High expectation leads to Higher performance

2 Corinthians 9:1-5

Making a living in sales one learns a few important truths about life; high expectation leads to higher performance and low expectation will return low performance.  Having a leader as your manager that sets obtainable goals that require a salesperson to give his very best is the first step.  But more important is that the leader or managers convey they believe in the one that has been given the goal and know they have the ability to reach it. 

Early in my career at 3M, I worked for such a man, Duane inherited a sales force and many of them were just coasting looking forward to retiring or a better opportunity.  It was my first sales job and the only thing I had to offer was to work hard and do what I was told.  We were told to make ten cold calls per day and three demos.  Duane never fired any of the thirteen sales persons, but many quit because they knew what was expected was reachable but they were not willing to meet the requirements.

A leader such as apostle Paul knew this truth it is clear in the way he spoke so fondly of the Corinthian believers and the churches at Corinth.  He made clear what was expected of them, and reminded them of the commitments or pledge they had made earlier, you can find this being referred to in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4.

Now the Macedonians lived in a province north of Achaia, and Corinth was the capital of this Roman province.  In that the churches of Corinth had pledged to take an offering on the first day of the week in regards to how they had prosper, so that when Paul came back they could go with him to take it to Jerusalem to give relief to the under-resourced, the poor and the widow in the church of Jerusalem.  So Paul is sending Titus and others ahead to let the church at Corinth know that he will be coming and he wants to make sure they have met the agreement about the pledge.  A leader is wise in doing such, for it is the last thing one wants to show up and find the one that has promised has not met the requirement.  Both the churches at Corinth and Paul would have been humiliated.

It is my belief that the Church of today needs to be taught about the importance of keeping vows, especially to our LORD.  These are two of many verses that need to be taught. "If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” (Numbers 30:2)  Now look at Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice