We hear a lot these days about
‘business as mission’ and the need for a Godly approach to our careers and our
businesses. That was on my mind during a
recent Bible reading session, as these questions occurred to me:
Is there, in God’s eyes, such a
thing as a Christian business?
Does the business entity itself have
a standing in God’s eyes?
Is there a difference between a
Christian business, and a business made up of Christian people?
We understand, of course, that
individual Christians have certain responsibilities and attributes due to their
inclusion in the Kingdom. We have the
responsibility to pray, for example, and the responsibility to give, among
others. Each of us has at least one
spiritual gift which we are expected to use for the benefit of others.
Can the same kinds of things be said of
Christian businesses? Does the
organization, as a separate and unique entity, have the responsibility to pray,
or to give, or is it just the expectation for the individuals within the
entity?
Does a business have a spiritual gift,
that exists above and beyond the gifts of the individuals that own and work in
that business?
Is it one thing to be a Christian
who runs or owns a business, and is another thing to oversee a Christian
business?
When we go to the Word for
illumination, we can find some help, even if it is a bit diffused. We see the word “business” being used
primarily to describe the activity of gaining income by buying and selling. Here’s an example:
“‘Aram
did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged
turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for
your merchandise.
A few passages in the New Testament
could be understood to refer to an entity, but most likely are referring to the
activity of buying and selling:
“But
they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.
I
no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.
He
called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You
know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.
So, if there is no clear description of
a business as an entity in the Bible, perhaps it is because the concept appears
post-Biblical times. Could it be that in
Biblical times, business was what one did, not an organization that one built?
Maybe there are other examples of
groups – not necessarily for-profit organizations— having a place in God’s
scheme? Does God ever refer to a group
of people as a single entity, as opposed to just a convenient group of
individuals?
The first thought is about people
groups. Certainly, Israel is often
treated as an entity in God’s language, as are each of the 12 tribes, the
people who occupied and surrounded the promised land and the clans who made up
the 12 tribes. For example, in this passage the tribe of “Dan” is referred to
as an entity.
And
all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as
a prophet of the Lord.
The
Old Testament is replete with countless examples of Him referring to the Israelites,
the tribes, and the other people groups in the promised land in the same way.
We see the same approach, on occasion, to cities as
well. Here’s a couple of example:
“Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how
often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
Who
planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are
princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth?
In both of these passages, as well as numerous others, one
has a sense that the city itself is seen as a unique entity, above and beyond
the individuals who live in it.
And,
finally, God speaks to churches as if they had an existence apart from the
individuals who make them up. The seven
churches in the book of revelation are each treated as unique entities. Read
chapter two and three in Revelation. Each church is spoken to, at least in
part, as if it existed above and beyond the individuals who made it up. The churches have characteristics, for
example, both positive and negative: “You have left the love you had in the
beginning…”
Each
of the churches apparently have an angel overseeing them.
Could it be that your business, or your department, or
that organization of people over which you exert the most influence has a
standing in God’s sight above and beyond the accumulation of individuals within
it?
Is your business, in God’s eyes, like one of the Old
Testament tribes, or like a city, or like a church?
Is there an angel for your business?
Does your business have a spiritual gift?
Does your organization have a responsibility to pray, and
to give – as an organization?
If so, what would that change? Would you think differently about your
organization?
Would
you regularly and intentionally consider how to present to the Lord an entity
that has a standing above and beyond just the assemblage of mostly Christian
people who happen to work for the same company?
Could you move from being a Christian in business, to
leading a Christian business?
Good questions. The
answers are too complex to deal with in this article. They eventually led me to
the research that prompted me to write The
Good Book on Business.
I’d love to have your responses to these questions.
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