Business and the Church, Part 1: What the Bible says about business

The church and business are related concepts. In fact, business must run by the principles of the Bible in order to succeed. This means it must embrace an ethical code of conduct as contained in the Bible. In other words, you will not last in business if you run your business in an unethical matter.

The Bible is the book of justice and order. It is the book of God and the book from God. The Bible talks about justice, fairness, respect, transparency, good governance, morality and accountability. These and many other biblical concepts form the foundations for business and even entrepreneurial success.

You may say, how and where do these two meet? Well I am glad you have asked. The Bible is not silent on business matters. It is full of nuggets of wisdom for business success. Those who ignore these basic biblical concepts will not last long in business. They will merely rise and fall very quickly. Here is what the Bible says about business:

1. Do business till I come

Luke 19:13 – So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, “Do business till I come.”

Clearly here Jesus was encouraging people to go into business and commercialise until his return. Therefore, business is His direct command and will for humanity. As a matter of fact, as a pastor I understand that the success of my ministry work is to a large extent dependent on and/or linked to raising Kingdom financiers and marketplace ministers. These are the people that I pray for and empower for the marketplace. Notice that I pray for them. Their success also depends on my prayers as a priest or pastor.

2. Do agricultural business and/or farming

Genesis 2:15 – Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Most young people look down on agriculture and farming. Yet this is a business ordained in the first book of the Bible. God talks about tending and keeping the garden. In the garden you plant and produce crops and a range of other produce. So clearly here you can see that God promotes agricultural business in the Bible.

3. The Bible sets out basic conditions of employment and the rules of justice

Exodus 23:12 – Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

Here you can see that God addressed issues of basic conditions of service way before the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. God is saying here that you must give your people time off to rest, refresh, go on leave and/or holiday. Without embracing these rights as an entrepreneur, your productivity will drop and ultimately your business will go down.

4. God promotes skills development and multi-skilling

Exodus 35:35 – He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver – those who do every work and those who design artistic works.

Here God is saying that you need a skilled workforce in order to maintain market share, grow your enterprise and remain competitive. If you do not train your workforce, you will be out-performed by your competitors and ultimately shut down. Notice that this was way before the Skills Development Act. God was already on this business of training people for success.

5. God believes in fair pay for fair work and promotes justice

Leviticus 19:13 – You shall not cheat your neighbour, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.

God hates cheating and underpaying. If payday is the 30th or 31st of the month, you must pay them on time. It is unjust to withhold their wages. If you are unjust in business, you will loose good talent and skilled people will join your competition. Guess what follows? You will just close down and fail as an entrepreneur. This was in the Bible before the days of the CCMA and the Labour Court.

6. God knew performance and reward systems

Deuteronomy 25:14-16 – You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the LORD your God.

Our God is the God of justice, fairness and fair wages for fair work. God is saying: “You must not cheat.” Well if you cheat, you get caught and punished. How do you get punished as an entrepreneur? You loose credibility and trust, and your clients go and buy from your competition. This is how many large corporations have closed down. When business leaders start cutting corners, their clients soon find out and they punish them very hard.

In order to help entrepreneurs from Tembisa to implement what we are learning via these articles, I have set up what I call the Joseph Achievers Mentoring (JAM) programme. The programme is based on Joseph in the Bible, who rose to prominence despite his background.

I am encouraging all Tembisa residents to join. The programme is aimed at supporting all residents, but it targets mainly entrepreneurs, young professionals, university students and high school learners. It offers a range of support initiatives including career guidance, training and mentoring.

Many have enrolled in the programme and received business management training and mentoring. I challenge you to enroll for JAM in order to propel your life or your business to new heights.

To register for JAM, send an email to dlalisa.rhi@gmail.com or call Pastor WTM Dlalisa on 083 395 1165.

To learn more about all our activities and support programmes including JAM, visit us at RoyalHouse International Church, 532 Entshonalanga Section, Tembisa.