Business Partners

1 Kings 22:49

At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my men sail with your men," but Jehoshaphat refused.

In the 2003 movie ‘The Italian Job’, Edward Norton’s character double crossed his team after a successful heist and took all the gold for himself. He was their inside man. One with whom they shared their dreams and ate meals with. What made his betrayal worse was his intent to kill them all, including the old man whom everyone considered a father. A man who decided it will be his last as a thief to start anew with his daughter. Norton cared not. He respected none. For him, t’was all about the gold and himself. After a year, the team regrouped to get back on him - - secondary for the gold, but foremost to take revenge. They knew better that be like him. They’re first a team before they’re thieves. That, I guess, was their core value.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was a man of value. Like his father Asa, he pushed reforms in his land and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. However, there was one fault in him: he made deals with ungodly people, namely the father and son kings of Israel. First, he fought with Ahab against the king of Aram; second, he built a fleet of trading ships with Ahaziah; and third, he allowed his son Jehoram to marry Ahab’s daughter. God made it clear not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Jehoshaphat may have excluded Ahab from the pagan world, for he was a brother, a fellow-Israelite. And besides, those were all business deals. He did it to expand his kingdom, to ensure its peace, to acquire more resources. Sizing his spirituality, he thought he was mature enough not to allow Ahab’s idol worship to influence him. But God is never wrong in His word. Fighting alongside Ahab almost caused him his life. During the war, he was urged to keep his royal robes while Ahab fought in disguise so that the Aramites will have an eye on him. Nice ally huh? The trading partnership proved fatal too. The ships were wrecked and so were his investments. Glad he learned his lesson. He refused Ahaziah's second offer. Sadly though, the royal wedding still took place as recorded in Chronicles. A union which paved the way to Judah's idolatry - - a loss so much worse :<

Why do you think business people take time to list down and inculcate their vision and core values to every single soul down the line? Simply because each one has an idea of how to go about things. They need to set a direction for a movement to take place. No two opposing ideas will get you anywhere. One has to give up and give in. Coming to terms with those who has zero regard for God is not just acting in disobedience, it will also destroy you. If you’re goal is to glorify God in your work and your partner lives for the money, how will you handle Sunday overtime or debt overload or advertising schemes? Or if your spouse is an unbeliever, who will stop him (or her) from falling for another person, how will you handle an argument, what will you teach your children? God is wise in warning us that these people will lead our hearts astray. We can’t do business without values. Politics are not without principles. Marriage is more than feelings and pleasure. Christianity is not a Sunday religion. It’s an everyday relationship with God. So if you think He won’t strike a compromise with them, you shouldn’t either. Who's your boss anyway?