Most of us work for an organization we do not own. It is important to understand and embrace the authority structure under which we find employment. Scripture shares an example of a person who clearly understood the concept of authority:

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:8-9 NIV)

From time to time I receive questions about the value of holding sales to attract customers. Some business owners feel it is a waste of time, or they don’t like to discount product. Others believe the concept may work, but they’re not quite sure how to implement a good sale.
 
Sales do work. Everyone wants to believe they are getting a bargain. One tactic is to sell some items at or below cost and focus on these bargains. Your goal is to lose a little on the sales, but bring customers in the door who will buy other things to increase profit.

I spend time thinking through what the future will bring and what steps I need to take now to be properly positioned for the future.  At the same time I need to remember that the future is not predictable. As scripture states, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.’” (James 4:13-14a, NIV) When looking forward, it is helpful to gain perspective by looking backward first.

I have written a number of times about the importance of keeping promises and commitments to customers and others.  Scripture gives a very pointed perspective on keeping your word when it says “They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.” (Hosea 10:4, NIV)

You’ve heard that “a picture is worth 1,000 words.”  In the case of department store sales, it is true. Woolf Street posted a chart that helps us visualize their predicament. (See chart below.) In 2004 retail store sales surpassed department store sales, and the trend has accelerated. Clearly this trend is not going to be reversed.