After Jesus calms the storm the disciples wonder who is this that even the wind and sea obey Him? Haven’t they been paying attention? How easy it is in the midst of a storm to take control and try to weather it all on our own power. We forget the power of Jesus in our lives!

There will be storms in our lives, but they are opportunities for great personal growth if we remember that Jesus cares about us, and He has the power to make a difference in our lives. Remember also that our fear is the greatest barrier to our faith and relying on Jesus. I love this quote, “Faith isn’t faith until it is all you’re holding on to.”  Finally, surviving a storm is easiest if we never lose sight of the awesome power of Jesus and what He can do!

I spoke to my jet-lagged daughter, Rebekah, today about her church’s recent mission trip Uganda. They flew from Boston to international city “X” where the group had several hours before the final leg of their flight to Uganda. Most of the group had never been to “X” so they set out to explore the sights and have a nice meal. I asked her what she thought of the city and she said it felt spiritually dead. “Christianity is old people’s religion,” she said, as she summarized interaction with “X’ers” and specifically their waiter, who clearly was not interested in serving their culturally diverse group.

Now, I have some friends who live in “X” and they are wonderful people, so I certainly don’t want to characterize everyone who lives there as spiritually dead. But Rebekah’s perception of the city stuck with me, and caused me to wonder, “What would a tourist think of you and your community?” Would they come away thinking, “These folks are friendly and outgoing?” Would they describe your community as “spiritually alive?” Or, would they describe you and your community as spiritually dead?

As Christians we are called to be a light to the world. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16 (NASB).

Moreover, we should be joyful, reflecting the love of Christ to everyone—even our enemies. Love and joy are two fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). If we are children of God then love and joy should be evident in our lives, not just on Sunday as we enter church, but throughout the week.

Now this love and joy thing can be hard for me: especially with folks who I don’t consider to be close friends, much less those who I would place on my “enemies” list. It is especially hard when I am in a hurry, up against a deadline, or just plain pre-occupied with my own thoughts. My loving wife and daughter used to ask me if “I was having my period” (sorry ladies), because love and joy (and other fruits of the Spirit) were in short supply in my life right then. Ouch!

So here is my plan for tomorrow and the next week. I am going to try my best to have a smile on my face for everyone I meet. I will have a cheery “hello” for complete strangers I pass on the street. I am going to pretend that every interaction is with a tourist who is visiting for the first time, and I want them to go home and say what a wonderful place my community is. I want them to see the love of Christ reflected in my life. My plan for the week after is to do an even better job than the week before, because every week is a chance to glorify my Father who is in heaven!

Two weeks ago I saw an article about how CEO’s in the U.S. have lied to shareholders, Congress, and the public at large in an effort to advance their business, or cover up their wrongdoing in other areas–heaping lie upon lie. The very same week I saw another article for employees, this one was eight ways to lie to your boss and not get caught.

Is it any wonder that the public casts a sullied eye on business people? The overall reputation of business executive places them just ahead of politicians and attorneys (apologies to my friends in politics and law).

In my adventures to Christian college campuses I frequently hear students in the department of business complain they are looked down on by those in the “arts and sciences.” They haven’t done anything, yet they feel like the “B” team of society.

Folks, this is simply unacceptable. As Christians we need to represent or Lord and Savior honorably. We need to be salt and light to the world. How can we expect the unbeliever to see something different about a life in Christ if we do not represent Christ well? Our pastor have an hour, maybe and hour and a half, to bring a message about life with our Savior. But as business people we have 40-60 hours per week where our witness tells a story of our life with Jesus.

John, writing to believers, provided instruction on how Christians should lead an ethical life. One of my favorite passages that sums up a great deal of his teaching is 1 John 2:15-17 (ESV):

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

John warns us not to love the world or the things of the world. Notice John goes on to call out three specific issues: 1) desires of the flesh, 2) desires of the eyes, and 3) pride in possessions. The desires of the flesh is about the quest for pleasure. The desires of the eyes is about the envy of others possessions/things. The pride in possessions is about our prideful hearts. Most sins accrue to one of these three causes: the quest for pleasure, and possessions, and prideful spirit.

How is it for you? Do you work in an environment where it is difficult to maintain your ethical edge as a Christian? How are you an example of God’s truth in the workplace?