Cultural Christianity in the business world is responsible for a number of new believers and potential believers rejecting any involvement with the Christian faith. In fact, some state that a Christian is the last person that they would want to do business with.
Even unbelievers harbor a certain expectation of honesty, diligence, fairness and trust when dealing with “Christian” businessmen. Experiencing lies, carelessness, unfairness and suspicion instead only reinforce preconceived ideas of fraud related to spiritual matters. It is the evidence that the unbeliever has been looking for to justify that there is no God, since His life-changing power is absent in the lives of those who do business in His name.
At the foundation of this problem, is the fact that a large portion of the faith community divides their lives in two parallel lanes; one for normal everyday life and one for religion. These two lanes only intersect for a brief moment on a Sunday morning at church, satisfying cultural norms for religious belief.
The Christian faith is not meant to be a distinct part of our lives but the foundation of everything we do, every day. This includes doing business either as an employee or a business owner.
Neither capitalism nor socialism supersedes the Word of God or has the authority to selectively apply the Word as justification for distorted practices.
There are many respectable Christian businessmen and businesswomen who are pillars of strength in their communities and great assets to the Kingdom of God. They conduct their business according to Biblical principles with great success. Those separating their business conduct from their faith principles unfortunately do great harm instead.
The Bible has plenty to say about behavior and business principles. I will highlight only a few in today’s blog. (All Scripture quotations are from the NLT)
Fairness
“You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, and you must use full and honest measures. Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. All who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the Lord your God” -Deuteronomy 25: 14 – 16
“The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.” – Proverbs 11:1
We all love a good deal and it is often celebrated in the business world when a deal is done which is to the disadvantage of the other party without them knowing it. God’s expectation for us is to deal fairly and conduct businesses transactions with integrity. Negotiation is allowed, but a misrepresentation of the details of a transaction or what is being provided as a service, is not according to God’s guidelines. (Regardless of the amount of money involved)
Honesty and Trust
“No accounting of this money was required from the construction supervisors, because they were honest and trustworthy men” – 2 Kings 2:15
“Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool” -Proverbs 19:1
“Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.” – Proverbs 21:6
“Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.” – Mathew 5:37
God expects us to be honest in all our business conduct. It should not be necessary for another party to verify that we have performed our duties as promised. Our business partners should be able to trust us as they trust themselves.
Diligence and Hard work
“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.” -Proverbs 6:6-8
“Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper” – Proverbs 13:4
“He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy” –Daniel 6:4
Jesus was such a great example to all believers. He is the Son of God, yet He lived a normal life, learned the skills of a carpenter and served mankind while on earth. Unto death He was focused and worked diligently towards completing the assignment the Father gave Him. If there was ever a man who did not have to work, and work hard, it should have been Jesus. Instead, He showed us what commitment means. God expects us to imitate our Lord, work hard, stay focused and be dependable.
Personal Responsibility
In Matthew 25:14-30 we find the parable of the talents. Three workers are given a number of talents (coins). The first 5, the second 2 and the third 1. The master expected each to invest the talents and present him with a return when he gets back from his travels. He did expect a return from each worker, not the same return, but rather a return that was proportionate to the number of talents they were given.
The fact that the third worker only received one talent, did not excuse him from the expectation of a return on investment. We are all responsible to do the best we can with what we have been given. More will be required from those who have been given much according to Luke 12:48. Those with more should be less concerned with boasting about how much they have, but more with what they have done with the much they were given.
“Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done.” – 2 Corinthians 10:15
In an effort to climb the corporate ladder, many take credit for the work of others and present it as their own to get ahead. We always need to give credit where it is due. Presenting another’s knowledge or work as your own without honoring them is theft – even if it is a junior employee.
Social Responsibility
“You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them” – Amos 5:11
“You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.” – Deuteronomy 24:15
“What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field, until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land.” – Isaiah 5:8
Business owners are required to be good to the people that work for them and act in awareness of their circumstances. If the funds are available, wages should never be withheld or delayed to enable the enrichment of the owner. One should never take advantage of those that are less fortunate financially or who can’t fend for themselves through unfair rent, inflated interest rates (uneven scales) or other unfair expense burdens.
Moral Conduct
“What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold. They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent.” – Isaiah 5:22-23
Business deals are often conducted through networking and relationships. Those relationships and the business partnerships that result from them should be aboveboard. The urgency for a deal to be made or the environment in which business is conducted does not justify behavior that is not in line with God’s moral standards.
A Christian businessman or woman is a representative of our Lord Jesus Christ first and foremost. Any success outside God’s framework is futile. To God, our success in this world means nothing if we lose our souls, and even worse, take another with us.
Let’s regain our focus, place our trust in God, find our fulfillment in serving His Kingdom and uphold the integrity of Christian business. God will take care of the rest.
Have a blessed week.