March 9, 2026

Business by the Book

Nehemiah 6:5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

Opposition never ceases. Sanballat, one of the enemies of Nehemiah, continued to hinder his work. Five times this enemy sent warnings, letters and threats to Nehemiah. Later he would hire false accusers to further harass Nehemiah. Yet, our hero never allowed this adversary to stop him. The work was finished in spite of the opposition.

I was speaking to a business owner that I worked for when I was about twenty one years old. We were speaking about the difficulties in our industry. I said we should find something that no one else is doing and do that, therefore there would be no competition. He stated, “There is always competition, if there is any product or service that has no competition, as soon as someone begins to make money on that new product or service others will enter into that business.”  He was right, there is competition in everything. Competition brings opposition. If there is always competition, there will always be opposition.

Opposition never ceases. Defeat a foe today, tomorrow that foe will regroup and attack again. Successful business people are successful in spite of the opposition they encounter. Opposition serves a purpose; in fact, I believe opposition should be viewed as an asset instead of a liability. Opposition sharpens our resolve. Opposition focuses our objectives. Opposition is an agent of humility, keeping us real. Opposition fosters carefulness. Opposition highlights weaknesses that need to be strengthened. And opposition creates stress that serves as a warning indicator.

No one enjoys opposition, yet everyone incurs opposition. Five times Sanballat tried to stop Nehemiah yet, the wall was completed. Nehemiah ultimately won. This story proves once again the old adage, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that counts; what counts is the size of the fight in the dog.” 

Dr. William Howe