When we hear the word “belief” we commonly jump to ideas about big picture concepts. Do we believe in God, for example, or are we atheists and don’t believe? But our beliefs can be much smaller than that, and just as adroitly shape our attitudes and actions. For example, we can believe the next door neighbor is a bit nutty, and so we avoid him so as not to subject ourselves to an uncomfortable conversation. The next door neighbor being nutty is a belief, and it, in some small way, dictates and influences some of our actions – we avoid him.
I’ve come to see that many Christian businesspeople, myself included, are plagued by certain “cataract beliefs.” These are beliefs that, like a cataract in our eye, cloud our perspectives, hinder our ability to see things clearly, and limit our contribution to the Kingdom. And, like a cataract, they come on us slowly and inevitably. We rarely know that they are growing over us, and are often totally oblivious to their existence and their impact on our lives and spiritual growth. They obscure reality. As long as we hold onto them, we’ll be hindered because our view of reality will be distorted.
Here’s one such cataract belief:
“Christianity is about going to church and worshipping God. Business is about making money.”
Not only is this belief a distortion of reality, it is exactly the opposite of reality. The truth is: “Business is just as much about engaging with and worshipping God as it is about making money. What we do in the institutional church is irrelevant to your relationship with God.”
Let’s unpack this.
In the very beginning, when God made man, he made him to work, and to work with him. Look at Genesis 1:
“28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
The first words God spoke to man was to give him a charge – a mission: Subdue the earth. Rule over it. Sounds like work to me.
Later, he shows us exactly what he meant, at least in part. In Geneses 2:
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
Notice that the very first time we see God interacting with man, it was in the context of work. They worked together! God gave Adam the charge to name the animals, and then God brought the animals to him. Adam would then name them. Teamwork!
Notice, also, that in the very first glimpse we get of God, in Genesis, he is working. God is a worker, and he made man in his image – to be a worker, as he is. And God’s relationship with man began in the context of work. In this passage, God sets the pattern of interacting with man primarily through work. Work is at the essence of our humanity, and at the heart of our God-likeness. It is the place where God interacts with his creation – not in the artificial environment of a church building, but rather in nitty-gritty environment of real work.
As the biblical story unfolds, we see man’s working efforts becoming more sophisticated. As mankind begins to become more numerous, they form households – the bible word for family businesses. And God, true to the pattern established in the Garden of Eden, works with these businesses and relates to them.
One of the first major characters in the bible story is Abraham, a wealthy businessman. Abraham’s business probably had thousands of employees.
Genesis 14:14:
“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”
If he were able to organize 318 trained men who had been born in his household, how many untrained men were there? How many younger brothers, sisters, older siblings, and parents?
One test of Abram’s faith occurred when God told him to move his business, with all its servants, slaves, family and employees, to another location. Imagine the logistics involved. But, God was with him in this enormous business event, and blessed his business because of his faith.
It is not within the scope of this article to describe all of the incidents in the Bible that illustrate the pattern set in Genesis – that God relates to people in their work in general, and their businesses in particular. For now, let me just list some of the examples:
Joseph – the business administrator whose faithfulness prompted God to bless Pharaoh’s household.
Moses – the owner of a sheep-raising business who God set in place to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
David – the son of a business owner who God selected to consolidate the Israelites into a kingdom, and who grew closer to God primarily in the context of the military work given to him.
Jesus – in his human capacity was a small business owner – a carpenter — who issued in the Kingdom of God and changed the world.
Paul – a tentmaker who supported his evangelistic efforts through his business.
Lydia – a small business owner who, upon hearing the good news, believed and was baptized, and influenced her entire business to do likewise. Her business then formed an instant church.
This is just the short list. The long list can go on for pages. But you get the idea. God is a worker. He created man to be a worker. It is in work, and business for those of who have one, that he relates to us. God works with us.
Over and over again, he shows us how he works with us, in our work. Just so we get the point, he says, in Romans 12:1:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Clearly, worship is not what happens in the confines of a church building on Sunday mornings. Worship is what we do when we work – it’s a lifestyle of communication with God within the context of our work and our businesses.
Confirming this ‘work as worship’ concept is Colossians 3:23-24:
“23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
While the charge is directed specifically at slaves, it’s not a stretch to see it, in today’s economy, as applying to workers. When we work, we are to do so with the understanding that we serve the Lord Christ in our work.
From the very first chapter of the bible through this passage at the tail end, the message is clear, and the pattern is consistent. Your business is not just a means of making money. It is, first and foremost, the place in which we engage with God and serve and worship the Lord.
Which brings us back to where we started.
The idea that “Christianity is about going to church and worshipping God. Business is about making money,” is not only a cataract belief, obscuring the reality of God’s word, but is exactly the reverse of what the scriptures teach.
One last test. Assume for a moment that you hold to this cataract belief. How do you feel about yourself, your relationship with God, and your place in the Kingdom?
Now, just for a moment, take on the opposite belief. Assume that you accept the concept that “Your business is not just a means of making money. It is, first and foremost, the place in which you engage with God and serve and worship the Lord.”
How does that make you feel?
If you are like most Christian business people, the cataract belief makes you feel second class, like you are just a business person. The opposite belief empowers you, makes you feel like you have a special ministry in this world, that you are a knight in the Lord’s army, responsible for a cellular unit in God’s economy.
Let’s pry this cataract belief out of psyches, and begin to see ourselves the way God sees us.
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