A number of years ago I moved back to Georgia after having attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. I was glad to be returning to my home state and I was happy to be accepting the Associate Pastor position of a well-known church in Cartersville Ga. In that great church, there were many young couples with small children and that always makes for a growing and dynamic church given the right leadership. This church was growing. It was a good place to be and I was thankful to the Lord for having me there.
One of the couples that was a member of the church became fast friends with Carolyn and me. I will not call their names but they were a Godly, dedicated young couple who were willing to do anything in the church and in their personal lives in order to serve and glorify the Lord. They were Bible students who loved the Word of God and they also applied the principles of the Bible in their everyday lives. The husband simply had a Godly spirit about the way he conducted his life as did his wife. I fully enjoyed knowing them and spending time with them. They were refreshing.
The young man was employed as a salesman by a company that manufactured an assortment of things used by factories and large manufacturing companies. They made connectors, bolts, nuts, and many other things. Their products were known as being very good and reliable. It was a very successful company and my friend was also a very successful salesman for them. He made a lot of money for such a young man. Everywhere throughout the company he was known as a trustworthy person who would always tell the truth. One day he told me that he had a problem and wanted to know what my thoughts on it were. He really knew the answers but wanted some confirmation. Here was his problem: The owner of the company always gave a Christmas gift to customers who had done business with them during the year. He usually gave them a fifth of high-class whiskey or a bottle of an expensive wine. What the owner asked my friend to do was to go buy the gifts and present them to the customers. So, I got the call from him and he told me that, in all good conscience he could not do as the boss asked him to do because he was totally against alcohol use as it destroys the lives of people. He did not feel that God wanted him to be involved but he also liked his job and was afraid that if he refused to do as the owner asked, he might get fired.
I told him what I thought he should do and he concurred and he asked me to pray for him as he went into this situation. I advised him to make an appointment with the owner and explain that, as a Christian who tried to please the Lord and be obedient to Him and his word, that he simply could not deliver alcoholic beverages to the customers especially as a Christmas gift. I said, if you are honest with him, he will react differently than what you expect. We sent some time in prayer about the situation and he felt better about it.
So, the day came when he went to see the owner of the company and told him his decision. My friend was willing to buy any other kind of gifts that the owner approved but not the alcohol. He said that due to his Christian beliefs and his commitment to God’s Word, he simply could not do it. He told the owner that he didn’t want to be rebellious or stubborn but he simply could not do it.
Of course, he left the office expecting to lose his job. It was a possibility in his mind and with a growing family he could not afford for that to happen. In a few days he was informed by another officer of the company that the owner wanted to talk to him. My friend was very concerned and called me about it. It told him that if he was fired for standing for what God says, then the Lord would have something better for him. He felt better but still went to the meeting wondering what was about to happen to him.
After being greeted and then some small talk, the owner told him that he respected his refusal to buy alcoholic beverages as Christmas gifts for their clients. He said that he admired his commitment to Christ and the teachings in the Bible. Then, the surprise! The owner told him that he was looking for someone who was honest, trustworthy and willing to stand for his beliefs and then he told him that he was promoting him to be the manager of a division of the company at a substantial raise in pay! God used this situation to bring that young man into something far better. He showed him that trusting in Him is far more important than anything else. God can change the situations we face if we will only give it to Him in simple faith, and trusting Him with the outcome.
So, my dear buddy found that he didn’t have to buy the alcohol after all. He also found that standing with God on the issue produced something he had not expected from the situation: a better and more responsible position along with better hours and a lot more money. He could provide more for his dear wife and two children than ever before. He didn’t know what was going to happen but God did and when we trust Him, He always has Something Better.
