I am a fan of the TV show 'Shark Tank'. On this show, people with products pitch their idea to investors who can help them make it to the next level. I am an idea guy, and I like to pitch ideas. So I enjoy the conversations between the inventors and the investors. Tonight I was thinking about the hard-nosed attitude of the investors. One of them in particular, Kevin O’leary, has a very greedy world-view. He believes everything revolves around money. It determines everything. This causes him to come off as very jaded. I’m certain he does well in business, but I feel very sorry for him if this fiscal attitude rules his personal relationships. But in the financial realm, he has laser focus. If it doesn’t make cents… it doesn’t make sense. One aspiring entrepreneur on the show was trying to convince the investors to put $100,000 into his company in exchange for 10% of its equity. He tried to convince them of the value of his product, but he came off as shifty, and generally incompetent. His product came off as a winner. One of the investors offered him $100,000 for 50% of the company. Then Kevin offered these terms: 1 - $100,000 to buy the whole business. 2 - Once the business was his, he would dismiss the dysfunctional creator, and 3 - Pay him 7% of the profit for the rest of his life. The inventor said he needed to call his wife to discuss the offer. While he was gone, Kevin and another ‘shark’ combined to make a team that would buy the company for $150,000 to buy the business, fire him (so he wouldn't be a liability) and give him 7% of the profits for the rest of his life. Kevin told him, "I am not trying to insult you. I am trying to make you rich." Upon returning, he declined their offer, not believing that they would think so little of his 'management skills'. A third investor who was totally unimpressed with the creator, but had confidence in the product if it were in the right hands, added $75,000 to buy him out, bringing the total to $225,000. He flatly denied their offer and walked away for good. It was obvious both by his presentation, and his interaction with those whose help he sought, that he was incapable of taking his business to the next level. It was as if he was throwing his future away because he couldn't be in control of it... driving it into the ground. Obviously, my mind went to the spiritual reality, which is clearly obvious. We may act like we are the best thing for us, but we all know at some level that we need serious help if we are going to become all we can be. We offer God a small portion of ourselves (10%) if He will invest what we can't. God offers the following: 1 - We step aside 2 - He takes charge, and 3 - We receive abundant life now and throughout eternity. But you know how it is. People don't want to think of themselves as their own worst enemy. They want to believe that they are only a couple of good decisions away from making a smashing success out of themselves. But we can't make a success out of ourselves. God knows who we are. He knows what will happen if we hold a 90% stake in ourselves… or a 10% stake, for that matter. Jesus taught His disciples this same thing. He once told them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) We have to give up our life in order to gain life. We have to give up control to gain stability. We have to give up our pursuits in order to gain true purpose. He created us. He know how to get the most out of us and help us achieve the dreams He put inside of us. So the question is, will you take His offer? Have you done such a great job with your life that you don't need help? Have you done such a poor job with the life you were given, that you admit you need someone else to bail you out, but you will only give them a small percentage of yourself? Do you just want God to get you out of a scrape only to have limited input? Are you really that well off? God doesn't partner with us, so to speak. He makes us an offer we shouldn't refuse: 1 - He has paid the necessary price to free us from the bondage that is our old life of sin. 2 - He makes us into a new creation, our old self being gone... fired, if you will. 3 - He promises us and delivers an everlasting reward. Once we accept His offer, we are then able to partner with Him to transform the lives of others who have grand ideas about what they should be, but no way to bring it about themselves. Today, surrender to Christ's investment and management. He wants to get into your business and make you profitable for the kingdom of God. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
March 2019
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