by Kevin Burton
How are things going at work?
It’s a simple question. But before you answer, let’s define what it means to “get ahead” with some principles from the Bible.
To get God’s wisdom and promises from the Bible, you must first read it. Those who don’t, stand a good chance of suffering from spiritual blindness, a bad condition which gets much worse. That’s why you see people “falling apart at the seems” s-e-e-m-s, living life based on how things seem to the natural man instead of on the reality set forth in God’s word.
That’s why we are here in this eighth-period Business class at the Earthly School for the Spiritually Blind.
Imagine Jesus is in a business meeting at the place where you used to work. He somehow gets the floor and quotes Prov. 16:8 (NKJV), “Better is a little with righteousness than vast revenues without justice.”
There is a short pause. Then come great roaring gales of laughter, the sort of sustained laughter that brings tears. People pounding the table, falling off their chairs, trying to catch their breath.
Jesus slips out un-noticed. Eventually the meeting will go on without Him, as do most business meetings.
“Caveat emptor.” You’ve heard the phrase? I don’t speak Latin, but I know that one. In the world we live in “let the buyer beware” does not just mean check for flaws in the goods you buy. It also means you must take some time to understand the motivations behind sales pitches.
Prov. 11:1 (NASB) states “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.” That verse speaks to businesses doing right by customers.
Col. 4:1 says “Masters, grant your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” That speaks to employers doing right by their employees and by other businesses. Try not to trip over the master/slave thing. That was the language of New Testament times.
Col. 3:22 states, “Slaves, obey those who are your human masters in everything, not with eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.” That speaks to employees putting in a full day’s work for the hours they are paid for.
That covers all the business relationships. There are many more verses where those come from. You can group it all under the word “integrity.”
In today’s business world, integrity is for chumps. But that point of view is for the spiritually blind. You must understand one thing, God will make everything right. The Bible says so. Integrity, within God’s timing will be enforced.
“Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work,” (Jer. 22:13 KJV).
“And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last,” reads Luke 13:30 (KJV).
“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,” James 5:4 (NASB).
“Integrity is about Christ-centered living. It is about doing what is right rather than what is expedient,” reads a passage on www.gotquestions.org. “The organization with integrity will make its business decisions based on the standards and principles of God—righteousness, truth, and honesty.”
“Paul’s remarks concerning the employee/employer relationship involve the mutual submission of employees to their employers and vice versa. Employees, too, are to treat their employers with respect and ‘obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart, (Eph. 6:6)’” the website reads.
The website also talks about a commitment to excellence, pointing to Col. 3: 23-24 (KVJ), “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
Class Notes, eighth period, Business: Lying, cheating and stealing, with all their shadows and shades, are commonplace in business today. Every day people are getting away with it, or seeming to. The Bible teaches that integrity will be enforced. God will make everything right. The Bible calls upon employers and employees alike to work with integrity.
One for the Spiritual Road: “But you are to remember the Loud your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth,” (Deut. 8:18a (NASB).
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