The Bible Speaks Today

Godly Business


This is what the Lord says: For three sins of Israel, even for four, I
will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver and the
needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as
upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed (Amos
2:6-7a).

Godly business does not simply refer to business ethics, the moral principles
which businesses conduct their various activities. Although such deliberations
are important, especially in light of the wheeling and dealing that goes on in the
world of business, godly business presses us to reflect on something more
fundamental. It urges us to question the purposes of any and all business. Does
God have a purpose for business? If there is a divine purpose for business, is it
intrinsic to the business activity or enterprise? Do businesses serve Gods
purposes only instrumentally, for instance, providing the financial resources for
Christian mission?

We need to begin at the beginning, with the creation narrative in Genesis, which
tells how God brought into being the world His household (oikos). God the
Creator-householder, the Economist, declared the cosmos as very good.
Theologians noticed that the creation was very good but not perfect. God not
only continues to work on the created order, He fashioned certain creatures in
His own image and mandated them to serve as His co-workers, stewards and
vice-regents (Genesis 1:27-28). The implication is staggering. One theologian
puts it: Corresponding to the creator Economist is the image of God, who is
called an economist. The human being is homo economicus because it is first and
foremost imago dei.

The human being, a creature bearing the image of its Creator, is the recipient of
the economic Commission to promote Gods righteousness and peace in the
created order. The human being exists to live and work for the Creators will. For
the Christians, business serves Gods purpose. Jeff van Duzer, professor of
business law and ethics at Seattle Pacific University asserts that business serves
the community by providing goods and services that will enable the community
to flourish. It also serves its employees by providing them opportunities to
express a portion of their God-given identity through meaningful and creative
work. A business that seeks to fulfil these fundamental objectives will not slide
into idolatry but will, by Gods grace, be faithful to the divine mandate.

Businesses fulfil their divine purpose and serve the community in Gods
economy in two distinctive ways. The first is by being creative, it allows the
community to flourish and thrive, through new products, innovative services and
even new markets. The second way is restorative or redemptive. Businesses
become the source, inspiration and catalyst that oppose exploitation and
discrimination, address injustices and mend social fractures. They include NGOs
and political institutions, and are change-agents that bring social benefits.
The great Catholic moral theologian, Bernard Hring, reminds us that the
economy is more than business. The economy, viewed either philosophically or
theologically, should be understood as a way of ordering our lives and sharing
our resources to contribute to the health and well-being of the human
community or household (Greek: oikos). Hring elaborates, that the economy is
for the family, and not the family for the economy. Businesses that are organised
to meet human needs will enable the human community to flourish.

An important document of the Western Church in the twentieth century is
Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope), promulgated at the Second Vatican Council. It
articulates with eloquence and wisdom the essential meaning of godly business
and purpose of all human economic activity: The fundamental finality of this
production is not the mere increase of products nor profit or control but rather
the service of man, and indeed of the whole man with regard for the full range of
his material needs and the demands of his intellectual, moral, spiritual, and
religious life; this applies to every man whatsoever and to every group of men, of
every race and of every part of the world. Consequently, economic activity is to
be carried according to its own methods and laws within the limits of the moral
order, so that Gods plan for mankind may be realised.


Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of Christian Doctrine at Trinity
Theological College.