My 18-year-old son Zachary attended Summit at Bryan College this summer, a two week crash course to understand, articulate and defend the Christian worldview in our non-Christian, increasingly anti-Christian, secular culture. He learned that a person's worldview—the lens through which they see and process information—will always determine their conclusions and behavior.

The heart is the seat of our worldview. This is the reason Proverbs 4:23 exhorts "watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life." A person's heart governs their mind. The mind therefore dutifully serves the heart. There is no end to what the mind is capable of rationalizing or ignoring to satisfy the heart.

How else can we explain the amazing transformation of the apostle Paul, a brilliant Bible scholar, who zealously persecuted the followers of Jesus and then, immediately after his conversion, "he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "'He is the Son of God'" and not only that, but "confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ," no doubt arguing persuasively from the OT Scriptures. What changed? It was not his knowledge of the Scriptures, but his heart.

How else can we explain the scientist who stubbornly ignores the physical evidence of intelligent design, and desperately holds onto the failed theory of evolution to explain the origins of life? Then, after he has been saved and given a new heart, he becomes an ardent defender of the Bible's account of creation virtually overnight! What changed? It was not his knowledge of the facts or the scientific method, but his heart.

This got me thinking about business. What kind of transformation should we expect to see in the life of a business person after they have become a new creature in Christ? What does a Christian worldview of business look like, and how does that differ from the prevailing secular worldview?

I was a brand new Christian 20 years ago when I entered the Harvard Business School to get my MBA. I knew little of the Bible and had no idea what a Christian worldview was and how it should affect my career in business. Then one morning a very popular professor opened our day's discussion by writing on the blackboard "There are no absolutes!" He went on to profess his "business worldview" which essentially was moral relativism or pragmatism, also known as situational ethics. The classroom erupted in a standing ovation, and I realized for the first time that I did in fact have a business worldview and it wasn't the same as my professor's, and apparently most of my classmates either! This was the beginning of what has become a lifelong passion to study, practice and teach what the Bible has to say about business and the workplace.

So back to the question, what does a Christian worldview of business look like, and how does that differ from the prevailing secular worldview? A Christian worldview of business begins, of course, with the Bible. Proverbs 29:18 says in the New American Standard translation "where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law." This verse is often quoted in the context of business people coming up with a grand vision statement for their companies. A closer look at the original Hebrew words reveals, however, that the New Kings James version hits closer to the mark saying "where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law."

The biblical truth here is that without the revelation of God, found in the law (God's Word), people will go their own way and suffer for it. A Christian worldview, then, is a Biblical worldview. A Christian worldview of business, then, is rooted in what God's Word says about business, in God's design for business, and the commands and principles given to guide our daily walk in business.

Here are a few of the foundational, biblical truths related to a Christian worldview of business.

Business is a God-ordained Activity

God created man to be a co-worker with Him in ruling and caring for the physical world that He created. Work was given to man before the fall, and while it was made harder because of sin, work has always been a God-ordained activity. God uses business, the buying and selling of goods and services, to meet the physical needs of people. Not all business is God-ordained of course. All legitimate work is an extension of God's work. By legitimate work I mean work that somehow contributes to what God wants done in the world, and does not actively contribute to what He does not want done.¹

God Owns Your Business and Career

As Creator and Sovereign Lord, God literally owns everything. He owns your business, your career, your resources. He has entrusted them to you as a steward. The steward's responsibility is to manage what has been entrusted to him in accordance with the Owner's instructions.

Imagine for a moment you wrote a check and later learned that the check "bounced." You know there is plenty of money in your account to cover the amount, so you call the bank manager to find out what happened, since you had entrusted your money to him as your steward. Suppose he tells you unabashedly that he considered your check request and denied it, deciding you shouldn't spend your money that way, that it was better for it to remain under his control. Imagine that you also noticed an authorized withdrawal from your account. Again, your steward the bank manager, this time slightly annoyed at your questioning, explains that he decided to spend some of your money on new office furniture so he could serve you better.

You, as the rightful owner of your funds, would no doubt be furious, and would certainly fire the bank manager immediately and entrust your funds to someone more trustworthy. What does this farfetched story have to do with your Christian worldview of business? It may not be as farfetched as you think. How many times have you, as the steward of God's resources, spent His money without consulting Him? How many times has the Lord gently prompted you to give, to help someone in need, and you ignored God's request and decided to keep His money in your account instead? A Christian worldview of business acknowledges God's ownership of your business, your career, and your resources, and willingly embraces the privilege of stewardship by seeking to know and obey God's instructions. A Christian worldview of business acknowledges God as the provider, the One who gives the ability to make a living, to create wealth.

We have an old movie in our video collection called Shenandoah starring Jimmy Stewart. The character that Stewart plays is a prideful, cranky, self-made man with a large prosperous farm in Virginia during the years leading up to the Civil War. He promised his dear departed wife that he would be a "church-going" man for the sake of the family. He dutifully, but begrudgingly, gives the blessing before every Saturday dinner with this prayer.

"Lord, we cleared the land, we plowed it, sowed it and harvested. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn't be here, we wouldn't be eating it if we hadn't done it all ourselves. We worked dog-boned hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway Lord, for this food we're about to eat. Amen."

How many of us, if we're honest with ourselves, have an attitude like this about the businesses we built from nothing, about the careers that we have created, about the success we have achieved, about the money we have saved and the possessions we have accumulated?

God Established Precepts for Business

A precept is a rule or regulation given by higher authority to govern our behavior. God has established precepts for business just like He has for every other activity of life. He has given us, His stewards, a complete set of instructions. In some areas of our stewardship the instructions are very specific, and in other areas they are more general, much like it is with our human bosses. True discipleship is a life characterized by a radical trust in, and obedience to, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Business is Ministry

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 explains that each believer has been given gifts, ministries and effects by God. For most people, especially men, next to their immediate family the workplace constitutes their primary field of ministry. Think of the number of people you can influence for Christ in your business or profession. There are bosses, subordinates, customers, vendors, investors, competitors and neighbors. While many people will never go to church or listen to a Christian radio station, everyone interacts in the marketplace, and there is a good chance that God has placed at least one Christian in their midst. Maybe you are that one Christian, the only Christian some of these people will ever know. Is there enough evidence of your Christianity in the workplace to convict you of being a Christian, or are you working undercover?

Business is also ministry if some portion of the profits are invested in God's work. How else will this work be funded? If you haven't been called, or are unwilling to go, into vocational ministry, then you have a responsibility to support those who do.

In contrast to this biblical Christian worldview, there is the secular worldview which is a hodgepodge of naturalism (there is no God) and transcendentalism (everything, most importantly myself, is a god). It is a misnomer to call it secular really, since these worldviews are every bit as much of a religion as Christianity.

I wish to also introduce a third worldview, which is a combination of the biblical Christian and the secular, which I will name the non-biblical Christian worldview. This worldview gives intellectual assent to the tenets of the Biblical worldview, but in practice reflects the secular worldview—sort of a "yes, but …" mentality. Sadly, most of the Christian business people I know fall into this category.

This chart summarizes and illustrates some of the key distinctives of these competing worldviews.

Most Christians in business readily agree intellectually with the biblical Christian worldview, but practice the non-biblical Christian worldview. Why is that? I believe the reason is a combination of fear and ignorance. Fear, that doing business God's way might result in business failure or a loss of income. Ignorance, on how to discover and apply God's Word to business.

Let's put to rest the fear factor with this one verse. "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Ps. 84:11). You can trust God that He will withhold no good thing whatsoever from you if you walk uprightly by following His precepts for business. Period.

The ignorance factor is going to take some time.

True or false? The Bible contains all of the information we need to make wise decisions in our businesses and professions.

The answer to this is obviously false. I am an IT business consultant and I can't find anything in the Bible about computers or networks, software and hardware—not a single verse even in these newfangled modern language versions.

True of false? The Bible contains all the truth we need to make wise decisions in our businesses and professions.

The answer to this is true. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 makes this remarkable statement: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

This passage asserts that the sum of our entire Bible, all 66 books, is authoritative on all matters on which it speaks, is useful and necessary, and also sufficient in terms of the truth we need to do the good works the Lord has planned for us.

So yes, the Bible contains all the truth, not all the facts, but all the divine truth we need to make wise decisions. At the root of every business problem can be found a biblical truth.

Oh by the way, did I mention that doing business God's way is very good business? Secular research, such as Collins' Good to Great, Pfeffer's The Human Equation and Collins and Porras' Built to Last has proven that business practices based on biblical principles produce better long term results than those built on worldly principles. Business practices such as commitment to core values, servant leadership, self-discipline, people-centered strategies, employment security, performance-based compensation, minimizing debt, selective hiring and reduction in status differences—to name a few—have been identified as characteristics of successful businesses by secular researchers. Each one of these practices is rooted in a biblical principle.

Jesus made this very strong statement in Revelation 3:15-16. "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot; I will spit you out of my mouth." As I've explained, you can espouse one of three business worldviews: a hot biblical one, a cold secular one, or a lukewarm, non-biblical, so-called Christian one.

So … what is your business worldview?

[1.] Sherman, Doug, William Hendricks. Your Work Matters to God, Navpress Publishing Group

Richard K. Freed, MBA, is vice president of Advantage Business Brokerage in Fredericksburg, VA, and a graduate of the United States Military Academy and the Harvard Business School. Rick is the author of "Precepts for Business," an inductive Bible study series for business people. He can be reached at rfreed@abbva.com.

Copyright © 2004 FaithInTheWorkplace.com.