Business

The apostle Paul says this, "Whatever your do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17)." The "whatever" includes business and doing it in "the name of the Lord Jesus" means working in such a way as to honour and represent him well.

So what is God’s purpose for your business or work?

Let’s look at four major aspects of why your business exists as a Christian:

1. To Glorify God.

Who we are and how we do business should please God and bring glory to him. We are called to be "salt" and "light" in the world, in order to bring him glory (Matthew 5:13-16). We are his representatives in the world and we need to represent him in such as way that we bring him praise and honour.

The way we live and do business should attract people to God and give us opportunities to point people to Him. Have a read of this …

"You must obey these laws and regulations when you arrive in the land you are about to enter and occupy. The LORD my God gave them to me and commanded me to pass them on to you. If you obey them carefully, you will display your wisdom and intelligence to the surrounding nations. When they hear about these laws, they will exclaim, 'What other nation is as wise and prudent as this!' For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has laws and regulations as fair as this body of laws that I am giving you today?" [Deuteronomy 4:5-8. NLT]

It’s possible to be ethical and successful (though it takes more than ethics to guarantee success).

Here are three ways to bring glory to God (from Micah 6:8):

a. Act justly – do what is right, fair and equitable.

b. Love mercy – be kind in the way you treat people.

c. Walk humbly – do not become arrogant or prideful (something that wealth and success can tend to do).

Everything about us is part of God’s message through us to the world. How we treat others – our customers, our competitors and our community – speaks volumes to people.

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." [Colossians 4:5-6. NIV]

2 thoughts on “A Biblical Philosophy of Business (Pt.2)

  1. This is such a great reminder that being a Christian is really just letting God permeate through everything we do. When we allow God to shape and mold us, through difficult times and challenges, the result is that these “fruits of the spirit” start to appear in everying we put our hand to and every place that we go, and can be seen by everyone that we meet. Thanks for the reminder Mark….I really love your blogs and enjoy the open forum of discussion. We’ve been at CityLife four months and just love the culture and community that we’ve joined.

  2. GOD as my C E O are discusing a business plan. We are going to open a automotive shop in gallup n m and he will be the c e o of the company. I know that my employees will not understand the prosses of how this business is run but i will educate them according to the bible. We will have bible studies two days a week for employees and their families. ENJOY THE WORD OF GOD.

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