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Chapter 9
MANAGEMENT
What Is Management?
SOMEONE HAS COMMENTED, ”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” (Managing Your Time, by Engstrom & Mackenzie). That is a sad commentary, but quite accurate. God has not left us without instruction on how we should conduct ourselves in the church or in the world of business. In business He wants us in a godly, organized, orderly way to bring together people with their skills and gifts and combine them with the equipment, tools and materials in order to produce a product or service. To some He has given the privilege and responsibility to oversee this process. This is management. Management is getting things done through people. The manager is a person who through the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, enables others to work together to accomplish the company’s objectives.
As a manager, people are your most important asset. Therefore you need to treat them as such. Seeing other people successful, putting others first, should be the focal point of every Christian in management. Through this section you will be introduced to some of the tools which will assist you in the management of your business so that the people working with you will sense direction and organization. Your key responsibility as owner/ manager of the business is to make every action or decision help to achieve a carefully chosen objective.
Selecting Managers
One of the things we are required to learn in business, particularly in doing our planning, is to be a delegator. In Exodus 18:18 there is an old man who is very wise. His name is Jethro. He is the father-in-law of Moses. Jethro came to Moses, who had a whole line of people waiting to see him. Jethro looked at him and said, ”Moses, who do you think you are? You think you are the only man that’s got any wisdom around here. Why don’t you go find some other men who are wise, and appoint them to become judges as well. Let them handle everything but the toughest cases. You should not even be bothered with the others.” In business the same principle is true. I think God would look down on us and say, ”do you think you are the only person on the face of this earth with biblical wisdom?” Go find other godly people, bring them in as managers of your company, and turn over some of the decisions to them. You do not have to be bothered with every decision. You can never grow beyond your own ability if you do not do that. That is literally what a delegator is.
The purpose of an owner or manager is to provide direction. You are to provide the correction and also the praise. They must be well balanced. What standards should be used in selecting managers? Should they only be Christians? A manager is one who exercises authority over others on the job. But a manager is much more. A manager is the eyes, ears and voice of the owner of the business when he is absent. Perhaps the structure of management was established in Exodus 18:21 when Moses’ father-in-law instructed him to select honest people who feared God and hated dishonest gain to be over his people. The test of whether or not a business is being used to serve God boils down to the commitment of the owner to obey God’s principles, and the commitment of his managers to implement them. Managers should be the primary counselors for the decision maker of any business. Decisions regarding selection of managers become clearer as we review the principles of selecting counselors. According to Psalm 1:1, are we to avoid the counsel of those who do not know God? ”Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” In Proverbs 20:6, we are told the characteristics of a good manager. ”Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?”
The following are criteria for selecting managers. Good managers are:
1) Godly
”Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers” (PSALM 1:1).
2) Diligent
”Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor” (PROVERBS 12:24).
3) Respectful of Authority
”All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered” (1 TIMOTHY 6:1).
4) Excellent
”Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve bq‘ore kings; he will not serve before obscure men” (PROVERBS 22:29).
5) Control Their Tongue
”Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (PROVERBS 12:18).
Thus, the standards for a decision-level manager in a Christian’s business are: one who serves God, gets the job done, honors authority, does quality work, and establishes harmony on the job.
Decision Making
A Problem With Priorities:
To have any control over our lives, we must decide in advance what we will give ourselves to. The object of setting priorities is to allocate limited amounts of time and money where God directs us. According to Webster’s dictionary, a priority is something which we give precedence by assigning a degree of urgency or importance to it. It is essential not only to settle the issue of what your priorities are, but consciously decide to live according to those priorities.
Establishing What Is Important
What is important to God? The answer reveals what our priorities ought a man‘s be. Priorities help us narrow our focus. What are God’s priorities for a man’s life? Has God already set out our priorities for us? As we explore God’s priorities, keep these four questions in view:
- What does God want me to be and to do?
- How does God want me to use my time and my money?
- What character and conduct traits does God desire in me?
- What relationships/tasks does God want me to emphasize?
Simply stated, God wants you you to live by biblical priorities, to be biblical Christians. At the risk of stating the obvious, secular values lead to secular priorities and biblical values lead to biblical priorities. So in your self examination, ask yourself if your value system follows the Christian life view or not. When you say ”yes” to the Christian life View, then you must adopt biblical priorities. They will be a flashlight in a dark world, illuminating the Way for how you spend your time and money. They will be a method for you to determine what you give precedence to.
A man who owned two Picasso paintings once said, ”If the house were on fire and I could only take one picture, it would be those two.“ Choosing between two or more competing priorities is tough work, but it’s where we see in a tangible way how the interior life has progressed.
Time Management
God has given everyone a fixed amount of time on this earth to accomplish His plan for us. It is important how you prioritize your time. It is essential that the most important things be done first, so that the time left over will be spent efficiently and effectively. So what should you consider the most significant tasks to accomplish first? Here are some suggestions from Scripture.
- To commune with the Father when you awake.
- To spend time reading His Word that we may observe to do all that is written in it.
- To give and surrender ourselves daily to the Lord as our reasonable service.
- Acknowledging Him in all of our ways and refusing to lean on our own strength and understanding, this guarantees us that He will make plain our paths.
The Competition With God’s Priorities
Trying to keep up with all of our responsibilities is like trying to put two tons of fertilizer in a one-ton truck! What competition do we face when we try to live by God’s priorities? The world system, far different from the spiritual life, competes directly with biblical priorities. We are to be aliens and strangers here, pilgrims who are just passing through.
”Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 JOHN 2:15-17).
NEXT: Chapter 10: Planning
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Chapter 9: Management
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Last Updated: 11/2022
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