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?”