I just spent a weekend with one of my best friends. It's the type of friendship I have always wanted. Our friendship puts me in the mind of the story of Jonathan and David.
I Samuel 18
Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. 2 Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan
stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with
his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt.
What I love about my friendship and what I believe makes it covenant is:
- We know the plans that God has for each other both professionally and personally
- We protect those plans
- We become the eyes and ears to see what God is doing in times of harvest and in times of famine for each other
- We pray for our families
- We learn from each other
- We push one another on to more of what God has for us
- We encourage one another
- We support one another
- We have shoulders to cry on (but no longer than 48 hours)
- We have cheesecake together
- We regret cheesecake together
- We love one another
- We compliment, we complete, and we don't compete!
- Best of all...God orchestrates the relationship!
This type of relationship is a one way God shows us how much He loves us and is a great asset for Kingdom business! How do you get one? Pray! Both of us prayed for this relationship before God introduced us. He will be faithful, community is His design.
Check out www.MergeBusiness.com to find a MERGE Community near you.
I Peter 4:9
"Be hospitable to one another without complaint."
What is hospitality?
According to Merriam's it is "generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests"
So how is your hospitality in your work? The trend in the past couple of decades has been towards more customer care. We have metrics on customer satisfaction. We get surveyed to no end by many of the businesses we encounter. There is even a new executive title to pay attention to this area, Chief Customer Relationship Officer and departments for Customer Relationship Management. So should we just mark this one off the list? Do we as the workplace have hospitality covered?
Does the hospitality that we are showing in the workplace show the love of the Father? Is it generous, or is it just better than the competition? Is it love, or is it good business because we know that customer care/hospitality builds relationships?
Here is our opportunity for the Kingdom! We already know that outstanding customer care and hospitality is good for business. But genuine love and generous hospitality shows the welcoming characteristic of the Father. In Ecclesiates, it talks about how God has written eternity on the hearts of man. What if we started calling that out? What if we reflect the goodness of God and call out the life that God has placed on man's heart.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
"He has made everything appropriate
in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man
will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to
the end."
It's an opportunity to be the salt of the earth that Jesus calls us to be. Look at the way the Message translation talks about being salt of the earth.
Matthew 5:13 (MSG)
“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re
here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.
If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?"
As salt we get to preserve what God has hidden in their heart and bring out the flavor. That is an experience that the people you encounter at work will not soon forget. It glorifies God and it brings more meaning to your work. It is infectious and it's what people love being around. The generosity of the Father is the best thing we can give our customers and co-workers.
How do we do that?
1. Pray for the person you are interacting with, always pray for the heart of the Father for that person. It can be a quick prayer asking the Father what He has for them and show you how to love.
2. What pictures or words come to your heart? Is it encouraging? It may surprise you that you thought something you don't know.
3. Speak it out.
4. Always be generous...surprise them!
