I was once introduced to a man who had a dream. His dream was to build a
clean livable place for single moms who were homeless. Listening to his dream
was fascinating, and sounded quite honorable. His dream was to fund it by the
business he was going to build, and being between jobs I was referred to him to
be hired to manage it. But it was only one part of the dream he had to finance
the housing, part of it was to establish a referral service in San Diego for
those who need house repairs done to call for trustworthy specialists. It was
the Angie’s List before Angie came along, and at the first meeting with those
involved, there was a lot of excitement, as a sales manager was hiring a sales
force to canvas the county, another man was using his connections to advertise,
and everyone in the room had a part in it. Including me. As the meeting wore
on, it seemed we all had one thing in common I hadn’t realized at first. None
of us were employed, no one had a source of income, and if not for unemployment,
many would be on the street themselves. And the voices in my head started
talking to me, was I listening?
But the one thing all the others had I common was belonging to an
entrepreneur club, a club I was to find out was selling hope and blue sky to men
who thought they were entrepreneurs, but were really just unhirable. They all
had big dreams, big ideas, and many had already started spending the millions
they planned on making. It was really all about the money, the money they would
earn someday, but for now, they talked big, but lived small.
The funding of this was to come from one man who had millions to invest,
and was interested in the project. But as I got more involved, he too seemed to
never exist. And only the one man with the original dream that the others had
flocked too had talked with him. More little voices in my head, but I kept
quiet. There was too much I didn’t know, but was about to find out. I was
invited to a private meeting, run by the founder of this club, who they all
happened to belong to, whose claim was being a nationally recognized for his
statistics and business insight. Said so on the header at the hotel, and on his
cards. When I showed up in the hotel room, the meeting was underway, and this
man had the charts on a board, and was reviewing the dreamer’s plan. He kept
praising it, telling it showed foresight, innovation, and was sure thing. The
numbers looked good, so did the projections, and he gave some insight on how to
close the deal with the investor. But as the praises flowed, my little voice
got louder, and I asked him questions. Hard questions, and was told not to be
so hard on him, for his reputation spoke for itself. I had looked behind the
mask. But when I asked him to do the math, to go through the numbers for me, I
had looked behind the curtain of the Wizard of Oz, and the truth came out. For
one, for this plan to work, it would take a customer base of over 3 million
businesses to make it work. They had based the figures on Pennysaver, but never
included the overlap of business categories. As the president of this club
showed how the figures worked and added up, I dropped the bombshell. There were
less than 2 million people, not businesses, but men, women, children, and
illegals living in the county. Could he please explain how this could work?
The numbers just didn’t add up! And I was told I was a blasphemer, I had no
vision, and was just out to ruin those men in the rooms dream. All I did was
point out the truth! And they angrily ushered me out! And I never heard from
any of these men, these dreamers again. Were they so intent on making millions
they failed to realize that the emperor had no new clothes? In fact this
emperor had no clothes at all! All they could see was the money.....which was
the last thing they would ever see.
Why do we work? Is it for the money, the prestige, the things it can buy?
Or is it to meet needs, of ourselves, family, and others? These men all had one
goal, to become rich, sadly at the expense of others. And had spent it before
they made it. They were hard hearted, and the little voice reminded me of just
because I was told they were good church men, that may not have anything to do
with God. Or the Bible. Their witness was questionable, their lives showed no
fruit, of the spirit at least, and looking back they were delusional. They were
chasing a dream, one that had been sold to them, but not by good. They had
taken a thing of God and tried to use it for glory, their own. Greed had
overtaken them, and as they got closer to it, became even more blinded, to the
point of believing a lie. They talked about God, but their God was riches and
power. Some even quoted scripture, but out of context. And the weakest ones
fell for it. We are told to be as wise as serpents, but gentle as lambs.
Really they were wolves in sheep’s clothing, ready to devour any who crossed
them. They were a cult of sorts, a false religion, with no sign of Jesus in
sight. And a lesson to be learned by all.
1 John 4 tells us to test the spirits, to see if they are of God. Yet when
the story seems true, they resist, and ridicule those that stand on the word.
We are told to seek and we shall find, but do we seek God first? At all? Do we
seek him diligently, seeking high and low like a parent whose child is lost, or
do we frantically stand by and do nothing? The spirit has given us the desire
for a savior, one who will reunite us with God the father. His name is Jesus,
and he will not be found in wealth. Or the striving after it. Living well
might be the best revenge, but it leads to spiritual death, and eternal
damnation.
Barnabas was seeking Paul, looking high and low, to come beside him, and
offer help and encouragement. One on one ministry, the best kind, where God
gets the credit. And you get the blessings. We may be at different levels in
Christ, but when we have the desire of the spirit, we seek and find what we
desire from God. That little voice that kept going off in my head was the
spirit warning me, and giving me insight. And who eventually led me to
revealing the lies of this famous man, whose figures never matched his facts.
We are all driven by something, I was driven by someone.
Joseph and Mary searched diligently for Jesus after Passover when they
couldn’t find him. They thought he was lost, he really was in the temple
teaching. Where else did they expect to find him? Do we seek God physically or
spiritually? Based on emotion, of great dreams of riches, or based on who he
is? isn’t the fact that he is God be enough? But are you driven so blindly you
are afraid to look, because you know you are in error? Jesus forgives, mercy is
only found when you have screwed up. And in each case, we get closer to
God.
Not much is told about Barnabas, he was happy to minister one on one in
obscurity. Do you? Are you willing to serve rather than direct? To run the
company or just be an employee? Jesus came to serve...do we? Sadly this man
who had a dream, an honorable dream, was not following God. Blinded by
ambition, only the spirit was missing from the equation, and left him
vulnerable. The wolves are out there, and will go after the weak ones. But so
is Jesus, who returned for the one in 99 who was lost. With the same diligence
a parent seeks their lost child. Jesus seeks to have a relationship with you,
the spirit is willing and always telling you “you need Jesus.” Do you seek the
things of Christ, or Christ himself? Do you seek truth, or will you chase a lie
just to satisfy a lustful desire? This group of entrepreneurs will never be
successful. They were never as gentle as lambs, and they were eaten by the
serpents they thought they were as wise as. Let the truth, the person of Jesus
Christ set you free, for he who is free in Christ is truly, fully free indeed.
Look for the credentials of those who advise, ask to see their hands. And if no
scars from the nails, pass on the advice. For the things seen are temporal,
like the grass the riches fade, but the things of the spirit are eternal, the
things not seen. Jesus is looking high and low for you, he knows where you are,
but is after your heart. No one woke up this morning and thought “today I will
find God.” Now you have the chance, will you? One statistic to remember, death
is 100%. So is eternity, where will you spend it? Jesus is knocking, and your
answer is....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com