Many of us loathe invoking spirituality and God in our business affairs and discourse owing to the sensitivity and divisive nature of such matters. Even if there may be some tolerance by some in welcoming discussions of such topics in business, the fatalistic faith, idolatry, sycophancy, and fanaticism by some religious followers prohibit many from sharing their thoughts on spirituality in their business affairs.

Religion and spirituality have been abused by thieving cruel oppressors, devious apologists, and cunning soothsayers among others, to oppress, steal, enslave and destroy vulnerable, fearful, and ignorant people among others. Lacking discernment, many have had their lives and livelihood destroyed. They opted to doing nothing in the belief that their prayers to some deity would suffice in having their wishes fulfilled. Some eventually backslid from their beliefs, thus becoming staunch critics of spirituality. Naturally, humans are spiritual even without belief in the existence of a deity. Arguably, agnostics and atheists have belief in and follow their ideas of spirituality.

 I do not plan to debate anyone’s beliefs except to wish sharing my experiences of my beliefs that have helped me make sense of complexities, difficulties, and general challenges of life. Such challenges could have easily resulted in my mental breakdown, depression or possibly loss of life. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 January 2022.

Declarations first. I believe in the existence of a powerful Being to Whom I attribute creation of the universe and all its contents. I do not believe creation and our existence are random acts of chance whose manifestation is without the influence or existence of this Being. I do not subscribe to any religious institutional or systematic beliefs but have settled for belief in God as described in the Bible. I acknowledge critics of the Bible believing it is purely and exclusively man’s ideas bereft of inspiration from some deity.

For now, I do not wish to discuss my reasons for believing the Bible is divinely inspired by the Creator even if some argue it is the invention of man. I hope to share ideas with like-minded people or those open to persuasion in considering other solutions to challenges they or their businesses are experiencing.

Religion, particularly Christianity, has been corrupted and many lives have been ruined in its name. Notwithstanding such corruption, I do believe in Jesus and will, in future articles, provide a logically sane explanation for my beliefs.

I consider myself a logical thinker and pragmatic person than an emotional one. It may sound and look oxymoronic, but I would one day explain my beliefs in God and of Jesus as the manifestation of God in human form.

Now, I do not believe there is a formula for achieving certain outcomes because that creates rules and a belief system (religion) that could be burdensome. I prefer the spontaneity of life while learning from the experiences of others without turning those experiences into a religion.

I believe while there are generally accepted and proven ways of interacting with a being like God, He desires a unique relationship with everyone.

Therefore, one’s experiences may be different from someone’s. Others may believe and achieve success with ease, while you may be failing to achieve notable success in spite of your efforts.

Incidentally, everything you have tried doing to attain success could have amounted to nothing, leaving you with frustration and despair.

Many before us have gone through similar difficulties, setbacks and loss but pulled through. You too could overcome all challenges and attain great success to last many generations.

Experience has taught me faith alone is insufficient. So is execution without faith. You cannot ignore and betray your wisdom by living as though you lack knowledge when you already possess it. This explains why others lacking knowledge can attain greater success without applying any principles of your knowledge. The secret to success seems related to the execution and application of ideas. Execution weighs significantly more than mere possession of knowledge without its application. This explains why prayer alone cannot deliver any results.

Ideally, we should work hard and complete activities as though we are without assistance and support from God, and having the knowledge that without our contribution, failure is inevitable. Having done our best in execution, we should involve and have faith in God that without His intervention, assistance and support we cannot succeed. Effectively, this means that we agree that we can achieve more through and with God than without Him or relying on prayer alone.

While acknowledging the importance of acting and doing all we can than relying on prayer alone, we should also learn to yield or submit to God and not interfere in His actions and will for our lives. Effectively, this calls for us to maintain balance between acting on our plans and submitting to God’s direction.

As we should avoid adopting legalistic beliefs, we should, likewise, avoid requiring a formula on methods for striking such balance. I, too, have not mastered striking this balance but am constantly learning. I believe the balance is dynamic to ensure we do not idolise methods, but regularly reflect on ways to strike the required balance while maintaining interactions with God through prayer and reading of Scripture.

Dismissing my comments as being theoretical would be incorrect, though my advice may sound formulaic. I have witnessed some degree of success from practical application of insights I am sharing in this article.

Expectedly, running a small business is not easy and success is often elusive. One can easily give up and pursue employment opportunities providing steady flow of regular and predictable income. Often, I have experienced unexpectedly good outcomes in dire situations though I had braced myself for the worst. Likewise, I have experienced many inexplicable failures when all indications pointed to success.

I pray that one day I would understand all these and their meaning so I could share resulting lessons learned with others for their encouragement and strengthening. We live in hope.