A 2011 Address at a Business Conference

Abraham was rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold (Genesis 13:2). Job’s substance was such that he was said to be the greatest of all the men of the east (Job 1:3). Is it possible that men of spiritual renown can also be men of material success? Didn’t Jesus tell the young ruler to sell all that he had and then, “Follow Me”? Can a businessman love God with all his heart and also love business?

My journey

I grew up in a family business that my dad had started when I was about six years old. The business was in our backyard. I worked for the company before and after school as I was growing up. It was where I began to understand the marketplace.

My father was also a pastor, which was part of the reason he started the business. It gave him more flexibility than a forty-hours-per-week job permitted. He wanted to be free to be involved in ministry during the typical daylight business hours.

The last half of my life I have spent in some form of ministry. I taught school for a couple years, served as a mission pastor a couple years, was a deacon for about eight years, and served as pastor now the last seven years. I love the classroom and the pulpit! My heart is in ministry and I feel the pleasure of the Lord particularly when I open up Scriptures. It’s a special delight to me to see the light come on in people’s eyes and to witness brokenness and suffering being healed.

Though I love ministry, I still enjoy business. For many years, however, my love for it was clouded by what I considered my primary calling – a call to ministry. I struggled with the notion that when I was doing business, I was being carnal, but when I was teaching Scriptures, I was being spiritual. I felt that in business I was somehow getting my hands dirty.

My basic business philosophy

In those early years my philosophy was that if you produced a good-quality product and offered it to the public with a little advertising, you could expect a decent, middle-class income.

What we call the Great Recession, which began in 2007, turned my philosophy on edge. The business world was changing. Having a successful business now required a new level of effort.

During this time, my father decided it was time to leave the company. This forced me to decide what I was going to do about my struggle between ministry and business. I needed the income from the business, but for it to succeed I was going to have to invest more time in it. With counsel from my co-pastors, I scaled back my ministry responsibilities to invest more time turning the business around.

This was a time of tremendous conflict in my heart. Amid declining revenues, I spent two years reading business books, attending seminars, meeting with local chapters of business groups, talking to business professionals, and doing anything I could to find a successful formula for our business.

This interaction was with people who had no Christian worldview. They knew business and studied business success. I learned a lot from these people, but I struggled intensely trying to sort through all the ideas. I longed to understand what it means to love God and yet live in the world of business.

I have to confess that I now love business more than I ever did, and that sentiment is growing the more I learn about it. I feel the pleasure of God in business.

I have found it helpful to name some of the specific struggles we face as we sort through this issue.

Loving God and money

One of the difficult things we face is the struggle between loving God and loving money. Many people see money as an alternative to God, because money can bring us security, power, and heightened influence. Money has a tremendous amount of allure. Some of the things it can make possible are very enticing.

One business guru I studied under liked to say, “You hear all the time that money can’t buy happiness. I hate that statement! One of the things I like is racing horses and if I don’t have money, I can’t race. So money does make me happy.” Of course, it is true that money cannot purchase happiness, but having no money cannot bring happiness either. Real happiness lies somewhere beyond the realm of having or not having money. Money has power to build relationships, and the power to destroy them. It can open doors of opportunity, and the lack of money can close them.

Gnosticism and materialism

We also face the struggle between Gnosticism and materialism. Gnosticism is the belief that we can live in a higher spiritual state by freeing ourselves from material things. This notion has influenced us to think that money and material things decrease spiritual usefulness. We feel that it is better to be in a “spiritual” ministry. We idealize being a bishop, missionary, or schoolteacher. We believe that people in these callings should be indifferent to material stuff.

On the other hand, materialism is the love and pursuit of money and material things. It is a willingness to compromise a Kingdom of God worldview for the sake of accumulating things. We believe that if you pursue material stuff, then you can’t be spiritual.

Materialism is an affection of the heart that dominates many lives and rules many businesspeople. It is a plague that can affect the wealthy and the poor alike, as well as those in business for a long time and those just starting. Its pull can be especially strong when we are in an economic downturn or time of financial loss.   

The story is told of a group of pastors on a beach who saw some businessmen struggling for their lives out in the water. One of the pastors said, “If we could just lift their wallets out, they might survive!” This little story helps illustrate how people influenced by Gnosticism tend to see pockets full of money as problems for those who carry them. I believe this is the perspective of many of our churches and non-profit organizations – that the only purpose for a profitable business is to give to our ministries.

Christian ministry vs. marketplace careers

Is there something inherently more spiritual about being a missionary, or a pastor, or a teacher? Because we read the most about Jesus’ three years in public ministry, we don’t always remember that He likely spent seventeen years in the marketplace. Still, Scripture refers to the fact that He was a tradesman. I think we should ponder the fact that the Creator of the universe came down, took on human form, and spent most of His years here making “stuff”!

At the peak of Charles Finney’s ministry, a young man came to him and said, “I want to become a pastor.” Charles said to him, “Go work in the marketplace for two years and then if you are still called to be a pastor, you will have a context for your ministry.”

I am not diminishing the call to ministry—it is a high calling. Business is also a high calling. Christianity untested by the marketplace can be idealistic instead of realistic. It is easy to talk in the safety of classrooms about theories and principles, but the teacher who has spent time in the everyday struggle of life brings a more understanding heart to his ministry. Jesus understood the struggles of the marketplace as He entered His three years of public ministry.

Faith vs. fear

For many years I did not worry about money. I was accustomed to having an adequate flow and I didn’t worry about it. I called that faith. I told people who were stressed about a lack of money, “Trust God. That’s what I do. You shouldn’t worry about tomorrow.” But then 2007 came along, and I came face to face with fear. Ever since then I have faced fear consistently.

I have come to the conclusion that my previous “faith” was actually naiveté, and what Christ is beginning to forge in me is real faith. Ironically, God is cultivating in me a fresh faith that is not devoid of fear.

I have read and studied the Sermon on the Mount many times. I’ve taught as many as fifty week-long sessions on it. But each time I read through it, it’s like I get slapped in the face. You can’t read this sermon of Jesus’ without wondering where He comes out on the issues of money, and worry, and stuff.

Wealth vs. poverty

One view is that poverty is more virtuous than plenty. Some of that understanding is based on Scriptures such as, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6:19, 20).

Is this really saying we should not have treasures on earth, or is it saying we should not be selfish with our treasure? I believe Jesus is pointing out that the money we have and the stuff we have are tools. You can use wealth for selfish ends, but you can also use them for the Kingdom of God. It may be giving to a non-profit or it may be growing your company in order to bless households, reshape a community, and bring hope, life, and employment back into a stalled economy.

Paul didn’t tell Timothy to condemn the rich. Instead he told him to charge them to be generous, and unselfish with the resources God gives them, and not place their confidence in their money. In this way they will convert their material resources into eternal assets (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

Where is your affection? What are your intentions? Do you love God, or do you love money? These motivations are lived out very differently.

A Biblical Overview

Let’s do a little theological overview. Our own life-story is part of the larger Bible story that begins with the Creation and ends with a new creation. In this timeline, most of the chapters have already been written. We exist toward the end of the story. At the beginning, our pre-existent God created out of nothing a beautiful world full of material things and charged man with its management and use. When He finished, He pronounced everything good.

One object of worship

We don’t understand all that it means to be created in the image of God, but surely it includes having the capacity to create. We can create things that are original, but only out of material that already existed. We are not told in what ways Adam and Eve exercised creativity, but it seems clear that whenever they did something, they were obeying whatever instructions God gave. There were no libraries, no books, and no Internet. Man was designed to communicate with God. He would explain to them day by day what Adam and Even needed to know as they exercised their creativity.

God was the only object of worship for Adam and Eve. How greatly that would have simplified the reason for creating things—anything they created was for God’s glory and out of love to Him.   

Alternative worship

Then an alternative object of worship was introduced. The crafty suggestion came from Satan. Instead of trying to entice Adam and Eve to worship him, he encouraged them to look out for themselves. He helped them see “the tree” as good for food and pleasant to look at and desirable.

Adam and Eve turned their attention on themselves, their nourishment, and their own preference. This refocusing of attention had catastrophic side effects. It was not God’s plan. If the object of our love and worship changes from God to ourselves, then our attitude toward what God made and what we would like to use it for also changes. The love we now have for what God madeinstead of Who made it is an evidence of that fall.   

Selfishness

When we give gifts to our children or employees, do we want them to love what we gave them or to love us? We want their love for us to be assisted by our gifts, not sidetracked by them. Unfortunately, as fallen beings, we do not treat God that way. We are lured into loving the things God made more than we love Him, and one of the results is a world of fear-driven activity rather than faith-based creativity.

This is especially prominent in the arts, which are filled with fear and hopelessness. The creativity of our generation is one of despair. Yet, as followers of Christ who are set free to love God supremely, we should be the best examples of creative faith-based activity that brings glory to God in all the ways that we touch the creative world. We’ve settled for something so much less than that, but we are invited to something so much larger. And it can start today because there is redemption.

Redemption

Not only did the beautiful world fall, but the world is also being redeemed. Redemption takes place in the human heart as we surrender to Christ, God’s agent of redemption. We experience the supernatural dying and resurrection with Christ that reorders the person by the power of the Holy Spirit, resulting in a trusting faith expressed by our love. This is not love for the things God has made, but love for Himself. In this way we return from the disorder and chaos of the Fall to a new f life that is ordered by God.

Redemption will experience its final consummation after Jesus returns. Redemption with reach as far as the curse is found – it will be completely redeemed. Creative human activity will  be fully restored. We will get to find out what it’s like to be a craftsman, an engineer, or an architect without the restrictions of the Fall – no clouding of the mind, no brain freeze, and no fatigue. Imagine a day like that in your favorite career!

Worship-inspired work

One of the foundational qualities for God-ordered work must be love for God. That love for God will express itself in worship-inspired work. We do not only worship in church on Sunday—we are insatiable worshipers. At any given time, we are placing a high level of value on something and allowing it to dominate our affections and express itself in our work. To run a God-ordered business is to love God supremely and have it expressed in worship-inspired work.

Robert Fraser, in his book Marketplace Christianity (Frazier, 2004), wrote, “I was trained as a computer engineer, and considered myself a craftsman of code. I loved writing code to the glory of God. I wrote code that people said was impossible to do. I would sit for hours quietly before my computer and craft the very finest code. I fellowshipped with God and at times we wrote together. Several times when I was stumped, I asked God to help me. I would have a dream that showed me where the problem was. I worked hard to improve my craft and became the best engineer possible. As a result, wherever I went, I quickly became one of the top engineers of the company.”

Now superimpose your role in your own businesses into this same story. When you learn to worship God in the context of the marketplace, in the context of your business, there is a delight and joy, a platform for creativity that reflects the image of God being redeemed in the human heart. The question is always, “What is the motive for doing what you’re doing?” Whether it is management work, creative work, or routine work, are you loving God and listening to Him as you do it?

Reconciliation

Again I quote Fraser: “The heart of a craftsman is to please God by giving Him the most creative and inspired work we can do.” That is our high calling. What would it look like in your business to participate with God in putting back to rights our broken world? We have tremendous opportunities to assist in that journey.

Frankly, we as businessmen contribute to the brokenness around us because we have our own weakness. We are not fully redeemed. I am contributing to some hurt and brokenness in our company right now because of some of my own incompetence. This calls for humility as I become willing to learn. I bow my heart so that I can be a part of this reconciling work that God wants to accomplish.

Loving our neighbor

The more this change is part of our lives, the more we will love others. One of the ways love shows up is through generosity. This doesn’t just mean we give things away, but that we develop an attitude of caring for people. We make sacrifices because we care.

One of the core values of our company is “client care.” We want people who buy from us to not just be customers, but clients. We want them to experience the expert and professional attendance of people who care about them.

This testimonial came to us the other day: “The delivery guy was absolutely fantastic. I wish he were my neighbor, or if not my neighbor, I wish my neighbor were like him!” That is the kind of salt and seasoning we want to leave from our sales force to the final touch to follow-up care.

If you bring that sort of generosity and love to your clients, they’ll buy your products! Some businesses will be generous and caring for just that reason, but if you do it out of worship for God and love for your neighbor, what a richness you bring into this broken and fallen world! That’s a high calling.

More than accumulation

The motive for managing a company has to be more than for personal accumulation. If that is our goal, we have embraced selfishness. It is this kind of self-centered living that Timothy warns against – “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” I Timothy 6:9-10. The creation of the universe, was a demonstration of God’s care as He prepared the way for the richness and human flourishing. He created things to meet needs He knew would soon exist. This spirit of care and ability to create useful things is passed on to us.

Businesses need to learn to be creative in making products that have value to people. These products include both the things we are manufacturing (sheds, in our case) and the care or love people receive from interacting with us. When this happens, people will give what they have in exchange for the things of value they are getting. It is easy to only build sheds, but we want to do more than make sheds because that is what people want and need.

Instead of simply building sheds, we say that we are in the business of creating beautiful backyards and helping families live more memorable lives. We bring order and beauty in place of chaos and clutter. We help you transform your backyard into a small paradise where you can walk, rest in the cool of the day, and enjoy your children and grandchildren around you. Since God created the first garden, the human heart cries for a garden paradise again. We can move toward that garden now.

The true state of our heart and affections gets tested in the course of our daily work. There are at least four distinct tests we face.

Test of worry

How will we know if we successfully love? Check yourself with the test of worry. When you find yourself worrying, remember that it is an indication that your heart is attached to something. This test reveals where your affections lie.

Test of fasting

As our time and resources increase, there is a tendency to justify luxury. Can you handle simplicity? Can you be happy with plain rice, or do you need a juicy steak? Can you sleep on a mat in a Third World country, or does it need to be 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets?

Test of generosity

Jesus articulates this over and over. He talks about the good eye. The good eye is one of generosity. The bad eye is one of greed and hoarding.

Test of contentment

The apostle Paul was an example of contentment when he said, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Do we know the rest and peace of contentment?

Effects of Loving God in Business

When people love God in business, it is a demonstration of the genius of God. The wisdom of God is made known. His wisdom is demonstrated not only in the way He created the world, but also in the way mankind continues creating with an attitude similar to His own. It is a demonstration of a loving God to a broken world; a demonstration of the character of God to a corrupted world; a demonstration of the beauty of God to a marred world.

In conclusion, money is a powerful tool. As a tool, it is ultimately governed, guided, and employed by the orientation and affections of the heart of those who use it. God calls us to check our hearts, to love Him first, and to love our neighbor second.

May the grace of Christ equip you to be that kind of demonstration of the genius of God in a broken world.

NOTE: This article was transcribed and edited from a presentation at an Anabaptist Financial Business Seminar in Pennsylvania in 2011. It has since been published in various places.