(From the 101 Series)

As I was learning to discern better in the Spirit, I gave a particular person the benefit of the doubt and chose to do business with him. I extended much grace to him. Now, my spirit identified him as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, yet I thought his over-confidence and polish could be interpreted as the way a person would act who cared deeply about his business and yet had a worldly or non-Christian worldview. In other words, I rationalized that he was a good guy and just did not know how to properly express it.

At this particular time in my life I was so willing to throw most non-Christian businesses to the curb and in attempts to balance this view it caused me to err in the opposite direction allowing too much leniency in their business interactions with me that I normally would not tolerate from anyone. So naturally one might ask at this point, “What happened and what was the lesson learned”?

Outcome
The outcome was frustrating. But… it was packed full of great wisdom to be learned. The situation involved a real estate deal and came close to becoming one of the clichéd closings that “falls apart at the closing table.” The mortgage broker in this deal had attempted to hide many of his fees thinking neither I nor any other party would see what he did. I had agreed to pay 1 point, but when all their fees and payouts were added up it came to equal 4 points. For those who have any experience in real estate they know that this is significant. We were able to negotiate at the table and get things resolved to complete the deal that day.

That’s not where the story ends. Two days later I receive a call from the mortgage broker’s partner who left me the single rudest voice mail I have ever heard a so-called “professional” leave. He proceeded to speak lies about me and berate the other parties in the deal. He said I was a fool for listening to others who do not know anything about the business.

What he did not know is that the seller was one of my students/disciples, who had been a successful mortgage broker himself before going full time into his own business. Furthermore, the title agent was someone that the seller had used on several occasions when he was still active in the mortgage business. If it weren’t for them being involved in the closing, I might not have noticed the tricks that were being played on me. As part of my mortgage broker’s scheme, he continued to try and make me feel incompetent and to doubt my own 6 years of experience as an investor.

Have any of you ever been attacked from out of the blue and then shocked as to why this person is saying and doing these things? Through the entire process you were honest and friendly and then BAM! …someone put the bite on you. Well, we need to get toughened up to this type of behavior because the market place is a tough place especially as you advance into the bigger leagues.

Lesson to apply

When you discern that something is wrong step back and take a second look to see what it is.

What if you can’t detect what is “off?”
If you discern something is not right and the waters are still too muddy to pinpoint the exact situation, then see if another option fits better — or perhaps is at least as good — but has peace behind it. When you can sense the peace then you know that is the direction to go.

This will take faith and confidence in the Holy Spirit because there may not be any visible signs of relief or validation right away. As time passes, the tangible signs usually manifest.