Part 7 of 7.
This seventh and final section finishes the theological context for business ownership by elevating our faith and relationship with God far above our businesses and any wealth we might have.
I felt God wanted me to coalesce into one section several passages which form the Biblical truth that faith is (much) more valuable than wealth. Some of what I present in this section will be examined more closely later in this book. If you find this repetitive, then all I can say is that sometimes, repetition is good for the soul.
What Business Owners Should Value
Let’s start with this key principle: Christian business owners place an incomparably greater value on our faith in Christ when compared to the value we place on money, power and wealth. Let’s look at how the Bible values faith more than wealth.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.[1]
Here, we see Peter teaching that our faith – which cannot perish or fade away and is being guarded by God’s power – is far more valuable that gold – even gold refined by fire. Let’s remember that our wealth and possessions will all burn someday. Our entire economic and political systems will be entirely replaced in the future (Revelation 21.1). But our faith in Christ and our relationship with Him will last throughout eternity. Our faith is worth more than gold, prestige, position, power or any authority we have on this earth.
The Law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.[2]
We learn from David that God’s commands are worth much more than any sum of money or amount of wealth we could own. We should value God’s commands much more than any wealth we could acquire.[3]
How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.[4]
In this proverb, Solomon teaches us that it is better to pursue and gain wisdom than to pursue money or wealth.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.[5]
We are instructed to gain wisdom by simply asking God for it. And when we ask, God promises to give us wisdom because He is a generous God. Wisdom is the application of all that the Bible says to a decision we’re presently facing. We are to pursue this more than money or wealth.
I know your works. you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.[6]
In John’s revelation, we see a church that is lukewarm toward God because of their love of wealth. They look at their material wealth and think they’re doing rather good, “…I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing…”, but God looks at them and finds them to be “wretched, pitiable[7], poor, blind and naked”. “Nakedness was in the ancient world the ultimate humiliation.”[8]
So God’s counsel is to buy “gold refined by fire”, which is a metaphor for gaining pure faith with a singular allegiance to Him. A fidelity of faith, which will be tested and refined through temptation and trial, is what is in view.[9] Lukewarm Christians have divided affections – they love the things of the world while trying to love God. But in the end, they are unable to do both and are in danger of walking away from their faith (1 Timothy 6.1-10). If they remain lukewarm,[10] God will spit them out of His mouth (Revelation 3.16), which means He will reject them.[11]
Listen then to what the parable of the sower means. When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.[12]
Deceitfulness of Wealth
In Christ’s summation of his parable of the sower and the seed, He teaches us that there is a “deceitfulness of wealth” which can choke out the salvific and eternal effects of the word in our hearts and minds, rending us unfruitful and pulling us away from God. When we are eager to gain wealth, we’ll be discontent and will likely fall away from our faith (1 Timothy 6.1-10).
Wealth has a deceitful quality to it. Only those who walk closely with God will have the discernment necessary to understand this. We saw this deceitfulness of wealth in the previous quote from Revelation 3 (and we also see it in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13.1-23). The lukewarm Christians thought they were doing fine – but God knew they were blind and naked. Their wealth deceived them.
When we value wealth more than our faith, I think it is fair to say that we are greedy. Greed is the elevation of money and wealth to a position of prominence and supreme value in one’s life. It is characterized by an excessive or rapacious desire for money and/or what money can buy you, such as comfort, convenience, power, prestige, position, influence and so forth. In the Scriptures, greed is often linked with selfishness and, more generally, corruption of character. This is aptly illustrated in Ezekiel 33.30-32, where the Lord describes his people as those who “express devotion” to God but their “hearts are greedy for unjust gain”. Moreover, greed and covetousness often exist together. An example of this is when David so deeply desired Bathsheba that he killed Uriah to get her (2 Samuel 11.1-27).
Greed and Business Ownership
Greed is not requisite for a Christian business owner who generates wealth. When two parties freely agree to an economic transaction that is beneficial to both, this is not greed but rather self-preservation.[13] If greed were at the root of all economic transactions in a free market, then we could not fulfill our duties (as illustrated in Luke 19 or Matthew 25 in the parables of the talents) to return a profit to the Lord without sinning. I believe a business can be incubated, grown and sustained without greed. Godly profits are created without greed.
Greed is condemned by God in the Scriptures and is contrary to the purposes of God. In Psalm 10.2-3, it is the arrogant, wicked man who “boasts of the cravings of his heart” and who “blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord”. In Romans 1.29, we find that those who have been given over to their sinful lusts by the Lord are filled with “every kind of wickedness”, including greed (see also 1 Corinthians 5.10). Greed is associated with being eager for money and wandering from the faith (1 Timothy 6.1-10). In Mark 7.21-22 (see also Matthew 15.19-20), greed is listed as one of the elements that makes a man “unclean”.
Greed should be considered something that is normal for those who have not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Without faith in God as Lord of one’s life, money and wealth often come to occupy the throne of one’s life. Therefore greed is often considered a “respectable” sin by those who don’t know the Lord. For them, any ethical conundrums[14] associated with greed is usually related to the pragmatic[15] exercise of capitalism.[16]
The Scriptures contain several examples of greed from which we can learn. One example is found in Joshua 7, where we have the story of Achan, who wrongfully took some of the sacred things from the plunder in Israel’s victory over Jericho. His greed cost him and his family their lives, not to mention the lives of his countrymen who died needlessly in battle.
But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel. Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?” The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says. There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them. “ ‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the LORD chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the LORD chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the LORD chooses shall come forward man by man. Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’ ” Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen. Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done. When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.[17]
Greed cannot coexist with devotion to God. Achan and his family were killed off because the people needed to be pure before God if they were going to fulfill His purposes for them. Greed cost Achan all that he had. And will cost us everything too should we choose to value wealth or money more than our faith in God.
One of the stronger teachings against greed is in Luke 12.16-21:
And he told them this parable. “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”[18]
This is the parable of the rich man who was successful in business and who decided to build bigger barns to hold his increased wealth. He was so successful that he literally didn’t have enough room for all his wealth. So he built larger barns to hold his increase of possessions. There is nothing in this story to suggest he acquired his wealth unethically or illegally.
His actions alone would have revealed what was in his heart. But his words confirmed it: “I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.'” It was all about his money, his wealth, his comfort, his security and his enjoyment. But little did he know that he could die and not take one thing with him into eternity. He is described by God as a “fool” because his supreme investments in his life were in temporal things which could be taken from him in an instant. He didn’t even consider creating treasures in Heaven.
What are the lessons we take from the parable of the rich man and the story of Achan?
- Greed negatively affects our families and communities. I’m sure that the community of Israel didn’t enjoy putting to death one of their own. Certainly Achan’s family didn’t enjoy it.
- Greed creates short-term wealth, but it does not help the community flourish,[19] which violates one of God’s four purposes for business – Products.
- Greed is self-focused: “as long as I get what I want, I don’t care what happens to others”. A contemporary illustration of this is the pornography industry, as they gravitate toward more extreme and abusive sex. It’s no longer about physical satisfaction or “love” (as defined at a transactional, orgasmic level). It’s about the normalization of abuse, violence and degradation.[20] Those who run the porn industry are greedy for money, power and sex and they destroy[21] the dignity and humanity[22] of men and women alike. The porn industry is increasingly being connected to sex trafficking, which is an extreme form of greed.[23]
- Greed can take the form of hoarding. The parable starts with this strong warning from Christ. “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (vs. 15).” In this parable, the sin of greed is not taking from others, but about amassing wealth and fortune for yourself.
- The sin of hoarding is tantamount to the sin of not being generous toward God. While an argument from silence, the rich man had no thought about God or the poor. He could have given away his grain to help others. Instead, he hoarded his wealth, and the text implies that he saved much more than was necessary for his future needs.
- Moreover, greed distorts what a “need” is. For example, from the rich man’s perspective, he *needed* those larger barns to store his wealth.
- Also, you don’t need to be a “fat cat” to be greedy. Greed can happen at any economic level. It’s not just the rich who can be greedy. At its’ core, greed is the decision to value money and wealth above our faith in God. Those who are poor can be greedy too.
Application for Business Owners
In short, a disciple of Jesus Christ is not to be greedy. This is taught in passages such as Proverbs 28.6, where we are told “better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse”. We can also look to Proverbs 11.28, “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf” or to Proverbs 22.1, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold”. Other passages include Exodus 20.17, Deuteronomy 5.12, Ezekiel 18.8-17, and Romans 13.9.
Christian leaders are not to be greedy either. Lack of greed is a requirement for those desiring to be elders in the church. 1 Timothy 3.2-3 states that Christian leaders are not to be “lovers of money”. You can find similar commands in Titus 1.7, 1 Peter 5.2 and illustrated in the life of Paul in Acts 20.33 and 1 Thessalonians 2.5.
To bring this home, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask the obvious question; when we make more money and buy more stuff and then build bigger houses to put a roof over more of our stuff, are we not like the rich man in this parable? Are we not valuing wealth and material things more than we value our faith in God?
Greed is an easy sin to commit. This is why significant financial success is difficult to handle in a godly way. Financial success will reveal what is in our heart much more than financial failure. Therefore, I think God gives high amounts of wealth to relatively few people. He knows that a lot of wealth would ruin most of us, so He protects us by not giving us much wealth.[24]
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.[25]
This passage is a good summation of what we’ve been discussing. If you have earthly treasures which you love, then your affections will be divided. Hence, we must intentionally hold our wealth with an open hand, being content to allow God to take it at any time. We must guard against loving and depending on our wealth.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.[26]
Let’s take this seriously: seek first God and His Kingdom. Value your faith in God more than anything or anyone else. While creating wealth through business activities can be fun and fulfilling, let’s never make this our ultimate goal in life.[27]
Let’s see our role as Christian business owners as that which is really about Kingdom work. Let’s prepare ourselves to give away our wealth when we create it. And let’s allow God to lead us in business to make good decisions that fulfill His purposes for business.
[1] ESV 1 Peter 1.3–9
[3] If you want a good exercise to do at this point, put this book down and read all of Psalm 119 in one sitting. You’ll be impressed by the depth of David’s love for God’s commands. Oh that we would have such love and respect for His commands too.
[4] ESV Proverbs 16.16
[5] ESV James 1:5–8
[6] ESV Revelation 3.15–20
[7] ἐλεεινός to being deserving of sympathy for one’s pathetic condition
[8] Morris, L. (1987). Revelation: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 85). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[9] Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Moore, E., Craven, E. R., & Woods, J. H. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Revelation (p. 137). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[10] Χλιαρός, moderately warm; between hot and cold (and not palatable). This word is used only once in the New Testament.
[11] “Featureless lukewarmness is worse, and more difficult to overcome, than complete alienation from or hostility to Christ. The Judge will reject the half-hearted with distaste as one spews out a tepid and tasteless drink. Now is the time for repentance and conversion.” Oepke, A. (1964–). ζέω, ζεστός (χλιαρός, ψυχρός). G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 2, p. 877). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
[12] NIV Matthew 13.18–23
[13] This was not always the case. For centuries, the church saw the pursuit of self-interest as inherently sinful: Greed is Good: A 300-Year History of a Dangerous Idea. The Atlantic, April 7, 2014
[14] The Moral Ambivalence of Gordon Gekko. Chicago Booth Review. John Paul Rollert, August 18, 2017
[15] I don’t agree with this author’s either/or conceptualization of capitalism vs. Christianity, but the article is worth your time if you’d like to learn more: Capitalism and Greed. Foundation for Economic Education, James L. Doti, November 1, 1982.
[16] The Driving Force of Capitalism is Empathy, Not Greed. Forbes Magazine, Rainer Zitelmann, September 2, 2019. Socialism is a godless system. At least capitalism allows for God to be fully incorporated into one’s activities. I attempt to do this in Chapter 8 when I talk about how to measure your business based on God’s four purposes for business.
[17] NIV Joshua 7.1-26
[18] NIV Luke 12.16-21
[19] Often, I find those who are highly greedy are either miserly in how they spend their money and/or they are unwise in how it is spent.
[20] How Does the Porn Industry Actually Make Money? Fight the New Drug. November 24, 2020
[21] The Porn Industry Isn’t Just Selling Sex, it’s Selling Violent Abuse of Women. Fight the New Drug, February 20, 2020
[22] Ex-Porn Star Confesses Hardships of Life After Leaving the Industry (Video). Fight the New Drug. April 25, 2017.
[23] Porn Creates Demand for Sex Trafficking. Miami Herald. Patrick A Trueman, July 23, 2014.
[24] How much is “much wealth”? It’s relative, to be sure. Suffice to say that most Americans are wealthy in the eyes of the world.
[25] NIV Matthew 6.19–24
[26] NIV Matthew 6.25–34
[27] In Chapter 3, Christian Stewardship, I will argue that our goal a stewards is to further the interests of Jesus Christ. Moreover, I’ll argue in Chapter 8, Fulfilling God’s Purposes for Business that how we define success should be connected to God’s purposes for business, not man’s purposes for creating wealth for shareholders and meeting the social needs of our communities (as good as many of those needs are). I think you’ll find there isn’t a wide cleavage between furthering God’s interests and fulfilling His purposes for business with generating profit and helping in your community. There is overlap. But there is divergence too.
