Biblical Business Radical: Transformation Means Difference

 Recently I previewed a novel, a thrilling novel of a former military, FBI operative combating a plot to “ruin” the world. Here’s an excerpt from my review:

We also get a glimpse of the protagonist’s, Redd’s, devotional life as he tries to live up to what he learned from his adoptive father, JB. Unfortunately, Redd is not an aspirational character when it comes to his faith. Like most of us, we don’t see our beliefs impacting our vocations. I’ve seen it with customer service people, CEOs, everyone, myself included. Redd behaves in his work no differently than his colleagues. His faith is not in evidence. There’s one quick sentence or two, where Redd contemplates “turn the other cheek” (from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount). But it’s not a deep dive as he dismisses it because of an attack on his family. There’s no consideration that as followers of Christ, His teachings and His living example, we do not seek personal vengeance. We can seek justice for others. We are called to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit at all times—if we believe He’s dwelling within us—of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… Also Christ calls us to love our enemies, not just our neighbors (family, friends). Scripture also tells us that “perfect love casts out all fear.” And the Ten Commandments say, “Do not murder” which Christ expands in His famous sermon to be equivalent when we hate. Perhaps as Steck’s [the author’s] series expands, we’ll see Redd transform into being more Christ-like. What Redd is doing is not different from typical “Christians” but I hope Steck gives us some hints to a greater life of faith, that can be shown in what we think, decide and do.

We also have to take to heart the call: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…” (Romans 12.2) Transformation is more than just identity—we can call ourselves Christian—it’s our character and values which influence our decisions and actions (i.e. our behaviors and customs).

 

Biblical Business Radical: Do Nothing from Selfish Ambition (ouch!)

 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit…” (Philippians 2.3 ESV) “…or vain conceit…” (NIV)

…except to get promoted at work or have wonderful returns on investment or ”keep up with the Joneses.” Right? When we’re asked about our lives, can’t we talk about our work, career, business accomplishments? I mean we have to fill out a CV or resumé for any new job. As a business owner, couldn’t we mention how much we have in sales or how many employees we pay, how far we ship or how far our customers travel to get to us…?

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.” (Philippians 2.3 NLT)

“Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top.” (MSG)

Doesn’t God allow for exceptions when it comes to our vocations, our career desires and our businesses? I don’t think so. I haven’t found any exclusions in scripture that certain character traits are only required at home and not at work, in the marketplace. Hmmm, this is a hard command to practice.

(Is it a command or a guideline or suggestion? Can I call it one of the latter and have a loophole?)

So what do I do? 

“…but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2.3-4 ESV) “Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” (MSG) “Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” (NIV) “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” (v. 3 NLT)

Easy to do with customers for a lot of us. Easy to do with employees if we practice servant leadership. We can talk about our accomplishments as a team effort, since that’s really what it is. No one person achieves anything without ideas or resources or assistance from others.

Maybe even easy to do with competitors because there’s the sales “rule” of not demeaning your competition. But can I look to the interests of my competitors? The closest I’ve found is to backfill their capacity when they have too much business or offload some business when I’ve not had enough capacity. And having strong competition is good for your business: you get stronger and your customers have solid choices. I had a friend who owned a lumber yard in a small city. When his one competitor went out of business, he worried he would also lose business. The reasoning: his contractor customers would think he was jacking up prices because there was no competitor and would then be willing to take their trade to another city with multiple yards.