I am going to share with you something that I hope will help you as you seek employment, as you go to work, or as you manage your business. I am going to share a number of articles I wrote called Christian Business Principles. After this series, I will start a new Bible study on the book of Nahum.
I used the New King James Version to quote from for the most part and I also included quotes from numerous key individuals in the business world who also teach Christian principles for people in the workplace.
Enjoy!
10 Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: "Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all.
12 Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.
13 "Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You.
1 Chronicles 29:10-14 (NKJV)
Who am I? This question from David shows his humility before a very powerful and loving God. David was a king chosen and anointed by God to serve the people of Israel. David’s responsibility ranged much further than ours may ever.
As king, he was responsible for ruling justly and fairly. He was a protector of the people and a voice before God. He was responsible for upholding a godly lifestyle. He was to make sure that God was honored throughout the land, and he was to face full responsibility.
In fact, Moses had given the people of Israel a few important rules for a king to follow. Here’s what Moses wrote:
"When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, 'You shall not return that way again.' Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
"Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (NKJV)
I emphasize several points here because as a minister, businessman, husband, and dad, I know that in order to honor God with my lifestyle I also have to learn to fear God and keep his commandments.
- How many people go into business or work and their aim is failure? None that I know of.
- How many people have started businesses in hopes to share it with their family and to nurture it and to grow it and to equip it for a future?
- How many people have started a new job as a means to care for their family and further their ministry for God?
King David knew the laws of God yet there seems to be a missing link in his ability to follow those commandments. He amassed great wealth. He had numerous wives. He had a large army with a lot of horses. Samuel told the people of Israel this would happen with a king.
David in all his problems and in all of his mistakes and in all of his sins still received the blessings of God. Why? David was humble enough to confess his mistakes and returned to worship God. David was not ruled by his mistakes.
Businesses are not like a box of chocolate. They are like a kingdom. They are something we have some form of control of and responsibility towards. Businesses should run on principle and only we can bring that principle to the table.
John Maxwell said that a business cannot have ethics. Ethics are only formed through the ethics of the leader of that business. Your character will show through your relationships with your family, employees, customers, creditors, and suppliers.
Every business has principles that govern its function. Those principles are revealed though our character.
- What governs the principles we set?
- What governs us?
- What are our parameters for dealing with frustrations?
Read 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 again.
- For making money?
- For dealing with creditors?
- For being timely in payments?
- For paying our taxes?
- Does your business or your work ethic belong to God as well?
- Have you ever made a mistake?
- Have you ever wondered what your business or employment is really about?
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