There is no shortage of training material, including the material on our Business Proverbs site. The training articles on this site and others are man-written.  King David wrote, “praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” (Psalm 144:1, NIV)

 When I read business books, articles or engage in training; I ask the Lord in advance to show me important takeaways. I want to remember the parts that will advance my business and the parts that will lead to righteous business execution. Often, we think it’s the next training, seminar or book that will move our business forward.  However, David reminds us that it is the Lord who trains our hands and fingers. The Lord is the Good Teacher who will give us the insights we need better than any human can.

Ask the Lord for his guidance and training every day. You will be amazed at the what God and God alone will provide.

A recent study of 2,000 millennials, commissioned by Endoca, showed an interesting list of what caused stress in their lives: 

1. Losing wallet/credit card
2. Arguing with partner
3. Commuting/traffic delays
4. Losing phone
5. Arriving late to work
6. Slow WiFi
7. Phone battery dying
8. Forgetting passwords
9. Credit card fraud
10. Forgetting phone charger
11. Losing/misplacing keys
12. Paying bills
13. Job interviews
14. Phone screen breaking
15. Credit card bills
16. Check engine light coming on
17. School loan payments
18. Job security
19. Choosing what to wear
20. Washing dishes

You have likely seen ads or heard radio commercials urging you to give your car to charity to help an organization and obtain a tax deduction for yourself. Generally, I feel this is not the best exercise of stewardship. The easy part is that you sign a piece of paper and get rid of the car whether it works or not.

Most organizations may not be able to get the best price for donated cars. Also, tax advisors have told me that you have an increased chance of being audited by the friendly IRS when you claim a deduction for a donated car.

The more effective way of moving a used car is to take photographs of the vehicle in the best possible light. Then try to sell it on one of the local auto trader magazines or Craigslist. In most circumstances you can get a better cash settlement than the organization could get. Then, simply write a check for the same amount to the charity of your choice, not just the charity that does a good job of marketing car donations.

I have always thought of watches as a timepiece.  Since I like to be on time, I’ve used many different watches that were created to help me tell time. The first watch I can remember having was a Roy Rogers watch, which, if I still possessed it, would sell for $300 to $400.  Maybe it’s a reminder that we shouldn’t always throw old things away.

Over the years, watches have evolved into calendars and much more. I generally have bought inexpensive watches because I tended to knock them around a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever paid much over one hundred dollars for a watch, generally less.

King David wanted to make things right with the Gibeonites, a tribe Saul had wronged.  Scripture says that “David asked the Gibeonites, ‘What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the LORD's inheritance?’" (2 Samuel 21:3, NIV) 

Every business and the individuals who run them will occasionally fall short. A key question is what we do in those circumstances. In the situation scripture notes, David did not just walk away or make an arbitrary decision based on what he felt the wronged tribe should receive. He asked. He wanted to know what they thought should be done to make reparation for the wrong.