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The book of Proverbs is often called the “Businessperson’s Bible.” … Solomon tells us is why he wrote Proverbs: “He wrote them to teach his people how to live . . . how to act in every circumstance, for he wanted them to be understanding, just and fair in everything they did.” Is this something you need in business?
What does the 4,000-year-old civil law of Israel have to do with Christian values in the marketplace? … the Bible declares, “. . . all Scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness . . .” So as you study the Old Testament … there are many laws and guidelines that relate to marketplace decision-making. It is profitable to examine these Old Testament laws … to learn biblical principles that can guide you in how to treat others in the business world.
With these first two chapters as an introduction to the business values found in the Bible, it’s time to lay a broader foundation of biblical principles regarding work, economics, and the nature of God and people.
If a business owner has made the decision to follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly, the business will reflect his or her value system. Some people desire to follow Christ in their personal lives but exclude Him from their business activities. In doing so, they forfeit a very effective opportunity to reach out to unbelievers. Who can better reach the employees, creditors, suppliers, and customers than a godly supervisor, manager, or owner?
If a Christian business is to be used to serve God, it has but one overriding purpose. That is to display His character in managing the business. Acknowledging this will make decisions much simpler. Each decision: hiring, discharging, paying, promoting, etc., should be made in harmony with God’s written Word.
The Christian church has never found it easy to come to terms with the Marketplace. There have always been those who regarded … profit somewhere between questionable … and immoral …. Some early church fathers criticized anyone who did not take the words of Christ literally to sell their possessions and give to the poor. Even some contemporary church leaders … give the impression they share a deep hostility …when it comes to the pursuit of profit … and capitalism.
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, King of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair“
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God“
What does the Lord require of us? What does it mean to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God? Many Christians have wrestled with the meaning of these passages, especially with what it means to be right, just, and fair.
JUST WHAT IS SUCCESS? How is it to be achieved? Usually the first component of success that comes to mind is the financial. But another *inecessary component is diligence. “Lazy hands make a man poor, butnn iligent hands bring wealth” (PROVERBS 10:4). ”All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (PROVERBS 14:23).
Success” in the world is related to money, power, and position. But it’s meaning is not really different from what it has always been. Although some may appear to be highly successful by the world’s standards, by God’s standards they are considered failures. The problem is not that they have been lots of ”things.” In fact, God promises His people everything that unbelievers have. ”For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (MATTHEW 6:32-33).
When God puts His hand on a plain ordinary person, He may give that person tremendous insight and awesome abilities, enabling him or her to become a leader like Roosevelt, or Nehemiah, or perhaps a lesser leader. God motivates leaders to accomplish goals, to keep working, or to do great things.
Somehow ungodly men have developed systems of organization which permit them to work together in states of relative harmony and unity, whereas godly men, refusing to admit that these organizational structures are needed, live in states of chaos and disunity. The tragedy of this fact becomes evident when we realize that many of the successful systems of organization under which the ungodly men work and which the godly men refuse to accept are biblically based.
Whatever your business, a well thought-out plan will put you ahead of the competition and could interest others in your venture. Time spent in planning now will save time and dollars later. Planning is the systematic development of actions aimed at reaching business objectives. It involves analyzing, evaluating, and selecting opportunities.
The habit of doing things right must become routine otherwise you spend all your time fighting, finding, and fixing. The responsibility for quality control begins with the owner/manager. You must set the pace and model quality or else your employees will not catch the idea. People perform to the standard of their leaders. They rise to the level of expectation as well as sink to the level of acceptance.
What is meant by the term business basics? In our context the term refers to
the absolute minimum standards any Christian should accept for conducting
business. However a problem can arise when what you consider normal or
acceptable may be contrary to standards set by God. You need to be mindful of the fact that it is easy to be misled by Satan. Therefore, you must be very careful and wise.
Jesus draws an interesting parallel between the way you handle your money and the way you respond to spiritual things. In fact, the way you handle your money often reflects your basic values. God’s Word provides you with standards for managing money. You should apply them to your business if you want to realize His best for you. As you seek counsel, everyone will try to convince you that they have a better idea. If you try to follow them all you may find yourself going in circles. Instead, you should determine to go to the source of all truth, God, and let His Word do the convincing.
Solomon found that the wise exhibit faithfulness, integrity, and trust as companion virtues. Faithfulness blesses one’s health and refreshes one’s soul. It is even desirable in the form of correction by a friend. Unfaithfulness, on the other hand, is destructive by its very nature. It leads to lust, feeds on violence and it frustrates present confidence and future expectation. It is the unfortunate failing of fools. Integrity is a virtue of lasting value serving as a reliable guiding principle of life and mapping a secure path for the wise to follow.
A definite awakening is occurring as the business world begins to realize
that its very survival depends upon having clearly defined value systems from which it can manage operations. Values are the standards by which basic life choices and life decisions are made. Values are revealed in the context of human relationships. So, the integrity of a business structure is truly dependent upon the foundation of values. If the foundation is solid, you will withstand the storms of life
The term ‘accountability’ is more widely used today than in the past quarter century. Today, it is hard to have a serious discussion about the things of God without someone raising the issue of accountability. Why is this? It could be because this day and age can best be characterized by the last verse in the Book of Judges, which says, . .everyone did what was right in his own eyes. ” (NASB) Many people today, especially in western cultures, are not strongly connected to a specific geographic locale where strong ties to family and longtime friends offer built-in accountability. Thus the tendency might be to start doing things you normally would never do. Unfortunately, this has been true even among leaders in the Christian community.
Affluence in life is a mixed blessing. Prosperity can make life much easier
and provide a surplus of money to spread God’s Word. But it can also demand great amounts of time and attention. In fact, the urgency associated with a materialistic lifestyle can tyrannize you by demanding most of your energy. The situation becomes almost paradoxical in that while you can generate more wealth with fewer hours of work, you then spend more time worrying about it.
For a Christian to be concerned about economics may seem, at first glance,
mundane and worldly. Many Christians spend very little time consider1ng the issues that are involved in economics, yet we are all aware of the contemporary situation of our society. Newspaper headlines and front page stories now deal with aspects of economics. In the past it was normal to read about economics on the business pages of the paper. Now, however, presidential and congressional elections hinge on questions of economic policy.
NEXT: Part 1 – Biblical Foundations
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