Paul’s Sales Training
“
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be
devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor
one another above yourselves.
Never
be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Share
with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
(Romans 12 vs. 9-13)
Last year our Pastor Ed had each of us in bible study pick a
“Faith Verse”, a verse or more that we feel we try to live by; one that means a
lot to us. The above was one of several selections that I made. There is a lot
to it and it is a good way to live your life.
With that said, I
want to talk about my sales mentor and trainer, George. In the years he spent
training me he sounded just like Paul in his message to the Romans. He would
not tolerate sales bluster- he always was sincere
and expected the same from me.
George did not
like evil, like late deliveries, bad
product or cheating on pricing- he liked what was good; fair deals, integrity and ethics. He taught me to respect and
honor both the manufacturer and the
customer and that they had to come before me- that was not always easy.
Verses eleven and
twelve have to do with keeping a positive attitude; a difficult thing in life,
especially in sales. You see, no salesman has more than half of the market
share so by definition, they lose more than they win. In my business we had
about a ten percent share so we lost nine out of ten. With that said, George
taught me to always be upbeat and positive, “Never be lacking in zeal… Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction.”
During those
years, George was not a church person; just a great guy sent to me from God to
be my mentor. We now have a different relationship, friends of each other, of
the Lord and of Jesus. He is a Good News Buddy. I will hear from him when he reads this.
Thought for Today:
Today let’s focus Paul’s important message in verses 11 and 12. Let us use them
to keep our attitude positive so that we may have a positive effect on those
around us. “Never be lacking in zeal... Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction.”
Prayer for Today: Dear
Lord and Father, today we give thanks to our mentors; those who have influenced
our lives. That includes Jesus, Paul and the others that you sent to guide us.
Amen
George’s Comments
Pick,
I am honored and humbled to think that I had a positive
influence in your life and you are right in saying we didn’t know Paul back
then. In fact, I felt I could do all things by myself. I really didn't need God
or Paul or anyone. Church was not important; I was invincible (ugh,
so sinful, so shameful). So what you saw in me was what God was bringing
to the table....it was certainly not me!
I went though too many years ignoring the urging and
pushing of the Holy Spirit until He pushed so hard one day, there was no way to
ignore Him any longer. It’s sad that we can’t recognize Who really is in
control, but joyful that we eventually come to the right “path” and by
so doing we are able to share the Gospel with others. So to all who
see this remember, it doesn't matter when you "discover" God,
what really matters is that you DO discover God.
"For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--
and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8)
I am happy and at peace today (as I am most every day now
that I am walking with Jesus), and I, like you, find great delight in the
teachings of Paul. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but I considered Paul
to be a “frustrated athlete” but an even better “athletic coach”
and through that, I have always identified you with him. In fact, I can look up from this keyboard and
see another of my favorite passages.
Finally
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever
is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about
such
things. Whatever you have learned or
received or heard
from
me, or seen in me—put it into practice.
And the God of peace
will be with you.
(Php 4:8-9)
Thank you Bob for being my friend and for all the good
work you are doing. May God continue to
bless you, your Ministry, and all your family.
george