This is the fourth in a series of five posts on why we should run our businesses according to our Christian faith. In each post, we have looked at what light Scripture may shed on this question.
One of my favorite verses, which also happens to be one of the core verses in the Impact Discipleship series, is the following:
Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did. –
1 John 2:6
Let’s consider what Jesus did while He was here on earth. During his roughly three years of ministry leading up to the crucifixion, Jesus poured into a small group of twelve of His closest followers. He taught them all they would need to know to be His witnesses after He had ascended.
Early Church Strategy
These disciples, in turn, did the same thing with their preaching and teaching in the early church. In his letter to Timothy, one of his own students, Paul wrote the following:
And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. -2 Timothy 2:2
Paul urges Timothy to teach and disciple other men that would in turn be able to teach others. In this way, Timothy would be leaving a legacy of disciples. I, for one, am glad the early disciples did this! If not for them and their commitment to spreading the Gospel, where would we be today?
We know this was Jesus’ strategy. We also know Paul used the same strategy with Timothy. And we know Paul encouraged Timothy to use the same strategy with others…who would then do the same thing!
Our Strategy?
So what does that mean for us as Christians? What does that mean for those of us leading businesses? Are we exempt from this?
Some of you may be saying that you do some of this outside of work. No problem! Keep it up! You should be doing that.
However, while we can certainly disciple others outside of our businesses, why would we ignore the 40-60+ hours per week we spend inside our business? Why would we not find some way to make that time count as well? Whether through a chaplain program, lunch-and-learn Bible studies, or just simple messages in a company newsletter, there are many ways to maximize our available disciple-making time.
Once we can get past the mental block that we have to keep faith and work separate, all sorts of opportunities to live out our faith in business can present themselves. Our first step is simply to make the decision to give God our businesses and let Him direct our paths. He is faithful to take care of the rest!
Do you agree or disagree with this logic?
What is your biggest obstacle to move in this direction?
How are you seeking God’s perspective on living out your Christian faith?
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