RULE OVER SIN

Willpower is defined as “energetic determination.” Is energetic determination what God was instructing when He told Cain that he “must rule over” sin? Genesis 4:7. Am I determined to rule over sin? But how does sin start?

James 1:14-15 states, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Do I spend my energy making sure sin is not born? Am I determined to avoid temptation by keeping my desires in line with the will of God?

The first step in ruling over sin is having correct desires. “You shall love the Lord you god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5. “[B]ut in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” I Peter 3:15. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Matthew 6:33. Allowing God to have your whole heart best rules over sin.

If God has your heart, your desires are consistent with His will. Focusing your desires on the will of God avoids temptation then unholy desire does not have a chance to conceive and give birth to sin. Consequently you rule over sin. In other words, rule over sin by not having your desires fall outside the will of God.

CRITICISM

As sinners, we are all bound “to corruption.” Romans 8:21. The definition of corrupt is “to change from good to bad in morals.”

The human race was created in God’s image. We were holy. In His image we were not corrupted.

We chose to become corrupt. None of us escape this reality “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.

Jesus makes us holy again. We are able to achieve once again the image of God through Christ’s blood. The Holy Spirit changes our poor thinking back to good and empowers us to love others as Jesus loves.

I find a significant corrupting pattern is that of criticism. The definition of criticize is “point out the faults of” or judge.

Whenever I judge I put myself as superior over the person I am judging. As soon as I chose to compare, I am embracing corruption because either I am envious since I judge the other person better than me or I am prideful since I judge I am better than the other person.

Criticism takes the sin of comparison and increases corruption. When criticizing another person, I intend to hurt the other person with my perception of the other person’s faults. This is most certainly changing the good of Jesus’ love to a bad moral result.

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:25. The hope in Jesus with the strength of the Holy Spirit changes my thinking and allows me to behave within the will of my Father in Heaven. Jesus teaches me how to love others and His love does not criticize.

AUTHORITY

God is the single, constantly loving authority. The definition of authority is power to influence thought or behavior. Thank God He influences my thoughts with a renewing of my mind. Otherwise I could not, without Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, think about loving others.

Thank God He influences my behavior. Otherwise I would constantly sin and rebel. The definition of rebel is opposing authority. My sin is opposing God directly. My attitude or habit of thinking is where my sin begins.

From as far back as I can remember I resisted authority. I believed in myself that I knew best how to run my life.

While I run my life my self-centered desires are a priority and provide the least resistance to what I want. Having knowledge about God, I rationalize that independently setting my own course against authority is a form of helping others for their benefit even more so when I encourage others to “stick it to the man”.

I find in the Book of Romans I am doubly wrong. I must present my body as a living sacrifice “which is my spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1. Running my life even to any very small extent is contrary to giving up myself completely to the Lord God. My inability to let go of my sinful nature and this world proves my lack of trust in God. I am not wholly recognizing His lordship. I am distracted in my worship of Him.

I also must respect the authority God puts on this earth because He asks for obedience of “governing authorities.” Romans 13:1. The author of life created me in His own image so I am thankful. For my own interests, and the benefit of His kingdom, He appointed an orderly system in which I trust in Him no matter my opinion. My opinions change but God is constant. I chose to rely upon Him.

BUSYNESS AND DORMANCY

Infinite possibilities exist between two extremes. For a business owner to balance the enterprise’s time of abundance with periodically removing himself from the busyness is essential.

The business owner must prepare for all possibilities between the extremes. The business owner must ready himself and plan for extremes of busyness comparatively to needed dormancy. Neither planned busyness nor planned dormancy is less important than the other.

The business owner must make sure the enterprise’s systems for handling abundant times are in writing. These times are best described as busyness when the business owner does not know how everything is going to get done within the current systems in place.

The business owner not working in the administration of the enterprise is necessary for the business owner to customize constantly the systems. The more the systems administrate without the business owner’s involvement the better the business owner can work on the enterprise and manage human resources.

The manager must know the strengths of all employees so every employee is fit into the systems best suited for them. During more dormant times compared to extreme busyness the business owner, as the manager, has time to evaluate employees’ strengths and to come up with new methods of measuring the employees’ progress through the next busy time.

The business owner as the leader must communicate clearly how the enterprise competes against itself to make better systems while employees are challenged to change for their own betterment within the systems the employees work. Employees must know how the enterprise measures them through the constant refining of the systems.

ADVISOR

Integrity in customer relations is about clearly communicating what the business owner knows as fact distinguished from theory. This is true whether selling a product or system, providing services, and it is particularly true when issuing advice.

An advisor who himself has done what he advises is better equipped to separate fact from theory. When focusing on facts, the advisor more likely can guide toward desired results because the advisor can rely on his experience to assert the likelihood of an outcome.

A thoroughly honest advisor who comes up with a theory admits his theory is a metaphor. His theory has only a likeness to reality. An advisor with integrity knows the term theory means conjecture.

If a business owner wants to become an expert in his field, he must verify facts. Experts live in the reality of facts, not conjecture. Make sure the advisor you are relying upon to provide you expert advice has done the more difficult work of searching out facts.