Things that Determine Profitability

Philemon 1:11
“Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:”

Paul made a great statement when talking about Onesimus when he said, “Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable…” Paul said that there was a time when Onesimus was unprofitable. He had done something that caused Philemon to put him in prison. However, Onesimus didn’t let his lack of productivity cause him not to work on these unprofitable areas. In fact, Onesimus changed his life around to make himself profitable to both Paul and Philemon.

The ability to be profitable to people is what makes you hirable to anyone. As a pastor, I have many people who want me to hire them on my staff, but at the end of the day, I have to look at whether the person who wants to be hired is profitable. It doesn’t matter what your personality is, are you going to be profitable to the one for whom you want to work. Several things determine whether you are profitable or unprofitable to people.

First, your word determines your profitability. There are some who are liars who can’t be trusted, and then there are others who say they can do things who never follow through. Both of these make you unprofitable. The best way to be profitable to anyone is to be a person of your word. Your word must be trusted, and lying must never be considered because liars cannot be trusted.

Second, your dependability determines your profitability. It is not a matter of whether you think what you are doing is important; the fact that you can’t be depended on in the areas you consider unimportant shows that you are not profitable. To be profitable, you must be depended on to get your job done without someone looking over your head and without being reminded to do the job. Your profitability is determined by whether you are dependable to be where you are supposed to be ALL THE TIME.

Third, your productivity determines your profitability. At the end of the day, do you pay for yourself? If you are not productive, you are sucking money from the person who has hired you. You become profitable when you not only pay for yourself, but you make money for the one you are working for. “I’m sorry,” doesn’t pay the bills. At some point, you must stop expecting your boss to pay for your needless mistakes that could have been avoided had you done your job or paid attention. If you want to be profitable to the point of being hirable by anyone, be productive in every area.

Fourth, your character determines your profitability. The ability to do right when nobody is watching is imperative to your profitability. If you only do right when nobody is watching, you eventually will harm those who depend on you. Character is paramount to your profitability.

Fifth, your spirit determines your profitability. A negative spirit always harms profitability. If you are negative by nature, you must get over it if you want to be profitable. If you are easily discouraged, you will not be profitable, because nobody has the time to always have to get you back on topside.

Sixth, your walk with God determines your profitability. If you walk with God, your walk will become productive. Staying in God’s Word turns your unprofitable ways into profitable ways if you obey what His Word says.