The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against such things.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
—Galatians 5:22–26
The scripture quoted above represents the fight between righteousness and evil, between the spirit and the flesh, between walking in light or darkness.
Each of us has the opportunity to make clear choices.
We either allow ourselves to be ruled by greed, or we share with others.
To some people, competing means winning at any cost.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there,” they say.
“You learn to swim with the sharks or you’ll get eaten alive.”
They discredit what Jesus told us in Luke 6:27–29: that we should love our enemy, turn the other cheek, and that if anyone takes away our shirt, we should give our shirt to him.
To them, turning the other cheek is just an invitation for a hard slap in the face.
They don’t subscribe to the philosophy that the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).
To their way of thinking, when it comes to business, giving and caring are weaknesses.
These qualities seem to them diametrically opposed to what it takes to climb the corporate ladder.
They believe rising to the top echelon of an organization is achieved by shoving, kicking, and clawing.
They let it be known that anyone who gets in their way will be run over.
These people are under the erroneous opinion that anyone who follows the ways of Jesus is neither strong nor aggressive.
Boy, do they underestimate what I think is their
real competition.
They fail to realize that business success isn’t based on knocking down the other guy or attacking the vulnerable.
On the contrary, a strong competitor wins by continually doing what is best for employees and customers, always placing their interest above his or her own.
Loyalty is won by outperforming the competition, not by steam-rolling it.
Rather than entertain negative thoughts about your competition, focus on positive thoughts about what you can do to benefit others.
This will help build long-term relationships.
True, it might take you a while longer to prove yourself to the customer, because you don’t wow people with pie-in-the-sky promises that you can’t keep.
On the contrary, you win by understating your promises and regularly overdelivering services rendered.
In the long run, you’ll win their respect and lasting loyalty.
Wait until those cutthroat competitors try to steal your customers—this is when they find out your so-called “weaknesses” were actually strengths.
At times, I’ve gone head-on against a competitor who played by a different set of rules than I. I recall a particular situation when my company was struggling to survive.
Several companies had put in bids to a large prospect, which had narrowed its choice to one other competitor and us.
To get the account, the other company made unrealistic promises we knew they couldn’t fulfill.
I don’t believe in knocking the competition, so we remained silent, hoping the prospect would realize the truth and we’d get the business.
It didn’t, and we didn’t get the account.
At the time, it was disappointing because we knew we’d do a better job.
When I first started our company, I knew there would be many disappointments—that’s business.
I was well aware things wouldn’t always go our way.
These were the times when it helped to remember a verse in Isaiah 41:10 that told me not to fear and to know that God was with us, and he would make us strong.
Believing this was a source of enormous reinforcement, my faith in the Lord assured me that with him by our side, we would hold our own against all competition.
For years, we had competed head-on against Dell Computers, a giant and a highly respected company in the direct-selling computer industry.
I didn’t want to compete with Dell, because I saw an advantage for both sides if we became partners; each of us had certain strengths that complemented each other.
But Dell didn’t see it that way, so we remained competitors.
In time, however, they began to hear our customers say good things about us.
After enough people pointed out our strengths, Dell decided to meet with us.
As a result, Dell realized the advantages of working with us, and we have developed a wonderful partnership.
Today, we’re one of their biggest partners, a win-win situation for both companies.
Speaking of win-win situations, there’s a story going around about a hundred-yard dash that recently took place at the Seattle Special Olympics.
When the gun went off to start the race, one young runner stumbled and hurt his knee.
When the other eight children heard him cry, they stopped running and went back to help him—all of them.
A little girl with Down’s syndrome planted a kiss on his forehead and said, “This will make it better.”
The little boy stood up and the nine children linked their arms together and happily walked to the finish line.
There was a long, roaring standing ovation in the stadium—and not a dry eye.
These special children taught everyone in the stands a good lesson that day.
Winning isn’t only about who finishes first—it’s about helping others to win too.
Remember that employees and customers make choices.
Employees select which companies to work for, customers select those deserving of their business, and so on.
What kind of employers do you think inspire workers to be more productive and loyal?
An employer who uses browbeating and intimidating tactics to drive people?
Or an employer who is concerned about their welfare and treats them with respect?
Likewise, which kind of company do you think builds long-term relationships with customers?
A company that negotiates contracts designed to squeeze the last nickel out of them and provide the least possible service?
Or a company devoted to maximizing value and providing above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty service?
When you think about it and make these comparisons, you wonder how any businessperson could fail to grasp the principles of the Bible as an excellent guide to conduct business.