May 2. It Is Not Magic, But It Is Magical To Turn Dew Drops to Rocks.

In business, we are faced with many ethical challenges. This seems more so in our business life than in our personal life because often we have employees. Those employees expand exponentially the opportunity to run into those situations.

Many employers that I meet can speak some non-negotiable standards but often they have not been clearly defined or communicated. If we have not defined our standards then how can we expect our employees, our systems, and our customers to operate within them and thereby reduce the ethical challenges.

I like to call the company or organizations ten non-negotiables the core principles or ground rules. These ten core principles are what our team operates around. There will be many activities that one will do without thought towards the core ten. But the more important the decision the more important it is that it falls within the intent of the core.

But staying within the core will not always happen. What then? Just because a violation of a non-negotiable occurs does not have to mean termination. It does mean that we have been compromised somehow. Maybe it means ethically, profitably compromised. Maybe it means physically, mentally, or emotionally compromised.

Where might you or someone on your team have violated what you believe is a non-negotiable in the past? It might be that the core ten were not communicated and known. What is the first thing you can do about identifying or communicating the core ten in the next seven days?

The strength of our teams depends on it.

As Christians, we too have some non-negotiables. These could even be the basis for some, if not all, of our non-negotiables for our family, businesses, and relationships. These are not like dew drops that simply appear and disappear based on the conditions of the weather.

We know that we might violate God’s law this very hour, but we have God's grace that surrounds us. He gave some two non-negotiables to us, his law and Jesus Christ. These are non-negotiable. Jesus is the non-negotiable for both me and you as believers.

Once accepted, there is nothing you can do to remove him as he will always take you back when you go astray. He is the rock, the cornerstone, steady and unchanging, but we are like the weather and storms which are constantly changing. We are the ones that move between the ways of the world and the way of Christ.

However, we can take the path towards becoming rock solid in our faith. Jesus liked rocks and stones as he charged Peter to be one in Matthew 16:18 NLT. Where can you transform your dew drops into solid rock in your faith in the next seven days?

It will take a high intensity and focus to do so. The rewards are worth the energy and effort. All we need to do is to start with it in mind and remember that we are seeking to practice, not expecting perfection. That perfection comes later when Jesus welcomes us to his rock collection.

Let us pray, Jesus, you are the cornerstone. We want to be the stones of your wall and your way of life. We do not want to trust in the ways of the world as we know they will evaporate just as quickly as they appeared. Help us to transform our faith into action and words that glorify you.

Turn the dew of our morning into the stones that construct a pathway to you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,