June 10, 2026

Business by the Book

Psalm 56:5  Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.

Every successful person must learn how to deal with those who twist their words and devise evil against them. In consideration of dealing with those who would trouble you consider four things to do.

One: have confidence in yourself. One of the favorite strategies of an enemy is to shake your confidence. If you begin doubting yourself then the enemy is well on the way to winning.

Self-confidence cannot be based solely on self. Sounds like a contradiction doesn’t it? It’s not. Self-confidence is an attribute that is based on knowing that you are right. Knowing that you are right comes from at least three avenues.

1. Know that you are right based upon history. If in the past you have faced similar circumstances that you find yourself faced with again, draw on that historical experience. This will let you know what to do, or what not to do. Your self-confidence in difficult situations is emboldened by past successes that you can draw from and past failures from which you can learn.

2. Know that you are right based upon knowledge. I’m a pastor. Someone once told me that if I kept preaching the way that I did the church would be out of business in six months. It’s been more than twenty-seven years and we are still having church. I told that individual that if the church failed in six months that the last thing I would do would be put on our sign “God is dead, it doesn’t work anymore.”   My self-confidence was based on the knowledge of the Word of God and His ability to maintain His church in perpetuity. In your business, knowledge will bolster your self-confidence.

3. Know that you are right based upon searching out a matter. Many times individuals seem to brim with self-confidence only to learn too late that they were wrong about a matter. They could have been right but did not search out the matter properly, did not ask the right questions, obtain the proper data, consider all angles, or perform other tasks before taking their stand on a matter.

I once had a new Triumph Spitfire and toward the end of the break in period for the engine it was supposed to be serviced at the dealership. Part of that service was removing the valve cover (four cylinders) and adjusting the rocker arms. To make sure this service was performed, my dad made some marks on the valve cover indicating the alignment of the bolt heads before taking it to the dealership. When we picked the car up the bolts were in the same exact position and dad questioned whether the work had actually been performed. The service people tried to draw him into a bet that the valve covers had been removed. The service man even said, “I will take the valve cover off and my initials will be scratched on the inside of it.”  Dad would not bet, but we did pull the cover and sure enough the man’s initials were there. If my dad had taken that bet he would have lost. He knew enough not to take a stand on something that he personally had not proven.

Tomorrow, we will look at the second thing to do when dealing with those who would trouble you.

Dr. William Howe