There are some people at work who are better at negotiating than others. These are the people who know how to get the best deal from the other side of the table and they have learned how to find the last dollar or cent in savings from a project or a vendor. These are also the best people to negotiate contracts as they know how to ensure that as much risk has been removed before signing the deal. And if they are really good they do all of this with the other side of the negotiations feeling good about the deal. All big companies now have this skill set resident within the organization. It just makes sense today to have these experts on hand. Long gone are the handshake and gentleman’s agreement. There was a time that business ran on such but over the years as relationships, integrity and trust eroded and these values became less integral to getting done what needed to get done, business leaders have had to rely on the contract for assurances of what to expect. And even then on both sides of a contract still look for loopholes and omissions so that they can attempt to gain the upper hand or a better deal. In today’s world it seems we are always negotiating and seldom in a moment of peace and productivity. Isn’t it great though that we have a much higher authority that we can count on and trust to never break the contract that was given to us? As long as we enter into the relationship with sincerity and earnestness then we don’t have to worry about the other side trying to take advantage of us. We read about this in Hebrews; “”Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him…Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. ” This assurance is the best of all contracts. This is a contract that will not be broken. While we have to protect ourselves and our organizations in the work we do with written agreements and contracts, it does not mean that we can’t live and work as personal examples of the promise that God gave us. If we can become known as a person of integrity who means what she/he says and says what he/she means, then we are role-modeling the behavior and actions of the One we follow. Today, you will be asked to “contract” with others. It will likely not be sitting down to write out what is expected of you, but rather it will be someone requesting assistance, or sending a question over email, or leaving a simple request on your voice mail. How you respond and live up to the contract of your own performance could be the determiner of how someone sees our Christ through you. Let us all strive to stay close to God and be the same example as one who delivers and keeps out promises.

Reference: Hebrews 10:22-25 (New Living Testament)