Living With Purpose
What does the Bible and business have to do with each other? This might seem like an unlikely combination. But if you were to read the Bible, pick out the verses related to “profit and loss”, you would once again find the Bible is not silent on subjects that affect our lives. In every area of living, the Bible has a plan for success. The Bible is rich with good business and managerial wisdom.
I once heard that a vice-president of a major bank prided himself on making wise choices concerning his trade. This story came to me because of the valuable lesson he learned from God’s Word. But it took repeated tries by Christian businessmen to get through. The bank V.P. had no interest in the message of eternal life. And felt the Bible was out of date, antiquated, and held no relevance in modern life. Until one day when he overheard a preacher say, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). The power of this question in Scripture resonated in his mind. He kept thinking about it. He said to himself, “Profit and lost. Now that’s in my field. Finally, a preacher says something I can understand and appreciate. I’ll have to give some thought to what this man is saying.” He did and later that night he answered the next part of the question Jesus raised, “What can a man give to buy back his soul?” (Mark 8:37). Realizing, like any smart person would, there is no medium of exchange in the realm of the souls of men and women. This business executive acknowledged his need of Christ as his personal Savior.
Sadly today, there are many who are caught up in the worldly idea that Christian living is a waste of time and heaven can wait until they get old and have lived life the way they want to. I can’t emphasize enough the brevity of life. Absolutely no one, and I repeat no one is promised another day than the one they’re now in. Tomorrow may never come for you.
The wisest investment a person can make in this life is to accept God’s offer of eternal life. In Mark 8:34-35, Jesus gathered people around him and said, “If anyone wants to be my followers, they must give up themselves and their own desires. They must take up their cross and follow me. If anyone gives up their life because of me…they will save it.” I’ve told some of my own friends, who are supervisors and managers for companies in business, that God has something to say to them concerning their work. Proverbs 10:4 says, “He who works with a lazy hand is poor, but the hand of the hard worker brings riches.” And the words of Jeremiah 22:13, “It’s bad for him who builds his house by wrong-doing, and his upper rooms by not being fair, who has his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not pay him.”
You and I certainly know that God has made a world full of wonderful things. Like a good business executive, you want a nice return on your labor or investment. God has put you here in the world to use and enjoy the “good things”. But He’s given certain laws by which you are asked to live by in order to get these good things in the right way. These laws are the basis of fortune which could be yours if you deal with people fairly and appropriately. James 5:4 says, “See! The men working in your fields are crying against you because you have kept back part of their pay. Their cries have been heard by the Lord who hears His people.” And Proverbs 13:11, “Riches taken by false ways become less and less, but riches grow for the one who gathers by hard work.” If you conduct business by obeying God’s laws, then all the things in which you need and want can be yours. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you” (Phil. 4:19).
The Kingdom of God could also be called the Kingdom of righteousness—the kingdom of doing right. Treating others fairly in your business dealings means you align yourself for success and good fortune in your work. Your decision-making should include giving to serve rather than seek; to give rather than to get. One must be mindful of the attainment of riches. Ask yourself as was asked many years ago: “Don’t worry about life (and things)…is not life more important than food…more important than clothes?” (Matt. 6:25). In God’s world are treasures of good things which we all desire. The pursuit of all things “good” and all things “fair” begins with your attitude. Whether it’s your business associations or your social life—Psalm 112:5 says, “It’s well with the person who deals generously and lends, who conduct their affairs with justice.”
Unbeknownst to some, God has placed inside every one of us the potential for faith. Your faith is activated by your own personal prayer and relationship to Christ. Remember, with Christ, everything is profit; without him—everything is loss; eternal loss. And eternity is a long time. Eternity is forever. Secure your eternal destination by trusting in Christ as your personal Savior and follow God in all your ways.
- This weekly column is written by Matt Dobson. A graduate of Florida State University, Univ. of West Florida, and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, he is Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Jay, Florida and a 1LT Chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserves. Matt can be reached by email: rmdobson@liberty.edu. He welcomes your thoughts concerning faith, belief, and Christian living. Visit the Living With Purpose website at www.living-with-purpose.org.
