Our Mission

To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.

John 5.41-42 states, your approval means nothing to Me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.

Having this attitude would certainly go a long way in helping the Church live more like Jesus. God as Man, Jesus, sought the approval of One, God the Father, but He called all those who love God and seek to obey His commands His brothers and sisters and mothers.

The goal of living a life that focuses on pleasing God first and foremost would transform our own lives and the reflection of the Church to the world. Living for God’s pleasure and His approval would help the Church in a couple of ways.

First, Christians would cease trying to please people who don’t love God. The ramifications of this current compromise in the Church are huge. We tend to shy away from the things of God in order to keep or receive approval from people who don’t really love Him at all.

In addition, we buy into the media of the godless. In a recent study millennials believed failure to recycle was more sinful than viewing pornography. Clearly this view is ignorant of the Biblical worldview Christians are expected to have and endorse.

Second, if Christians made obtaining God’s approval their highest objective they would be more prone to living a godly life and encouraging each other to do the same. We would be less approving of the compromiser and more encouraging of one another to be fully committed.

Our standard is Jesus, this should be where we set the bar for our behavior not the poorest among us at living a life pleasing to God. Christians are part of a body, the body of Christ, which means everyone pulling their weight and working together for the glory of God in the world is necessary if we are to be the most effective.

Certainly Christians are sent into the world to share the love of God with those who have yet to reconcile themselves to Him.

At the same time Christians are not to be of the world for our home is where Christ is Who is even now preparing a place for all those who love Him and do His will.

His Opportunities

1. Thursday, June 2nd is the next CBMC Special luncheon at the Country Club of Lansing. Early bird pricing is over but you can still register on line HERE.

You can support CBMC today. DONATE

CBMC Central Michigan 6011 W. St. Joseph Ste. 401 Lansing 48917  / 517 481 5996  www.lansing.cbmc.com

MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
A Publication of CBMC International
May 30, 2016

Who Are You Trying to Please?

by Rick Foster

Many products are designed to imitate the real thing. There is plastic decking that looks like real wood, and vinyl flooring that appears to be ceramic tile. We can purchase fake fur or jewelry, phony noses, hairpieces, and other body parts. The purpose behind all of these items is fairly obvious, but what about a canned product called “Spray-on Mud”?

Spray-on Mud was designed for use on the outside of a sport utility vehicle. Its purpose was to make it appear that the owner of the SUV uses the expensive gas-guzzler for more than taking the kids to soccer practice. If you sprayed it on, friends would think you have just returned from a wilderness adventure. If you wanted this seemingly authentic look, without the trouble of actually attempting a rigorous off-road drive, you could buy this produce for $15 a can!

We see similar practices every day in the business and professional world, men and women trying to make themselves seem to be something they are not – more successful, more skilled, more experienced. People fictionalize resumes, exaggerate achievements during job interviews, make unrealistic promises to potential customers. All in the attempt to please others and win their favor.

Observing such behavior in others should prompt us to ask ourselves, “Who am I trying to please?”

Looking for a biblical parallel, we find no better example than the apostle Paul, who presented a striking contrast from that of the people-pleaser. After a brutal experience sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the ancient city of Philippi, Paul headed into Thessalonica. After being beaten and jailed, one might think he would have learned his lesson and changed his message or his tactics as he entered this next town. Instead, we read in 1 Thessalonians 2:2, “we had the boldness to speak to you amid much opposition.”

What motivates a man or a woman to “stay the course,” holding firm to their beliefs, values and message, being unwilling to settle for the equivalent of buying a $15 can of “authentic” appearance? For Paul the answer was simple: God. This is the option we face even today in the decisions we make in the workplace, choosing between wanting to please those around us – or the One above us. As one celebrated comedian once remarked, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

Why was pleasing God so high on Paul’s priorities? Because he understood God’s perspective. Paul wrote he served, “Not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). In other words, the Lord is not impressed with a $15 can of spray-on anything. We have a difficult time seeing beyond outward appearances, but He never has a problem with it. The Scriptures tell us, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve” (Jeremiah 17:10). And, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart” (Acts 1:24).

Paul was unwilling to use a spray-can approach in dealing with a heart-examining God. That influenced three specific areas of his life: his words (“we never came with flattering speech”); his finances (“nor with a pretext for greed”); or his status (“nor did we seek glory from men”). Does knowing this get the same response from us? Word to the wise: Save $15 and be yourself!

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