Christian Business Review 2022: Pressing On Toward God's Goal

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Biblical Business GOALS LARRY BURKETT A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS In the Call for Paper for this issue, we asked how must Christians press on and lead so that God’s purpose in us, through our testimonies in the marketplace, can be fulfilled. We suggested that it is time to have a laser focus on God’s purpose at the core of strategies in businesses where Christians lead or influence their execution. To lead off this discussion on the purpose driven strategy of Christian-led or influenced organizations, we would like to hearken back to the insights of the late Larry Burkett, perhaps one of the most influential Christian financial writers ever lived. The following excerpt from one of Burkett’s best known works, Business By the Book, is a timeless reminder of the Scripture informed mission (albeit with a financial tinge) for business organizations. We are deeply grateful to the publisher for permission to this reprint. 1 Taken from Business By the Book by Larry Burkett (Copyright © 1998 by Larry Burkett), Chapter 5. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson (www.thomasnelson.com). LONG-TERM GOALS OF A CHRISTIAN BUSINESS I n reality there is one primary purpose for a Christian’s business: to glorify God. But there are various ways to glorify Him. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). These become the functions of business – literally, the service provided by the business. So, the purpose of a business is to glorify God. Its functions are as follows. 1. FUND THE GOSPEL An important function of a Christian’s business should be to help spread God’s Word. The Bible says that we are to honor the Lord from the first fruits of all our produce (see Proverbs 3:9). For Christians who have the authority to do so, this means giving a portion of a company’s earnings to Christian ministries. 10 CHRISTIAN BUSINESS REVIEW Fall 2022
BIBLICAL BUSINESS GOALS BOOK EXCERPT 2. MEET NEEDS Another important function for a Christian business is to supply the physical needs of those who depend on it: your own family and your employees. God’s Word puts it this way: “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the truth, and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). I believe this Scripture applies not only to providing for our own families, but also to a businessperson providing for his or her employees…. A good rule of thumb is to consider whether you would be willing and able to live on what you’re paying the people under your authority. If not, and you are able to pay more, you need to consider James 5:4: “Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” This verse indicates that God holds us responsible for providing for those under our authority. 3. BE A DISCIPLE The apostle Paul wrote, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). On several occasions I have encountered Christian businesspeople who spend thousands of dollars a year to share faith with people in other countries; yet, often their employees have never heard the Gospel in a meaningful way. One Christian businessman I’ll call Alfred shared his concerns with me after going through our business seminar. He said, “I really thought I was a sound Christian businessman, but I’m not doing even a third of the things presented here. How do I get started?” My response was, “Please don’t go back and tell your employees how they should apply these principles. You just focus on the principles that apply to you and demonstrate to your employees that you care about them.” Alfred went back and called a company meeting. His employees thought, Oh no, he’s been to another one of those religious seminars. Now he’s going to tell us what we need to be doing to serve God. I’ve seen this happen many times. A businessperson becomes enthusiastic about something he or she learned at a seminar and decides, I’ve got to go back and get this started in my business. Usually the employees dread it, thinking, It’s going to be three weeks of misery again until this works out of the boss’s system and we get back to normal. But Alfred took a different approach. He told his employees, “I attended a seminar that changed my life, and I’d like to try to share with you what God is teaching me. So once a week I’m going to shut down our plant for an hour, and I’m going to share what God’s Word says I should be doing for you. The meetings are voluntary, but everyone is welcome. From this point on, I want you to hold me responsible to be the kind of Christian employer that God expects me to be.” The next Monday, when the plant stopped for the meeting, every one of Alfred’s employees was there. He began to share what he should be doing as a Christian businessman. Sometimes he would say, “I can’t implement this immediately or it would ruin our company, but eventually, I am going to do this to the best of my ability.” One of the programs Alfred wanted to implement was a benevolence program to help employees with special financial needs, such as medical bills, family crises, or special education expenses by providing company-sponsored grants. To do this would first require re-educating the employees so those who didn’t receive this benefit would not resent those who did. It also would require establishing an employee committee to oversee the fund and evaluate the candidates. But Alfred was determined to get it started. About a year after the meetings began, Alfred asked me to speak to his employees. At one point in my talk I asked, “How many in this room have personally accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior?” Out of more than 100 employees, about 25 hands went up. A year later I went back. This time I asked, “During the last year, how many of you have personally accepted Jesus Christ as a result of the influence of your boss?” Hands went up throughout the room. In one year, more than 60 people had come to the Lord through Alfred’s influence, and he didn’t even know it. Evangelizing his employees hadn’t been his goal. His goal had simply been to become more Christ-like in his business. The apostle Paul tells us we reap in the measure that we sow (see 2 Corinthians 9:6). Alfred learned that truth when he ran into some business and financial difficulties. During an economic downturn, business got so bad he needed a large infusion of money in order to continue operating. The high interest rates at that time made borrowing out of the question. Word of the company’s financial problems spread to Alfred’s employees, several of whom got the idea of banding together to lend Alfred the money (almost $300,000) themselves. They raised the needed funds from among the other employees and provided Alfred with an interest-free loan. CHRISTIAN BUSINESS REVIEW Fall 2022 112
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