Before you strike a deal.

Lately, out of no where, Bible verses have been randomly popping in my head.  Tonight, it's Matthew 7: 15-20.   Just pieces of that passage came to mind, such as the last verse: you'll recognize them by their fruit.  I immediately googled that part to find the "rest of the story."  So, I have had an ahh-haa moment and I have got to get this out.

Picture from : http://thewildernessroad.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-study-this-morning-matthew-715-20.html

 Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.   16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?   17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.   18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.   19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.   20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Anyone can say with confidence and a smile on their face "no-drama-for-me" talk, or with great conviction say "God led me" or "I believe this is what God wants me to do," talk, which in my opinion, falls under "prophet" talk.  Quite frankly, this is music to any Christian's ears in the secular world.  I know it is mine.

As a Christian, it's easy to want to strike a deal and give your heart over to these kind of folks as they seem to be far and few between.  So why then do we sometimes find ourselves, after some time passes and the relationship is in full swing or the deal is struck, left with pain caused by the prickly thorns and thistles?  Our natural reflex is to want to say, "I never even saw that coming!" The Bible says differently.

So how do we prevent that from happening to us and/or our business?

I believe the tricky piece of all of this that causes even the best of us to be misled is that people can show little glimpses of one, two or ALL of these traits; however, for a tree to produce fruit, it takes time, which tells us that they must do "good, fruit bearing" actions over and over and over again. There has got to be concrete evidence!

Evidence is such things as : friends to account for, visits to the hospital for friends/family in need, charitable work, do they volunteer for the meaningless, gets-no-credit or whats-in-it-for-me tasks? Do they have a positive network with them already, thats not immediate family, in whatever field of business they are in or are they in it solo?

We must protect our selves and hearts by not giving people just the benefit of doubt, but look a bit deeper for demonstrated actions found through "judging a person's character by what they do for people who cannot help them," philosophy.

So, what I have learned tonight that I am sharing with you is this:  Before going into business with someone, marrying some one, or "making a deal" with someone, we must learn to make decisions AFTER taking a good look at PAST behavior and fruits they've beared.  If you can't find any, believe what you see and move on!  There will be plenty more fish in the sea.

Fruits to look for: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.  Remember, a bad tree can't bear good fruits, and a good tree can't bear bad fruits.

After all, in word's of Dr. Phil, "the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."