Business Skills

We have become so accustomed to price tags that we take them for granted. But one hundred fifty years ago, price tags were rarely used in most stores in America. Merchants and consumers were accustomed to the system of barter and trade. If a merchant thought that he could sell you a good axe for ten dollars, why would he let a customer buy one for only seven dollars? Merchants intentionally did not show their customers a fixed price. But this system led to much corruption, and many people were taken advantage of over the years through unscrupulous and greedy “negotiations.”

Each one of us can fulfill five basic roles throughout our lives. We can also help others fulfill these roles in their lives. These life roles include being a mature person, a skilled provider, a loving marriage partner, a wise parent, and an effective proclaimer.

When Truett opened his first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967, the operators of the mall urged him to stay open all seven days of the week. However, he firmly but kindly explained that Chick-fil-A restaurants were closed on Sunday as his policy was to keep the Lord’s Day set apart for his employees to rest and worship with their families.

Many men find great satisfaction in their work. It is natural and healthy for a man to find satisfaction in the success of his vocational achievements. Nehemiah in the Old Testament provides a splendid example of God’s prescribed pattern for work, rest, and worship. Nehemiah is best known for his tremendous accomplishment of building the walls of Jerusalem, but his faithful legacy of remembering the sabbath day to keep it holy is worthy of our consideration. This biographical sketch begins in the year 444 B.C. at Shushan, the winter retreat palace of the Persian monarchs. A few years earlier, Esther and Mordecai had been God’s choice instruments to spare His people from destruction in this same city. Zerubbabel, a royal descendant of King David, had led the first return of Jewish exiles to Jerusalem and had begun the construction of the Second Temple. Prophets such as Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the people of Judah to keep their priorities right and to finish the construction. Ezra the scribe had led a second return of exiles to Jerusalem. He also instructed the priests regarding some areas they were neglecting to obey in God’s Law: to sanctify themselves, to keep the appointed feasts, […]

Diligence is accepting each task as a special assignment from the Lord and using all my energies to do it quickly and skillfully. Our motivation for diligent labor is to realize that we do not work for just an earthly employer, but that we are actually employed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Resourcefulness is increasing assets by seeing value in what others overlook or discard. Believers are instructed to establish personal habits of resourcefulness in order to distribute to the necessity of saints.

Your name represents you, your life, and who you are. It speaks of the work you do and how you do it. Your name embodies your reputation. Having a good name requires honorable motives and priorities. It also involves living with a clear conscience by taking responsibility for your actions and making restitution when you have offended someone or done something wrong.