By Mike Ennis, Faith Community Fellowship, Springville Campus
The only thing CERTAIN in this world is UNCERTAINTY. Life quickly gets complicated and confusing. As a planner and goal setter, any given day can be unnerving and leave me with a sense of failure. There are so many, like me, who can get overwhelmed with a life that is unpredictable.
Below is a story of my friend Tommy. As a sales representative in an ever changing industry, life is always unpredictable. How do you keep your priorities and your life steady and productive? Let’s look at his story:
I work in the medical field for 32 years as a sales representative. Over time my industry has changed significantly. There are days when you may sit by a phone to see if you still have a job. There are quotas to meet, territory changes, tests to take, new products to learn as well as access and insurance issues to overcome. Our industry is an industry of constant change so you live in uncertainty.
I have realized that life is just that way…uncertain. I read a quote many years ago and I try to practice it daily. It states: I am responsible for Obedience and God will handle the Outcome! There are so many things in life that are outside my control but my daily commitment is to stay faithful and steady. In a sales environment, the only thing I have to sell is my credibility. If I lose my credibility, I’ve lost the sale and the result is that patients and families suffer. As a result of this I take my job very seriously. Trust can take a lifetime to earn but only a moment to lose. Ethics have to come from within. To me there is no such thing as “business ethics.” Either you are ethical or you are not.
I have definitely not always done it right. I, like many men, tried climbing that corporate ladder and hurt people in the process. I’ve lived selfishly at times and tried pleasing everyone and neither of these worked. It was not until I crashed that I was able to find the answer to living with purpose. I learned first hand that “failure is not final nor fatal.” If you are still breathing then you have a purpose to fulfill! Jesus said the two most important commandments are to Love God and Love people. This is how I seek to live out my faith in business or every other area of my life. It’s not about me or even me pushing my beliefs on anyone. It’s simply about loving them.
Living out our faith in such a divided world can feel overwhelming. There is a lot of talk about separation of church and state. There is talk about keeping your faith private in the marketplace. The truth is, in this uncertain world, each one of us can live out our faith if we just do the above: Love God, Love People. We live in a broken world so there has never been a greater opportunity to BE light to those around us. In this uncertain world, be Obedient and trust God for the Outcome!
I think that is good advice. When life gets crazy and uncertain, obey and trust. I would also encourage you to have people, the right people, in your life that will help you keep perspective and keep moving forward. An easy place to find those people is in one of the great churches of our community. If you don’t have a church you regularly attend, I would love for you to be our guest at Faith Community Fellowship or I will help you find a church that meets your needs. You are not alone!
