Why does God want people to go into business?
Two answers: to provide goods and services, and to provide meaningful and creative jobs.
Those are two different purpose statements. One has an internal focus, and one, external. Externally, business is the only institution that creates economic value. A university provides intellectual capital but does not make things. Business takes the ideas and commercializes them. It relies on an array of values from other institutions, but it’s the only one that adds value into the system. Business plays a key role by creating products and services.
But not every product a business could make is equally valid in the eyes of God. So a Christian in business should ask not only what will maximize the bottom line, but also what product or service could be made, given the core competencies under his control and the assets he is managing, that would best serve his community.
Read it all.
Christianity Today Interviews Jeff Van Duzer about Christians in the Marketplace
Why does God want people to go into business?
Two answers: to provide goods and services, and to provide meaningful and creative jobs.
Those are two different purpose statements. One has an internal focus, and one, external. Externally, business is the only institution that creates economic value. A university provides intellectual capital but does not make things. Business takes the ideas and commercializes them. It relies on an array of values from other institutions, but it’s the only one that adds value into the system. Business plays a key role by creating products and services.
But not every product a business could make is equally valid in the eyes of God. So a Christian in business should ask not only what will maximize the bottom line, but also what product or service could be made, given the core competencies under his control and the assets he is managing, that would best serve his community.
Read it all.