How To Do Business in God’s Way

(Luke 19:1-10; 1 Timothy 6:6-10)

In his book, The Christian in Business, John E. Mitchell asks “Will Christianity and Business mix? Is God interested in the way we do our work? Is He interested in a lathe operator and in the quantity and quality of his output? Is He interested in a watchman as he makes his rounds through the warehouse in the darkness and silence of the night? Is He interested in a stenographer; in the way she types her letters? Is He interested in a salesman and what he says to a prospect? Is God concerned about a businessman’s business? Is God there when he makes out his income tax return or his expense account? Does He take an interest in the company’s advertising campaign and the claims made for the company’s product? Is He present at personal interviews, conferences, director’s meetings, labour union negotiations, trade conventions, business luncheons, and black-tie banquets? When a businessman succeeds or fails, is God interested? To say No to these questions is to relegate God to a place of no importance in the very area of a person’s life where he spends most of his waking hours. On the other hand, he who answers Yes to these questions, whether he be a supreme court justice or a garbage collector, transforms his career into a thing of dignity, high purpose, satisfaction, and excitement.”

There are many in our country today, including Christians, who relegate God to the background when it comes to business. The hardest place to distinguish between Christians and non-Christians is where people transact business. There is no crime or sin that an unbeliever is guilty of that you won’t find Christians who are equally guilty. We live in a time when all that seems to matter is that an individual has money, regardless of how he made it. People steal defraud, kill and engage in all kinds of illegal and criminal activities in order to make money, and they are still respected in the larger society. In Luke 19:1-10, the Bible presents us with the picture of a man who fell out of favour with his people because of the unscrupulous manner in which he conducted his business. We have a lot of insight into Zacchaeus’ business life probably more than any other Bible character. From the Bible, we learn that Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Today, he would be referred to as a tax consultant. Second, he was very wealthy. The business fetched him a great deal of money, and he became one of the richest people around. Third, he did not consider others in the way he did his business. He was in business for his own selfish interest alone. Fourth, he regularly cheated other people in the conduct of his business. Certainly, Zacchaeus never did his business in God’s way.

“A commitment to bringing glory to God in business will influence the kind of business we do and how we do it.”

So, how can you do business in God’s way? In the first place, you must seek to bring glory to God in all that you do. People sometimes think that the main reason for being in business is to make money. But this is wrong. The Bible says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). A commitment to bringing glory to God in business will influence the kind of business we do and how we do it. Any business activity that violates the commands of God cannot bring glory to Him, and we should steer clear of them (see Acts 19:23-27). These include criminal activities that the laws of the country forbid. Also, anything that we do, in the course of carrying out a legitimate business activity, that is contrary to the word of God, or the laws of the country must be avoided. Bribery and corruption and other evil acts perpetrated in the conduct of a legitimate business activity do not please God. Secondly, you must see your business as an opportunity to contribute to the expansion of God’s kingdom. There should be more to your involvement in business than the opportunity that it affords you to provide for your material needs and those of members of your family. Failure to understand this is the reason for the lack of satisfaction being experienced by many wealthy people today. They are constantly looking for new thrills in all forms of business activities-acquisitions, mergers, expansion of their facilities, and the opening of new lines of businesses. They travel all over the world looking for satisfaction in that which cannot give it and hold countless meetings to better their financial standing as though this can give satisfaction. Such should listen to the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4: 13, 14). No amount of business activities and fortune made from them can bring lasting satisfaction to anyone. It was Saint Augustine who said, hundreds of years ago, “Thou, O Lord, have made us for Thyself; and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” The satisfaction that you are looking for in business can only be found in Jesus Christ. You need to repent of your sin and invite Him into your heart as your Lord and Saviour. Then, filled with His Holy Spirit, you can use your business to contribute to the expansion of the kingdom of God- a goal that is bigger, better, and more lasting than anything that presently occupies your mind. When this happens, you will discover that in your interaction with the unsaved, your first desire will not be to clinch a deal or record a sale but to lead them to Jesus Christ so that He can be their Lord and Saviour. Thirdly, you must pray to God always and allow His word to guide you in the conduct of your business every day. You need to pray fervently for God’s direction and leadership in the business you do. Even when you are led into a line of business, do not cease to pray and seek to be guided by the word of God. The Bible says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21); “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Psalm 55:22); “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3: 5, 6). Any business that will be done in God’s way must be done through His help and guidance.

Fourthly, do not go into a business partnership with unbelievers. The Bible warns against “unequal yoke” in 2 Corinthians 6: 14. Many think that it only applies to marriage, but it also applies to business. You must never bring yourself into a business relationship that will compromise your standing as a Christian. Be concerned about the spiritual standing and the moral character of those that you do business with. When Jehoshaphat, king of Judah made a political and business alliance with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who was guilty of wickedness, he was told by the prophet Eliezer, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made” (2 Chronicles 20: 35-37; see also 25: 5-9). Fifthly, do not cheat or take undue advantage of others. You must deal fairly with all the people that you do business with, including those who don’t know their rights. This is because you will reap whatever you sow (Galatians 6:7). God has the following to say in the Bible, “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt…You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. For the LORD your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly…Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice…He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich- both come to poverty…Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay, is the man who gains riches by unjust means. When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end, he will prove to be a fool….Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labour” (Leviticus 19:35, 36; Deuteronomy 25:15, 16; Proverbs 16:8; 22:16; Jeremiah 17:11; 22:13). Sixthly, be a man or woman of your word. Do not go back on your word in any transaction. The word of a businessman or woman that would please God must be his or her bond. Many are practiced in the evil art of deception, but this is very wrong. God wants you to keep your word to everyone you do business with. The Bible says that one of the qualities of the person that pleases God is that “(he) keeps his oath, even when it hurts” (Psalm 15:4b). Many businesses have been ruined by those who failed to keep their word to them. Banks are being owed billions of naira today by businessmen and women who fail to repay loans that they took even when they are in a position to pay. The Bible says again, “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously” (Psalm 37:21). If you contribute to the failure of another person’s business by failing to keep your word, you will suffer the same fate. Don’t attempt to prosper at the expense of another. It just won’t work!

Seventhly, you must avoid a “get rich quick” attitude. There are many who want to get rich in the shortest possible time. They are, therefore, willing to do anything to make this possible, including things that are illegal and out rightly sinful. It is better to gather money little by little than being dishonest and oppressive in the conduct of your business. Do not attempt to get rich by selling substandard products like fake drugs that promise so much but offer so little help to the sick and have led to the death of many people. The Bible says, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow…Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle” (Proverbs 13:11; 23:4,5; see also 1 Timothy 6:6-10).

To do business in God’s way, you need the strength and power of God. Jesus said, “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). If you desire to give your life to Jesus, you can pray this prayer to God: “Dear God, I thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die for my sins. I repent of my sins today and invite Jesus into my life to be my Lord and Saviour. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

Your eternal salvation and spiritual well-being are our concern. If you gave your life to Jesus Christ by praying the prayer above, or if you made some other commitment to God, please let us know through the address below. You may also join us in worshipping God in Yoruba language at 7.30 a.m. or in English language at 9.00 a.m. every Sunday.