The Camel in Your Tent - the Enemy’s Subtle Tactic Robbing Our Effectiveness in the MarketplaceSample

I always speak from personal experience when I teach a biblical principle at Kingdom Initiatives (a unique marketplace ministry). Therefore, I, too, have been fooled by the enemy in the past when I unintentionally allowed the camel into my tent.

Part of my God-given assignment is to fund my local church, as a result, in the early 2000's, I bought ten blocks of land. Over one weekend, I sold seven of these and the profits were directed straight to my church. Through this process, I understood I had to leave a reasonable margin between the price I sold the land for and the actual value so that there was still an opportunity for the buyers to prosper.

One of these blocks of land was sold to a couple, who had pleaded with me to reserve one block for them, and I reluctantly agreed. I knew they did not have the wherewithal to build and complete this as a project. But I was desperate to sell the land. Eventually, as foreseen, this couple completely overextended themselves and could not afford the construction side. Therefore, their loan against the vacant land was capitalizing and they were in trouble.

They began to blame me and tell everyone in my church that they had been ripped off and I was a crook who had sold them land without a real estate license. This had gone on for about a year before I even became aware of these false accusations.

I could not believe they were bad-mouthing me! I teach ethics all over the world and they had the gall to say this. Without realizing, I became prideful, which was the beginning of unknowingly allowing the camel’s nose into my tent.

Then I became very indignant – “Who do they think they are?” The camel’s head was now in my tent.

As I heard these rumors from more people, I began to get extremely angry. Now the camel’s long neck was in the tent.

Then there was a mediation and they apologized for spreading these false accusations, but by now, the pride, indignity, and anger had grown to such an extent that I could not forgive. Forgiveness is one of the most fundamental Christian principles, and refusing to forgive had resulted in the whole camel now occupying the tent whilst I was out in the desert. However, this was a complete blind spot until the Lord got my attention.

My business’ cash flow had dried up. At the time, I had about $15 million of property that was not selling. The Global Financial Crisis was looming, and investors were shouting at me for money.

I received a prophecy during this time stating, “God will show you an easier way.” So, as my business became more distressed, I continued to complain to the Lord, “When will you show me the easier way, this is just all too hard.”

Then I heard the Lord say, “You are harboring unforgiveness – you need to forgive this couple!”

This was not the answer I was hoping for. One day driving to church, I told my wife, Merlene, about this situation, and we prayed together for this forgiveness. The same day, my pastor preached a message on unforgiveness and the importance of calling the person to clear the air. I had already prayed and forgiven this couple, that was enough, right?

Again, I began whining about why my business’ cash flow was drying up and the Lord reiterated I was still harboring unforgiveness. Eventually, I was so frustrated and called this couple, explaining I had genuinely forgiven them. The conversation was over very quickly and amicably.

The week following this, I acquired another business to my portfolio. This new business sustained my whole corporation (Paladin Corporation) through the Global Financial Crisis. In other words, the Lord reapplied His favour because I had realigned to living God’s way.

Friends, you cannot prosper in the marketplace when there is a camel in your tent! Horace Scudder, an American author in the 1800’s, once commented, "It is a wise rule to resist the beginnings of evil.”

The devil is committed to causing good Christians to stumble, and his favorite tactic is to subtly lead you off track. From this, it becomes a slippery slope and before you know it, you have become totally ineffective for the Kingdom. As Christian men and women, we must be aware of this tactic from the enemy and continually realign ourselves to follow God’s Will, God’s Way.

Conclusion:

If this Bible study was helpful, then you will really enjoy our Kingdom Initiatives membership site. This is a unique marketplace ministry that intentionally teaches Christian men and women how to multiply their businesses to influence and change culture. These teachings are taught by businesspeople who have implemented biblical principles to build large multi-million-dollar businesses that are making a global impact. We would love to have you join us so we can influence the world through Kingdom principles. Sign up for a 7-day free trial here:

https://www.kingdominitiatives.au/