“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 NKJV
Just as there are pitfalls in life, so also there are pitfalls in business. To succeed and thrive in business, these pitfalls must be identified and avoided.
1. The Pitfall of Compromise
Compromise is when your pressure puts your principle to test. You’re so much pressured that you begin to reconsider your stand. The pressure of ‘I want to be great in life”, “I need to get married or I must succeed”, “I need to pay my house rent”, to mention a few... are all enough to make you want to cut corners. In the pursuit of success, you are tempted to cut corners.
Someone casually said and I quote, “there’s no way you can come out of poverty without compromise or cutting corners, because the system is so designed to make people poor.” Now, my take on this is that I beg to disagree. The Bible says, the blessings of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow with it. So when anyone tells you that, just remind them of this scripture.
“A false balance is abomination to the LORD: But a just weight is his delight.”
Proverbs 11:1 KJV
In business and career, integrity could appear expensive but compromise is costlier, in fact, more expensive. Do not cut corners or take shortcuts because shortcuts will cut your life short.
“Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.”
Proverbs 20:17 KJV
God doesn’t bless soiled hands. Many are suffering today because of the shady things their fathers have put their hands into.
2. The Pitfall of Greed
This is the trap of “not enough...” , “I need more...” “I want more...”, “more money...”, etc.
“He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth gifts shall live.”
Proverbs 15:27
Has it ever occurred to you that one of the major reasons people take the life of another dances around greed?
“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, And he addeth no sorrow with it.”
Proverbs 10:22 KJV
Why not seek purpose? Because once you’re in purpose, there’d be provision. For every vision, there is a provision. There’s nothing wrong when you pursue the blessing of God, but when money becomes ‘your purpose’, then joy disappears because you live for it and what you live for becomes your idol. When money becomes your idol, the more you chase after it, the further it goes away from you, you can never get it.
Greed only makes you lose your conscience. God will never bless any man whose character will change because of money. He will only bless that man who refuses to change his ideals, his standards, because of money.
3. The Pitfall of Overworking/Exhaustion/Fatigue/Overload
This, we can also refer to as the Pitfall of Workaholism. This might appear impressive on the surface but behind it, you are hiding fear.
“It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Psalms 127:2 NLT
“It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?”
Psalm 127:2 MSG
This scripture is telling us that it’s not your sweat that will prosper you. You’re expected to work hard, no doubt, it’s even better ro work smart, yes. But it is God that gives the increase, that will bless the work of your hands.
Rest isn’t for the weak. It is for the wise.
4. The Pitfall of Pride and Self Aggrandizement
There is a natural tendency for one to tend to puff or arrogate the success or blessings of God to himself.
“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” James 4:6 KJV
God is in the business of giving grace unto men, but there’s a class of people He personally resists and withholds His grace from, the arrogant. God cannot stand pride. The moment you become a victim of this pitfall, you have practically pitched your tent against Jehovah.
You need to remember that God brought you thus far. Always bear in mind that pride is a crashing force.
“Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”
Daniel 4:37 KJV
The trap of pride is forgetting who lifted you, who helped you to succeed, who brought you thus far.
“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
Deuteronomy 8:18 KJV
Pride makes you turn your ‘success’ into an idol. Once the enemy realizes you have become a victim of pride, they immediately move on to their next target. They don’t need to waste their time or effort on you anymore because they know God Himself will help them pull you down. The Most High will do the work for them.
What’s making you to puff? What do you have that you were not given? God will bless and lift you but cannot tolerate your ego. The higher you rise in life, the more you should reverence the One who has lifted you because He can drop you.
There are some memories you should keep, some ‘rags’ you should keep, it will help you remember where God is bringing you from, it will help you to respect people and behave yourself wisely.
5. The Pitfall of Wrong Partnership
“ Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark?”
2 Corinthians 6:14 MSG
Be mindful of those with whom you associate or transact business. There are people who already have covenant with darkness, don’t yoke your business with them. These are not mere unbelievers but they have covenant with the devil. This is another pitfall to beware of.
Choose partner prayerfully and by character and not by speaking in tongues or meeting in church. Watch out for red flags. He hates believers yet you are yoked together in business. One wrong person in your business is enough to bring down that empire. One wrong partner can drain all that you have laboured for in life.
85% of artists have been initiated into wrong dealings. They have entered the wrong studio and have been signed into satanic record label deals that is going to haunt them for a long time.
6. Pitfall of Losing Your Purpose
You must not allow your career to kill your calling. Your calling would take precedence over your career.
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
I John 3:8 KJV
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Mark 8:36 KJV
Jesus, while on earth, did not forget or lose focus of His purpose. Many succeed publicly but they are actually private failure. Don’t be one of them. Don’t lose focus of your calling. Your purpose is your calling, keep it in view and run with it.
Once that career, partnership, relationship, or whatever alliance, costs you your peace, your faith, your identity, your purpose, please you must drop it immediately.
Work from the place of identity; work from identity and not for identity. Sometimes, your seeming biggest success might be your biggest distraction. You might be climbing a ladder which unfortunately is resting on a wrong wall.
7. Whatever you’re doing, what is speaking for you?
As a business, what is your corporate social responsibility to the world. Can you identify with God with that business of yours?
Avoid this pitfall by prayers, immerse your life in the word. Can you serve God in that your business that you’re doing? Is there any Kingdom alignment in that your business that you’re into?
If you’re able to consciously avoid these pitfalls in your business, the sky is your limit. God will see to it that you prosper.