“Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
– Genesis 18:32
– Genesis 18:32
We are always negotiating in life. Daily I am on the phone with suppliers and business associates trying to convince them to give me the best possible deal and to go that extra mile. It’s part of what I do for a living, but it’s also part of what we all do in life. There are a plethora of books and instructional tapes or videos on “The Art of Negotiating”. But I propose it is less of an art and more of a passion. When is the last time you negotiated for something you didn’t want? That’s just it, we don’t. The only time we are negotiating is when we are convinced that our desire, our need is worth the requested action. It is often for something that we are passionate about.
As a father of 5, I have heard my fare share of negotiating tactics in my life. Four of my children are beautiful young ladies and they have acquired the art of pouting with big baby eyes in order to soften this old man’s heart. It all started with my oldest, who now has 2 beautiful girls of her own, and she has personally saw to training the others on how to convince Dad to get their way. I now have my youngest, age 3, batting her eyes and pouting to get her way on things as simple as not having to take a nap, or getting to watch Barney or Elmo. I’ve thought about this from the perspective of negotiating and often wondered why do I give in to their requests? I can debate all day long at the office over cost savings and project deliverables, and most of the time walk away from the table the better for it. Yet, at my own house, I give in to the ones around me without much of a fight. It’s because I love them and have a bigger perspective on the outcome of their suggestions. There is no way I would give in if I knew that they would be harmed by the outcome.
The first example we have from the scriptures of a man negotiating with God comes from Genesis 18. This entails the story of Abraham negotiating over the souls of the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. If you recall, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had turned against the Lord in their sinful ways, and He was ready to destroy them entirely because of this. Abraham negotiated with the Lord to spare the city if only 50 righteous were found therein. When the Lord agreed, he then negotiated to 45, 40, 30, 20 and finally settled on if only 10 righteous were found in the city, that the city be spared. You know the story though, in Genesis 19:29 we find that the Lord reigned down sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness. For not even 10 righteous people could be found within the city.
So, can we negotiate with God? Certainly. The Lord is compassionate, loving and understanding. But, rest assured He knows all things, and has a plan that is beyond our comprehension that will be executed upon. There are many paths to the end point of His plan and we will make choices throughout our life that will result in taking one path or another. He allows for this, because He loves us. He is in control of everything, but has chosen to give us the freedom to love and trust Him or not. Just as in the case with Sodom, Abraham’s compassion for the righteous people in the city was the motivation for his negotiating tactics. He did not know everything the Lord knew about these people. God knew the wickedness of their hearts and because of His omnipotence, knew the result would not be changed through Abraham’s negotiations.
When God tells you to do something, it’s for a reason that is part of His plan. You have to make the choice of whether you want to negotiate with Him or accept His plan. For example: if He is leading you to reach out to those in your community by working in a food bank or homeless shelter, you can negotiate with Him based on logic and all of the other things going on in your life. You might say something like, “I really want to do this, as soon as I free up some time or finish this project.” The Lord’s desire for your working in the food bank is not going to go away, because it is part of His plan for you. What you don’t see is the people that you could impact immediately by following His direction. By making excuses and delaying your action, there may be others that are impacted but you’ll never know. God doesn’t introduce these opportunities into your life unless He has a purpose for it. Put away the excuses and negotiating tactics, humble yourself to follow the Lord and be willing to trust Him when He calls.
As a father of 5, I have heard my fare share of negotiating tactics in my life. Four of my children are beautiful young ladies and they have acquired the art of pouting with big baby eyes in order to soften this old man’s heart. It all started with my oldest, who now has 2 beautiful girls of her own, and she has personally saw to training the others on how to convince Dad to get their way. I now have my youngest, age 3, batting her eyes and pouting to get her way on things as simple as not having to take a nap, or getting to watch Barney or Elmo. I’ve thought about this from the perspective of negotiating and often wondered why do I give in to their requests? I can debate all day long at the office over cost savings and project deliverables, and most of the time walk away from the table the better for it. Yet, at my own house, I give in to the ones around me without much of a fight. It’s because I love them and have a bigger perspective on the outcome of their suggestions. There is no way I would give in if I knew that they would be harmed by the outcome.
The first example we have from the scriptures of a man negotiating with God comes from Genesis 18. This entails the story of Abraham negotiating over the souls of the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. If you recall, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had turned against the Lord in their sinful ways, and He was ready to destroy them entirely because of this. Abraham negotiated with the Lord to spare the city if only 50 righteous were found therein. When the Lord agreed, he then negotiated to 45, 40, 30, 20 and finally settled on if only 10 righteous were found in the city, that the city be spared. You know the story though, in Genesis 19:29 we find that the Lord reigned down sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness. For not even 10 righteous people could be found within the city.
So, can we negotiate with God? Certainly. The Lord is compassionate, loving and understanding. But, rest assured He knows all things, and has a plan that is beyond our comprehension that will be executed upon. There are many paths to the end point of His plan and we will make choices throughout our life that will result in taking one path or another. He allows for this, because He loves us. He is in control of everything, but has chosen to give us the freedom to love and trust Him or not. Just as in the case with Sodom, Abraham’s compassion for the righteous people in the city was the motivation for his negotiating tactics. He did not know everything the Lord knew about these people. God knew the wickedness of their hearts and because of His omnipotence, knew the result would not be changed through Abraham’s negotiations.
When God tells you to do something, it’s for a reason that is part of His plan. You have to make the choice of whether you want to negotiate with Him or accept His plan. For example: if He is leading you to reach out to those in your community by working in a food bank or homeless shelter, you can negotiate with Him based on logic and all of the other things going on in your life. You might say something like, “I really want to do this, as soon as I free up some time or finish this project.” The Lord’s desire for your working in the food bank is not going to go away, because it is part of His plan for you. What you don’t see is the people that you could impact immediately by following His direction. By making excuses and delaying your action, there may be others that are impacted but you’ll never know. God doesn’t introduce these opportunities into your life unless He has a purpose for it. Put away the excuses and negotiating tactics, humble yourself to follow the Lord and be willing to trust Him when He calls.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You are omnipotent and ever present in our lives. We humble ourselves in Your presence and seek You in our actions. Fill us today with Your Holy Spirit that we might see the desire of Your heart in our walk. Convict us to realize that You are in control and that we can trust in Your calling. Help us to see the world through Your eyes that we might bless others in our actions today. In Your name we pray – Amen
http://www.10minutereader.com
Heavenly Father,
You are omnipotent and ever present in our lives. We humble ourselves in Your presence and seek You in our actions. Fill us today with Your Holy Spirit that we might see the desire of Your heart in our walk. Convict us to realize that You are in control and that we can trust in Your calling. Help us to see the world through Your eyes that we might bless others in our actions today. In Your name we pray – Amen
http://www.10minutereader.com
©Sondove Enterprises, 2011
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