In contrast to the warnings of riches in the New Testament, there are many places where Jesus makes reference to business management. And not in bad way, either. He actually taught quite a bit using these examples of business. Jesus repeatedly uses the boss-employee analogy to make a point about the kingdom of heaven. These management characters teach lessons about shrewdness, work ethic, generosity, responsibility, and patience. Granted, they are mostly agricultural-based scenarios because these were obviously more relevant to his audience at the time: there is the “master”, the vineyard-owner, the steward, the ruler, the landowner/nobleman, the wealthy patriarch, to name a few. But in today’s world they would be considered something more akin to: corporate management, the boss, the CEO, the entrepreneur, the rich dad, or the guy who owns more stuff than you so that he can hire you. It’s like Jesus was teaching these guys in parables, but with stories about their work. Something they could relate to. What a concept. At some level, I feel that Jesus is acknowledging the normalcy of honest business and management as part of the very fabric of society.
I mean, somebody’s got to do it.
A friend recently told me that he took his pastor to work with him one day, and the pastor was intrigued by the cubicles. He asked what they were used for. He had never seen cubicle workers before! Come on, now pastors, writers, Christian professionals. Get with the program and get on board with the money-making members of your flock. Stop avoiding our world and our career ambitions. We’re starving for some spiritual attention to help us make sense of the business life we live in 50-80 hours a week. But we also want a little respect for the honest work that we do. Besides, we’re the ones who are basically paying your way, right?
I believe that God gives each of us a unique calling to be discovered, an ambition that we must pursue to be whole, to be fully human and fully ourselves. We can not qualify the value of one vocation over another. We each are uniquely distinct and we must embrace and respect the diversity of interests and ambitions of each person, while ensuring they are acting in the bounds of morality, legal and ethical behavior. Ultimately, the output of our ambitions and vocations should be the revelation of God’s love through our work, through our results, to our fellow employees and customers we interact with, and through the resources we give back to the world.
And, if by God’s grace, you can reach a point in life’s pursuits where you are well compensated for doing something you like and something you are also actually good at, then I would suggest that surely God is pleased and that you are blessed. And by passing on these gifts to others thus continues a generous circle of His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
In closing, here is a benediction that you will never hear from your church’s pulpit:
Go ahead, young Christian men and women. I urge you to go out into the world, get educated, work hard, and be shrewd. Don’t be afraid to take on greater responsibility and new challenges, because God is with you. Discover and use all of your gifts and talents to the fullest, and prosper! Make a killing! And then do good with it. Give it away — to your family and friends, to the church, to the homeless and unloved, to your alma mater, to those in your back yard and to those around the world. Amen.
Bradley,
Are you serious that your friend’s pastor had never seen (or even heard of) a cubicle? That’s absurd. What rock did this guy crawl out from under? I am often frustrated in dealing with the administrative staff at my local church. Many of these people, who are fairly well-paid btw, would not last a week in the corporate world. The excrutiatingly slow pace at which tasks are completed is hard to swallow. So much of the heavy lifting falls on the capable shoulders of the over-worked lay people. It would do all of us some good if our pastors and their staff got out more often.
I love the benediction. We (businessmen and women) should not feel bad about earning a buck…as long as we are good stewards with our treasures.