Some of the thoughts in this series are taken from a series by Bruce Wilkinson, Leading a Company For Christ
The Biggest Problem in Business
"Most people believe that money will do what it cannot do, and that God won't do what He can do." Patrick Morley
If you were to ask a group of business people what was the biggest problem in business, you would probably get a lot of varied answers. Such things as problems with employees, cost increases, and taxes would probably be high on the list. These and other situations are things we face every day when we enter the work place. Approaching each one is very important and vital to the successful operation of a company.
No matter what our position is in the work place, the problems we identify will affect us. The beliefs we hold will also determine how we approach each of these problem situations. And, the approach we take will have influence on others around us.
As Christians in the marketplace, we can ask the same question but from the perspective of God's point of view. A large group of Christian business people were asked what they thought was the biggest problem in business from God's point of view. The answers that came back varied from lack of love, covetousness, to not sharing the gospel. But the overwhelming response from the audience was - understanding the purpose of work. That is the biggest problem at work.
Most business people when asked what is the purpose of work, would probably respond with maximizing profits. If we were to ask the Christian business community the same question, would we get the same answer? Before we answer that question, lets ask another. If someone would spend one week watching everything we do at work, our behavior, what would they say our purpose was? Would it be that there was no difference in the non-Christian and Christian - to maximize profits?
We must understand, there is nothing wrong with profits and maximum profits. God loves for us to be the best at what we do and to use the talents and gifts he has given us to be successful at making money.(Proverbs 21:5) But is their a higher calling for Christians when considering the purpose of business. From a behavior point of view, should we be different from the rest of the business community?
What is the purpose of work from God's point of view? If we say we believe it is to further his kingdom in some way, then why is it that from a behavior point of view it is to maximize profits? Maybe it is because we have a conflict between our beliefs and our behavior. It also may mean we have a problem with integrity. We are not the same in all areas of life. We live for God in one area and live for profits in business.
Matthew 6: 24, 25 states; "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." We have the tendency to think of this as an attitude situation, but it is not. It is a factual principle and it is either one way or the other. We also may think of this as pertaining to everybody else - no one else can handle this but we can. We can serve,love,or be devoted to both God and money and it is a belief that is practiced in our business every day.
Understanding the purpose of work is the biggest problem we have in business. Is the passage by Jesus true or not? Do we try and serve Him and money at the same time? Understand, this is not an easy principle to practice. It is hard, really hard - like swimming upstream. We have to grow into it and it is a life time swim. It is the only thing in scripture that God says he will not compete with. " You cannot serve both God and money." It is our biggest temptation, yet, God has called us to be separate from the world.
QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT
Are your beliefs consistent in your home, church, and business?
Have there been situations in your business where you recently made a decision based on money without considering God's point of view?
Is there an integrity issue between your beliefs and behavior?
