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Finance is an important part of the way the world and the economy run today. So often, it is forgotten or discredited as simply being about the numbers. But, without the use of financial principles and practices, businesses would not be able to stand. There is much more than the mathematical side of finance that is found within the thought process and ideals of studying finances. It is a core foundation for everything within the world of business. For men and women alike to study and learn to think financially is to create a greater understanding of the field in which they are involved in and how to better their company by making the best decisions. Since money at the center of building a business, a lack of understanding can lead to misuse of funds and ultimately… failure.
As we see in the teachings of the Bible, there is more than a love of wealth at the core of money, but ethical principles and the wise management of resources. While the focus in the general business world turns towards wanting to simply accrue the most capital, often leading to greed and dishonesty for the sake of personal gain, God calls us to look elsewhere. Reading in Luke 16, the Parable of the Shrewd Manager is a clear picture of where our focus should be in finances.
There are two main parts to focus on in scanning this passage: the ethical side of money management and the idea of serving two masters. The first of these ideas is found halfway through the passage:
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:10-12, New International Version).
Here, readers see the points of honesty, trust, and ethics. In even the smallest of things, believers are called to be doing what is good and just in the eyes of God. The focus is to do right by others so that trust might be gained and honesty must be upheld. Looking outside of a biblically guided view, this is not always the case for businesses. Many times, albeit not all the time, the goal is to do what brings in the most revenue the quickest, at any kind of non-monetary cost. One such example comes from the beginning of the month in which several drug companies were sued for a campaign pushing the sales of highly addictive painkillers that downplayed the negative side effects (Jennings, 2018) . These particular corporations were likely run by people who had managed to break into the positions without proving that they could properly handle finances without putting the lives of people at risk. Clearly, their focus was on gaining the most profit and not the fallout of their actions.
This ties into the next important piece, being caught between serving two masters. As Luke speaks on, one cannot both serve God and serve a love of money (Luke 16:13, New International Version). Had those mentioned above been guided by Christian principles, they would have hopefully been seeking to do the work of God by doing what was necessary to help the people involved. Instead, the company’s leadership was guided by a love of money that leads to the downfall of people. Not to say that Christian owners cannot slip up now and again, but this does clearly display choosing a love of money over a love of God. The two things cannot be served simultaneously and one always takes precedence over the other depending on the values of those making the decisions.
One last little piece of this passage talks about how those who are of the world are more calculated in how they deal with each other than the children of the light are. It is easily deduced that the “children of the light” are those who are God’s people. In the context of this passage, it does not take long to pick apart some of what this might mean. Because of the worldly emphasis on personal gain and accumulating financial wealth, those within the worldly context have to be much more calculated in order to achieve their goals. Since it is “every man for themselves” the conflicting goals call for a more shrewd response in business than it does for those who are serving a purpose outside themselves. Anyone within the Christian community and is seeking to follow the biblical principles as laid out by God is guided by this, and therefore, has no need for the highly shrewd ways of worldly dealings.
This concept of managing money in God’s name instead of managing money for ourselves ties into the concept of biblical stewardship. An interesting article entitled “Reclaim the Meaning of Stewardship” discusses the concept that the meaning of the word has been lost over time. Chris Goulard of Saddleback Church says that “Stewardship is foundationally understanding that we are not owners of things, but managers” (Stewardship Central, 2018) . Our call as Christians is to manage the things of the earth that God has provided. Biblical Stewardship is the concept that all within the Christian body are to act as stewards to maximize the use of resources for God’s kingdom and the greater good of people. In this way, it is similar to the employee of a corporation. While this role too often has a forgotten commitment to it, employees of a company are to be managers of company resources. It is not their own to use for personal gain, but rather what they have been entrusted with to use for the furthering of company goal.
Similar to those within the Christian church who have forgotten the meaning of stewardship, employees have forgotten their role in serving a company. In my own personal experience, those in the workforce seek out how they can earn the most money and believe that as an employee it is about what a company can give them and not the other way around. In diving further into the comparison between the two, it is more relevant than I initially assumed. However, those living out a Christian lifestyle should often have a stronger sense of this relationship, given they are called to live not for themselves. To answer the question of whether or not Christians should feel a stronger sense of understanding in working for shareholders, it is an obvious yes. The mindset and lifestyle Christians pledge to follow helps them to see that they have duty outside of themselves that leads to a working for the community around them, including the shareholders of whatever company they are involved in.
References
Jennings, A. (2018, May 3). L.A. sues 9 drug companies, alleging unethical practices that worsened the opioid crisis. L.A. Times. Los Angeles, California, United States. Retrieved May 27, 2018, from http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-opioid-city-lawsuit-20180503-story.html
Stewardship Central. (2018). Reclaim the Meaning of Stewardship. Retrieved May 27, 2018, from Stewardship Central.org: https://www.stewardshipcentral.org/posts/reclaim-the-meaning-of-stewardship
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