- Alleviate poverty
- Share the Gospel
- Make money
- Adventure
Are all real answers; but all, in my opinion fall short. The only motivation for doing any kind of business, B4T or otherwise is the glory of Jesus.
Paul points out that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23) And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)
Yes, a business must make money. Making money, sharing the Gospel, helping people are all requirements of doing B4T. But these are not primary motivations rather they are fruits of our service to the King of Kings. God is not mocked. Paul points out in Galatians 3, if we work according to the Spirit we can expect God to reward us according to the Spirit and if we work according to the flesh, likewise, expect our rewards to come from the flesh.
God is Jehovah Jired “Our Provider”. The money is never our responsibility. Meeting the needs of our employees and families is never our responsibility. Money. Meeting needs. These are God’s responsibility. God wants to be “Our Provider”. He desires us to be dependent on Himself, not our own skills, knowledge or plans. YES, all of these are important. YES all of these must be used for the purposes He has assigned us to do. Yet remember, God delights to meet our needs. There are about a dozen places in Scripture where God specifically tells us He delights in caring for us. King David writes, Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant! We say we believe this includes every area of our lives – then let’s believe it for doing business as well.
God delights in caring for us, like a shepherd with His sheep He desires to meet our needs. We all understand this metaphor, but do we believe it? James writes, faith if it does not have works is dead.1
If we do all that He tells us to do, to his standards 2, He will write the checks. 3
1 James 2:17
2 Matthew 5:46
3 Philippians 4:19
PATRICK LAI and his family have worked in SE Asia for over 37 years. His experience in doing business with Jesus has brought him to understand the meaning of work and worship in the marketplace. He started 14 businesses in four countries, six of which are still operating. Patrick and his wife, May, mentor and coach businesspeople working where there are few or no Christians. Check out Patrick’s latest book, Workship, now available in paperback and e-book.