In our Back to the Basics theme this year there's no better place to start than the simple, yet difficult, concept that God owns it all. Many of us mouth the words and know in our head that this statement is true, but we have a difficult time moving the concept into our heart and letting it flow through our actions.

At a Business by the Book seminar I was teaching years ago in Michigan I met a doctor who claimed to have attended the very first Business by the Book seminar taught by Larry Burkett many years before. Larry had taught the Apostle Paul's edict against being unequally yoked, but over the years this doctor drifted into investing in many partnerships with people who did not hold to the same values as he did.

During the session when I discussed the subject of being unequally yoked, this doctor shared with the group that this teaching really convicted him, because he knew better, but violated this principle many times since that first seminar. As I recall, he claimed that he was currently in 8 or 9 different partnerships.

He went on to say, "Some of my partnerships are with solid Christians, but several are with people who do not believe as I do. As I just did some mental calculations, I realized that every one of the partnerships I'm in with non-believers are losing money and have been a huge drain on me emotionally. I wish I would have heeded God's Word years ago."

Maybe you aren't looking for a partner or for cash for your business right now, but you do have an opportunity each day to decide whether or not you're going to allow God to have control over your work or your business.

Psalm 24:1-2 teaches, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it, for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters."

Whether you like it or not, God is in control. You can cooperate and obediently follow His wise path, or you can do it the hard way. It's your choice.

Discussion Question:

What are examples of areas in your work life where you find it hard to release control to God?

For 11 years in a row, Little League Baseball was the love of my life. Each summer most of my time was invested in practices and games. What we lived for was the game, but most of our time was invested in practice.

Some of my peers hated practicing so much that they would skip them thinking that they could show up and play on game day, but most coaches would bench them. These coaches realized that without regularly practicing the basics, these players were unlikely to perform well come game day. Without relentless infield and batting practice I would have never honed my skills enough to field the tough ground balls automatically on game day.

In order to truly live out our faith at work the same principles apply. Tough decisions come our way each day. If we respond without understanding and practicing the basics it's doubtful we will be responding according to God's standards.

Our desire here at Integrity Resource Center for 2012 is to be like that coach that each night pounded ground ball after ground ball at me, so that come game day I instinctively made the right moves to field our opponent's ground balls. We desire to encourage and equip each of you by focusing on the basics.

In the very beginning of this ministry we developed 10 Biblical Business Principles that we believe are basic to responding to the challenges we each face daily in the workplace. Each month of this year we will be focusing on one of those principles, with June and December left open for game day types of discussions. Please stay tuned so that on those game days in your workplace you will be prepared to please God with your instinctive responses.