Business by the Book Proverbs 16:20 He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: Labor disputes, conflict resolutions, warranty issues, unforeseen consequences of major decisions, market fluctuations, supply shortages, transportation logistics, inventory problems: these and so many other business matters must be handled daily. Managers have the task to manage matters, both big and small. Handling matters wisely is a gift, an art, and a learned skill all rolled up into on

Business by the Book Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Most of the business people I know are in business for the long term. They desire success not for a week, a month, or even a year. They work for success that will endure for a lifetime. In their early years they work, scrimp, save, invest, work some more, and plan to have some financial independence during their years of retirement. This takes lifelong success. Perhaps the

Business by the Book Proverbs 16:16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! You’ve heard it “Give a man a fish he will eat for one meal, teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime.” The reason is self-evident; the ability to fish will provide fish every day, while one fish will be consumed in one meal. Likewise, wisdom and understanding are better than silver and gold. Why? Wisdom and understanding will b

Business by the Book Proverbs 15:33 …before honour is humility. “Don’t put the cart before the horse.” Horses do not push the cart, they pull the cart. In actuality the horse is the leader of the cart and everything in the cart. It is the horse that pulls, it is the horse that labors, and it is the horse that must put its muscles to the job and its shoulders in the yoke. Everything in the cart goes for a ride, but the horse must make its own way down the path. So too is le

Business by the Book Proverbs 15:27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house… Company cars are a wonderful thing. Since I was twenty one years old I have enjoyed the use of a company car. As a delivery man I was given a new van, as a service technician the company issued a great big station wagon (it was so long I had to go to the airport to turn it around), as a salesman and manager the appropriate sedan was provided, as a pastor the church has provided for my GMC t

Business by the Book Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. Nobody is the smartest person in the room. They may think so, but thinking something to be true doesn’t make it true. A person may be very wise, and in many things excel all others in knowledge, but there is always someone who knows more about something. Think of a room that is filled with highly successful people, one may know almost everyt

Business by the Book Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. “Tell me faster!” That is what my boss told me. He was a northeasterner, raised in New York, educated in New York, lived in New York, even worked on Wall Street in New York. He was always in a hurry on the phone. Upon answering my call I knew that I had about thirty seconds to present whatever it was that I needed to talk to him about. I would rehe

Business by the Book Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Well said! Leadership is not loudership. Or, one does not become a leader by being louder. This is demonstrated in a page from the life of Jacob. Jacob was returning home to Canaan from Padan-aram where he served Laban for twenty-one years. On the arduous journey home he said to his brother Esau, …I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the ch

Business by the Book Proverbs 14:31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. Throughout Scripture there is a thread of instruction concerning the treatment of poverty stricken people. Concerning the poor Jesus made an astounding statement in Mark 14:7, For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good:… Yes, there have always been poor people and there will always be poor people. Some a

Business by the Book Proverbs 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. In this fourteenth chapter of Proverbs most of the verses compare two things. For example the very first verse of this chapter states: Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. The last verse (35) says: The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame. In these verses like matte

Business by the Book Proverbs 14:23 In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. Talk is cheap. You’ve heard this and probably know it to be true. It costs little to talk, a little air, a little muscle, and, too many times, little thought. Talk is worth pennies; but labor, labor is worth a lot. Labor brings forth profit, all labor. It may seem that the labor you expend today is not profitable, but it is. Somehow, somewhere, in some way the l

Business by the Book Proverbs 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. Business is not scripted. In movies and television shows almost everything is scripted. The actors playing various roles always seem to know what to say, they always say the right things the right way, even their outrageous behavior turns out right. But real life is not scripted. Business people do not have a staff of writers to write every word, they do no

Business by the Book Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children:.. There are two basic ways to interpret this verse, within those two basic interpretations there are two further avenues of interpretation. First, this verse can be interpreted to mean money is left to a good person’s children and grandchildren. This is the straightforward common sense interpretation. Secondly, this verse could be interpreted to mean a heritage that supersedes mo

Business by the Book Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Choose your friends wisely. Someone once said that friends are a mirror, they reflect who you are. In business one must associate with people of all types, this is unavoidable, but walking with them is another story. There is a difference between associating, or cooperating, with a person and walking with them. To walk with a person means that you are

Business by the Book Proverbs 13:18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction:… A good jeweler will examine every side, angle, and cut mark of a precious stone. Likewise, in order to learn from the Bible how to be successful in business, the opposite side of success must also be looked at. Poverty and shame is the opposite side of success. No one has poverty and shame as a life goal, therefore the reason for these two unwanted possessions needs to be underst

Business by the Book Proverbs 13:16 Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge:… To business people knowledge is vitally important. It’s often been said: “Knowledge is power,” or “Information is power.” Someone once said that if a person was able to combine all knowledge that the world has ever known before the year 2,000 it would not equal the amount of knowledge, or information that is available today. There is no way to support this claim, yet Daniel did prophecy that in

Business by the Book Proverbs 13: 11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. He came by our house at about 7:00 pm. He was a young college student (so he said); I was in my late teens and had a good job. He was selling subscriptions to magazines in order to pay for his college tuition. I thought, “Why not,” so I helped him out. I paid him cash for three magazines. I never received one issue of any of those magazines. Later

Business by the Book Proverbs 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. I was okay until he got out of his car and began walking toward me. He was mad because I intervened in his verbal and physical attack on a woman. We were in a fast food parking lot. He was big, but I’m no pipsqueak myself. He walked up to my truck window with no good intention in his mind. Me? My Georgia red neck upbringing began to fall down on me, I could feel it. He wo

Business by the Book Proverbs 13: 8 The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: Every employer needs to understand the above statement. “Ransom” means “price of a life or bribe” (Strongs). Most often the word ransom is used in connection with a person being abducted. The ransom is the sum of money demanded to be paid for the safe return of the victim. This is a very narrow usage of the term. The Hebrew word has a very broad usage. It could mean a Henna plant, or an asphalt ty

Business by the Book Proverbs 13: 7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. Herein is wisdom for the ages! Is this a contradiction? A paradox, not necessarily! An oxymoron, don’t count on it! A puzzle, yes! An impossibility, nope! This is a truth. It is a truth that transcends human logic and human nature. It is a truth that is rarely understood and even more rarely practiced. This is what Jesus spoke of i

Business by the Book Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. I heard a Navy man say one time that when a sailor met a sailor from another ship a common question that was usually asked was, “What is your S and S?” Similar to the common question college mates ask often “What is your major?” The S and S stand for Soul and State. Being naturally curious, the sailors would discuss how many people were on

Business by the Book Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. “Don’t buy it back!” That’s what my boss told me. I was young, in my early twenties and I had my first real “sales job.” My boss was an excellent salesman. In fact, he was so effective in sales that he ended up owning his own, very successful, company. I have benefited over the years by the things he taught me in those first few months in

Business by the Book Proverbs 12:27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious. Our nation was founded by people of ingenuity and resourcefulness. They could “make do” with what they had. If “necessity is the mother of invention” it is no wonder that Americans invented so many wonderful products. They had to. There was a time before Walmart, Ace Hardware, even Sears. There was a time when farmers, ranchers, an

Business by the Book Proverbs 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. There is written communication and non-verbal communication, but by far the most utilized form of communication in business is verbal communication. In Scripture the word tongue is used 126 times, speak 484 times, spoken 280 times, and speaketh 66 times; those four words total 956 usages. To compare, the word love is only used 281 times. Therefore, w

Business by the Book Proverbs 12:17 He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. Basically everything any person says can be placed in two categories: true or false. Even when a mixture of these two extremes is communicated the whole can be classified as true or false. For example a person may use a portion of true statements in order to support a falsehood. Of statements being true or false there are at least four variations. The statement

Business by the Book Proverbs 12:16 A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame. A very promising career as a sales professional was lost because a man’s wrath was “presently known” and he was found to be a fool. He was speaking to a customer on the phone. This was before cell phones or car phones; this was a land line, an old fashioned house phone. Anyway, during the conversation the new sales representative became very annoyed. The customer, who hap

Business by the Book Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. Our world is very complex. No one is an expert at everything. There is no way for people in business to learn, know, and keep up with everything they need. Technology is changing so fast that it is a challenge for those who make a living with it to keep up with all the technological changes. The above verse was written over two thousand years ago, and

Business by the Book Proverbs 12:14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him. “I’m not satisfied” is equal to “I’m not happy.” Far too often the responsibility for these two conditions, being satisfied or being happy, are misplaced. The responsibility to be happy or satisfied does not rest with things, money, situation, or others, it rests with each individual. Satisfied employees are produ

Business by the Book Proverbs 11:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. Each person in business is seeking something. Boiled down to the nth degree there are two basic things people seek, things that are good, and things that are mischievous. The way to know the difference is first and foremost the teachings found in the Word of God. Those who seek good will find good and will ultimately procure favor. Those

Business by the Book Proverbs 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. Selling a product that people need is the foundation of commerce. It is a noble enterprise to offer a product or service for sale and for profit. No doubt, throughout the history of the human race there have been products that could have benefited mankind greatly but have been withheld from them. Withholding foodstuffs, health