Video Transcript: "Guarding Your Assets"

In the previous video on biblical standards for businesses as it relates to  business law, we dove into the topic of peacemaking, and so in this video, I want to make it clear that when we talk about peacemaking and business, we're not  talking about being a better doormat for people or just letting people take  advantage of us and business because we're Christians, and they just assume  that, oh, Christians are supposed to forgive and so therefore I can just kind of  take advantage of people. That's not what we're talking about. We're not talking  about being a better doormat. We're talking about being a better steward of the  assets that God has entrusted to you, of the people that God has entrusted to  you. And so in this video, we're going to talk you about guarding your assets.  And the first way that you can do that is to do business with the right people. I  would call them covenant people, people that understand that there is we're  going to agree to a standard, a high standard, of how we're going to treat each  other, and that we're not going to and that when we do that, there's going to be  consequences, there's going to be accountability and so and we're going to  make sure that whenever you go to partner with somebody, to do business with  somebody, that you do what you can do, to make sure that this is a person of  integrity, first of all, and that the person has the skills, and in the biblical sense,  again, of if they're going to they're going to follow through, they're going to have  that diligence like Solomon talked about, when he talked about, do you see a  Man skilled in his work, he will not stand before obscure men that and then the  the sense in which it was talked about of David, how he led the children of Israel according to the skillfulness of his hands, which is more of the discernment,  more of that, that prudence. So these are the types of people that we want to do business with, as Christians. And so if you find yourself constantly getting in  these situations where you just feel like suing somebody, or you just feel like  having to I mean, you might just need to raise your standard of who you're doing business with and not just settle for what looks like. It can be a get rich quick  scheme, or us, you know, just kind of surrender to a smooth talker that just kind  of convinced you against your better judgment, or against what you really sense  the Holy Spirit leading you to do in terms of that business relationship. II  Corinthians 6:14, says, Do not be bound together with unbelievers. For what  partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light  with darkness? And so I talked in a previous video about a web developer that  just didn't have integrity, didn't have the skills, yet he professed to be a Christian, which was a very interesting conundrum. And you know what I deduced was  based on the lack of fruit in this guy's life, not just because he took advantage of me, although you really start to see what somebody what's really at the root of  somebody in those kinds of situations, that the person was not of the faith, and  that's why Paul cautions us, and the Bible cautions us against yoking ourselves.  You know, you probably heard the phrase, Do not be unequally yoked. So that's  in any type of covenant situation, whether it be with in a marriage or in the 

people that you're doing business with. And so we're not just talking about hiring Christians, for example, or only doing business with Christians, because you'll  probably find, as I have, that some people who don't even profess Christ as their Savior and their Lord, they they have higher integrity than some of the  Christians that I've interacted with, and so we can't necessarily just use that as a barometer, but we really need to look at the fruit on the tree and make sure that  we're not binding ourselves together with people that don't have integrity. But  then when it comes to those relationships, like, for example, who you're going to select as a co founder of your company that really needs to be somebody that  shares your world view, because you're going to go through the ups and downs  together. I mean, you're really that is a covenant relationship, and a lot of cases,  you spend more time with that co founder than you will your own spouse, just  given the length of a typical work day. And so I have an interview that I'm going  to share with you from Henry casener. I would encourage you. He's the CEO of  a Christian venture capital firm that invests in high growth, high potential  startups. And I would encourage you to go and listen to that, where he talks  about some of these issues of why it's important that, if you're going to co found  a company that you do that, and those early employees make sure that they  share your Christian worldview, and because, as Paul says, For what  partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light  with darkness? And I actually asked him the question about, Well, how about  with investors? What would the Bible, what would be the right approach for a  Christian to take in view of this verse as it relates to investors. Should you not  take money from investors that are not Christians and and Henry says that that  that, no, that's fine. To take money to receive investment into your company  from investors that are not Christians, that are not they're not of the same faith.  But of course, you want to make sure that they do have integrity, that they that  they are going to do what they say they're going to do, and and, but he says this how it's much more important that the co founder, that the people that you're  actually working with, because the investor, I mean, you know you're not, you're  not going to be spending as much time, and your destiny in terms of your  business is not as in separately, inseparably linked to that investor, is some of  the rationale that he shares in the in The interview. So I would encourage you to  go and check that out and really ask the Lord where he would have you stand  on that, on that particular issue. And another way that we can make sure that  we're protecting our assets when it comes to and being faithful stewards of our  resources and not letting people just take advantage of us is to seek wise  counsel. First of all, ask for the Holy Spirit's discernment. And as you dive into  these scriptures that we've been talking about during this course, dive in deeper  and really make sure that you have a holistic view of the entire Bible so that you  can understand how these scriptures fit into the overall biblical story, the overall  biblical narrative, and ask for the Holy Spirit's discernment about these specific 

situations that you're encountering. And the Holy Spirit often will speak through  Christian advisors. So as we've talked about in previous videos, make sure that  you're seeking wise counsel from Christian advisors. There's many advisors out  

there. They don't often have a biblical worldview, which might it's not so much  that they're giving you bad advice. They're just not giving you advice that is  helping you to understand how relevant God is to this business decision. And  another technique is to wait an extra 24 hours or so before making a decision.  So once you've got your mind made up, maybe wait another 24 hours,  potentially that could be the right path for you, depending on the weight of the  decision that has to be made. And certainly there are deadlines when things  have to get done, and get detail oriented people to help with your due diligence  on the front end. So if you're considering a business deal or you're considering  partnering with somebody in a certain way, make sure that you if you're not, if  you're just sort of the Get It Done type of person, and you know, you're kind of  the ready fire aim type person. You know you're, you're wearing a shirt that says safety third, you know, just kind of think about the second, third order events.  You know they're just not even really entering into the equation on the front end.  You need those detail oriented people in your in your corner to help you make  sure that you're getting all of the information in order to make that decision and  then, but protect the things that God has entrusted to you without being insecure about it. Matthew 7:6, Jesus says, Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not  throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them. Under their feet and  turn and tear you to pieces and and so certainly Jesus is is admonishing us,  exhorting us to make sure that we are not just the things that God has entrusted  to us, the stewardship that those are. That's a holy matter. We're not just talking  about, you know, the things like responsibilities in your church or something like  that. I mean, the responsibilities in your business are just as God given as  anything that your pastor would ask you to do. And so those are things that God  has given to you. So you have to consider those things as holy and not give  what is holy to dogs. You know, do not throw your pearls before swine, which is  to say, don't be cavalier. Don't be lazy when it comes to protecting and guarding  what God has given to you, one of the things that comes to mind as it relates to  that is to select the right legal status, because sometimes people, without  getting enough enough advice when it comes to what is the right legal status for  my company, they leave themselves vulnerable to all kinds of liability that they  could potentially put their family in jeopardy and their house in jeopardy, all of  those kinds of things. Still, we have a mandate here in Matthew 7:6, to not just  be lazy, to be good stewards, to not just and to not allow people in the world that are that lack integrity. I mean, it's that's the sad thing about the world that we live in is that not everybody is going to live up to the same covenantal standards that you and I are committed to living up to, and so we have to make sure that we  are. I mean, the dogs that really in the the way Jesus uses that is basically 

somebody that's outside of the faith. I mean, the dog in your culture, as in mine  might, is probably a very, you know, really denigrate really is saying that  somebody that's not of your worldview. And so you need to make sure that  you're mindful of this fact that not everybody has those same standards. And  another way that you can protect your assets, protect what God has entrusted to you, is to over communicate your policies and consistently improve your  contracts and policies. When people, they they they balk, they get upset about  certain things and say, Oh, I didn't know this was going to happen. Well, you  know, there it is in the contract. Oh, wait a second it's not in the contract. So you need to make sure that things are the way that you're going to operate, and the  standard and the covenant that you're entering into with your client, with your  employee, with your contractor, that all of that is clearly communicated so  somebody can't come back later and say, Oh, well, I didn't know we were I never agreed to that. Well, you signed right here. And that's another thing. It's not  always enough to just say, Oh, well, you signed right here. That's not always  informed consent. You need to make sure, because there can sometimes  contracts can get so long that that people don't always read them. They don't  always know the all. They don't know them the way that you know them and be  consistent with those policies as well. And the next video we're going to get into  risk management, actually it's the next unit, and I'll see you there.