Another salesman got agitated during an after hours card game with some of the sales team and pulled out a handgun. He was reprimanded. At first glance, it sure seems the response to these two people was exactly reversed. However, the hard working salesman was consistently in the lower half of the sales force. The other one was consistently in the top five salespeople.

That’s the way the world works: performance outweighs everything. Marginal athletes get dismissed from the team for falling asleep during meetings. Stars get warnings. The bottom line is not character, it is performance.

Salvation is not about how good -- or how bad -- we are.

That is one reason why the call of Jesus is so counter-cultural. Your "performance" has nothing to do with your salvation. You are never good enough to get into heaven on your own. You are never so bad that the grace of God cannot save you. Getting to heaven starts with what God did when he sent his Son to this earth to save us. I believe that is good news.

It is a hard concept to grasp in a culture that is so driven by individual performance. But it is a truth that can change your life forever. If you would like to talk more about this, join our blog discussion at www.hopeforlife.org. Or write me at steve@hopeforlife.org and we will talk about it.

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Are you presently experiencing a new life? God's word says, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" This new life is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If you want to know more about this life that only Jesus can give you, sign up for one of our Bible courses. Wherever you are in life, whatever you've done, you can begin again. You may also contact us at info@hopeforlife.org if you have questions about becoming a new creation.

 

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© 2008 Herald of Truth Ministries

Title: "Performance Based Systems"
Author: Steve Ridgell
Publication Date: August 20, 2008

The Man God Uses by Henry and Tom Blackaby Will show you how an ordinary man can be transformed into an extraordinary servant of God.

Steve Ridgell serves as the Director of Ministry for Herald of Truth Ministries in Abilene, Texas and writes for Hopeforlife.org. You can reach him by writing to sridgell@heraldoftruth.org.

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