Christian on Christian Crime

Yesterday I was reminded of some particular situations that I had witnessed via friends, colleagues and more and decided I would address it for the WIVES – CHRISTIAN WIVES because too much is happening within Christian marriages that are tearing them apart. Choices, emotions, media and even what others are saying too you are impacting your decisions. So let’s get into it.

I chose the title of this post to be Christian on Christian Crime because I have seen where Christians have forgotten to discern in their spirit, do their homework and check other CHRISTIANS out before they enter into business dealings, buy houses or cars, etc because the person was in Church with them and SAID they were Christian.

Yes, I said it Check them out… usually you do not purchase a car without doing your homework, test driving and even asking questions. Whenever we prepare to add an extracurricular activity to our twins schedule, we check it out before we do it. We talk with the owners or instructors, we sit in on a class to see how they provide their instruction, we talk with the twins and we make an informed decision.

I have noticed that when it comes to Christians, I have seen one of three things happen and all of these can affect your finances:

(1) For some reason, there are Christians that believe they should get everything for free. They literally do not want to pay for anything and consequently they do not value what they get for free. This in itself will end up costing you more in the end because you get a reputation of being a person that want to see what you can get out of people.

(2) There are so-called Christians in the Church that prey on other Christians because they are quick with their speech. What I have seen happen is that because they present themselves to Christians, then as a Christian we tend to throw discernment, background checks whether it is through asking for references, doing an internet search (you can find out good, bad or indifferent by Googling someone’s name anymore) right out the window because they are a Christian and we end up in negative financial situations because of it.

(3) There are the Christians that would truly like to utilize a Christian service but have been burned in one of the other situations and are steering clear. That is a Crime in itself to Christians that could be Blessed by a Christian business that is doing it according to God’s outline and purpose for their business and/or ministry.

I want to briefly share a few examples that I have seen happen:

(a) Friend is a Christian and attends Church, he needs a vehicle. Fellow church members tells him he works at a dealership and can get him a good deal on a car. It is recommended to the friend that he leases a car. Result: Friend is upside down on the lease due to he drives heavy mileage and cannot get another car for a time frame.

(b) Friend needs a particular service that a Christian woman offers and the poverty speech begins talking about getting the “family rate” or saying the price is too high because they do not want to pay. Result: The business owner enters into business with the person and then gets stiffed.

Maybe you are asking the question as you are reading this, can this be prevented? Yes it can and below are some initial steps to take:

First and foremost, there are times when we are talking with a person whether in person or on the phone you get that feeling in your Spirit that something is not right. Listen to The Holy Spirit telling you not to enter into business. I know that whenever my husband has gone against this, it has cost us more money in the long run.

Second, don’t be so quick to say yes. Take the time to do your research. Ask for references and check them. Don’t just ask to say I got them..press ahead and make the calls. Yes, I know that people can tell you anything, however, I have also learned when you take your time a person’s true self will surface if they are up to no good.

Third, develop some criteria for doing business with a Christian business owner – length of time they have been in business, references, look at their website, check to see if they have had any lawsuits against their business (go to your local county website) and some have a site with court records that are public record. Type their name in.

Fourth, when you are entering into business make sure you have an agreement outlining what should be done, the date the agreement is entered into, how much is to be paid upon whatever service produced, due date just for starters. Make sure that both parties sign it. This is for your protection. Better to be safe than sorry.

EXERCISE WISDOM!