Business.

Why is there a divide between the Church and business world? Why does it seem that in order to get ahead in the “business world” (I put quotes around that because we refer to business as if it exist in this other fictional place that is not the normal world) one has to surrender to greed and make an idol of success? An even better question, why does the church view monetary success with such disdain (refer to previous entry)? Why can’t the best minds in business also be Christians?

First let’s tackle a few perception issues. The business world is not this “other place” that exists where people are mean spirited and greed is rampant. Business is simply commerce and commerce is the reason you are reading this blog on your computer, the reason why you are wearing a shirt that keep you warm and the reason why you ate food at your last meal. Both Wikipedia and dictionary.com define a business as a legal entity set up to make a profit. I could say they make a profit so that their employees can go and buy a computer to read this blog like you…but the careful eye might say salaries are human resource costs and therefore not a part of profit. So they make a profit then so that they can reinvest in their company to make the computer faster and food healthier. My favorite real life examples currently are two of the most well known companies in the world, Exxon Mobil (oil) and Wal-Mart (retail). We love to hate the billions of dollars that they make in profit every year. So what about the millions of dollars that Exxon Mobil is investing in future energy sources like hydrogen or in increasing energy efficiency by 10% in 2008 alone. What about the items on your desk that you could not own because you could not afford them without Wal-Mart’s ability to leverage their size to lower prices? What about the thousands of jobs that both companies provide to their employees? My Challenge is simply that if you believe these companies profits go to such horrible causes, then simply don’t by gas (oil product) and don’t shop at Wal-Mart.

So by now you are wondering, what does the Bible say about Business? The first insight comes from Luke 16 and parable of the Shrewd Manager. The manager is about to be fired by his boss, so he goes and tells the Master’s debtors to reduce their debts in order that they would embrace him and allow him into their homes when he loses his Job. This action is evil because the master never approved the debt reduction, however, the master praised the shrewdness of the manager. Jesus then comments on how the world is shrewder than the people of God. I think this is true of today’s society, we assume that as people of God we cannot use our minds to achieve competitive advantage over others. I mean, it seems wrong to become more effective, efficient or affluent at the expense of another business. Jesus here is saying the opposite here though, with a catch. The opposite with a catch… We are to use our worldly wealth to gain the trust of men. We are to use our success (and failures) to build relationships with people whom we can love. We are to be trusted in dealing with our worldly wealth (trust me… you are wealthy) so that we can be entrusted with true wealth later. The catch is what we do with the wealth, not how we acquire it (assuming your dealings are fair and ethical). Jesus says clearly you cannot serve two masters, God and Money. You have to pick. So the message is be shrewd, thrifty and be innovative in your business. Be the best that you can be so that you are using your worldly resources to the best of your ability…and then serve God with the worldly wealth that you are granted through your shrewdness.

So how does that work practically? Wal-Mart should strive to be the best they can be at selling stuff cheaply, Exxon Mobil should strive to be the best at producing energy. Then, they should use the wealth they are granted to love people. Now, the owners of Exxon, Wal-Mart and other Fortune 500 companies are the public…you may not know you own them….but check out the mutual funds in your retirement plan. So as shareholders, it is our responsibility to make sure that the company is managing its business shrewdly…and then use our profits for the good of society. So if this is the goal of business, then shouldn’t some of the best Christian thinkers be in “business?”

Christmas, Observations on.

Santa Clause, parties, trees, and that neighbor with the really horrible looking lights outlining his roof announce the beginning of “the season.” I call it “the season” because I wouldn’t want to offend anyone. Just because it is the birth of Jesus, the Christ and founder of Christianity, doesn’t mean that we should call Christmas a Christian holiday…after all…everyone should be able to participate. Calling it Christmas would just be too Christian for a Christian holiday. Hanukkah and Kwanza are perfectly ok names because they acknowledge religious diversity...but let’s not use Christmas because people that are not Christians might be offended. What if I didn’t believe in Columbus…or the American army? I think we should say goodbye to Columbus day and Veterans Day because I don’t believe in them.

The point of the above rant is that we are becoming so bogged down in “the season” that we forget about the “meaning for the season.” Christmas celebrates the coming of God to earth in order to begin the painstaking task of saving humanity. Oh..of course you know. You went to Church on Christmas eve. You say Merry Christmas. But do we (you and me)…do we really get it? I mean…there seem to be lots of people left out in the cold while we sit inside in the horrible pajamas that grandma gave us (again…note: nothing against grandmas or pajamas) and drink cider and open iPods, clothing that we don’t need and candy. The real meaning of Christmas? Jesus, the Christ, coming to earth. In Colossians 1: 15-16, Jesus is described as the “firstborn over all creation.” For him and by him all things were created. This is God (for those of you who believe less I encourage you to read The Case for Christ…I have a copy if you want it). God stepping down, out of heaven into a manger to be among people… Whoa..forget redemption, a cross all of that…there is tremendous sacrifice and mercy in the Christmas story before we even get to Calvary. Jesus, the firstborn of all creation could sit in heaven and rule but instead, he comes to be on earth with his creation. Name another religion where God leaves his Kingdom and comes to dwell among mere humans? You will be hard pressed to find one. Why leave? To tell the little humans that they are being bad and need to repent? Sort of. Really, he came to love people. Flip to the middle of Luke (who is widely believed to me the most methodical in recording the life of Jesus) and the middle 2/3 or so of the book are Jesus hanging out with misfits, tax collectors and other “sinners” (not like you and me of course…we aren’t in need of Grace..just iPods.). And we he isn’t dining with the “sinners” he is healing the lame, giving sight to the blind and raising the dead. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus ministry..which consisted of loving people. My question then, is in what part of his ministry is his love summed up in an iPod? Or a Garmin GPS? I understand your balk…but we give to demonstrate love. I get that, I do the same thing. There is nothing wrong with gift giving. The question is as Christians, are we celebrating the beginning of leading people to truth, helping the poor, healing the sick, causing the blind to see? Or are we celebrating another nice holiday? Christmas is much bigger than even celebrating the birth of Christ, it is celebrating the birth of Christ as the beginning of his ministry to world…a world full of normal people, like us, who need the grace of a savior. I think that the song that we sing in protestant Church services across this country with candles ( it is a beautiful sight really), silent night, really sums it up best. Christmas is a silent time for Christians. We focus inwardly instead of on the very people that Jesus came to save. I invite you to revisit the lyrics of Silent night one more time.

silent night, holy night

all is calm, all is bright
shepherds quake at the sight

glories stream from heaven afar
love's pure light

radiant beams from thy holy face

with the dawn of redeeming grace

All is bright, glories are streaming, people are quaking, the dawn of grace. What part of this is silent? I didn’t write the song but just maybe it should be re-titled “Loud Night.” Christmas should be the time for people to look upon Christianity and say man…they really love people. Not the opposite. We should be saying to the world, as followers of Christ, as we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating the work of Christ through loving the world. We are saying that we are bright and loud and different. As followers of Christ, the Challenge this Christmas is to remember the birth of Christ by loving the world, as Christ did. I am not sure what you specifically can do differently..but maybe you can just make a difference in the world around you at Christmas time.