Friday; November 23

Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s not personal, it’s just business”?  Do you know where that comes from?  No, it has nothing to do with accounting or marketing – it comes from American mobsters.  According to several sources, Otto Berman was the one who coined the phrase.  While it does have a certain allure to it, we need to consider Berman’s fate.  If the quote did come from Berman, we should keep in mind that on October 23, 1935 Berman was killed in a gangland hit in an attempt on the life of Mafia boss Dutch Schultz.
While few of us are apt to live by the code of organized crime, it is tempting to justify suspending our spirituality in the interest of things such as politics or business.  In essence, we attempt to excuse certain actions by claiming, “It’s not wrong to cheat someone, it’s just good business” or “It’s not wrong to support immorality, it’s just being political.”.  We might be able to justify this in our minds, but that doesn’t seem to fit God’s teaching.  Solomon noted, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.  To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice.” then follows it up with, “The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.  The violence of the wicked will drag them away, because they refuse to act with justice.  The way of a guilty man is crooked, but as for the pure, his conduct is upright.” (Proverbs 21:2-3, 6-8). 
Let’s make it a point to align our daily lives with our spiritual calling.  We might be able to justify our lifestyle to ourselves, but will we be able to defend it before the Lord?
Think About It!

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