“And the Lord said, “Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it. The Lord went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.”

We sit across the table or we pass back and forth documents trying to get another party to agree to our point of view or proposal. If we are smart we have spent a fair amount of time trying to understand what the objectives are and what the underlying things that are highly valued. If we can find that these are shared between both parties then there is much to work with. It’s when there aren’t any of these then and we we find that aren’t any that are shared then we end up getting nowhere and if we are really smart then we will know that it is better to walk away than try and force a deal between two parties that don’t have shared values/principles/objectives. It’s really, really important that we have have this understanding and perspective before we go into a deal or negotiation process. It’s worth the extra time and thinking.

Abraham was able to negotiate with the Lord. When we read this account in Genesis 18 it is nothing short of remarkable. To negotiate with the Lord? As I read this account again recently, I realized that one reason why this negotiation worked was that both Abraham and the Lord had a shared objective and values. They both wanted to save the righteous people and wanted to make sure they were spared. This is why God was willing to hold back on the destruction so Abraham could come up with an (what turned out to be a smaller and smaller) amount of righteous people. In our own lives we are faced with negotiations and deals everyday. Our workday is filled with them. It’s worth the time to find the shared objectives/values so that we can come to the table with a position that is principle based. That position is one that won’t go unnoticed.

Reference: Genesis 18