Author Steven Lake
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| The Divine Business Plan: Jesus vs Mammon Thursday, December 11th, 2014 3:31pm Keywords: (None) |
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| Years ago when I was growing up I came to befriend an unusual man with the unique ability to literally master or turn to gold everything his fingers touched. He was the quintessential example of the "Midas touch". But sadly at the time my friend wasn't saved and didn't become so until much, much later in life in his twilight years. However, even so, he held almost what I would consider a biblical view of business. What is that? Well, putting others before your profits, and doing unto others as you would have them do to you. One of those is a biblical concept and the other an actual verse. Matthew 7:12 (NIV) - "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." This is basically the philosophy he followed, and you know what? It worked. In fact, it worked a little too good if you want my opinion. He at one point came to own 1000+ companies and ran an incredible plethora of organizations that helped people all over the world, fought the underworld (who wanted to enslave, take advantage of or extort these same people), and fought the forces of greed in the corporate world. I could tell you his name, but you'd never recognize it. Why? He wasn't about the limelight, and really shunned the idea of ever being in the public eye. He liked the whole "secret beneficiary" idea and was the antithesis of the narcissist. He also didn't express greed. Sure, he had a lot and owned many things, but he was never flashy about it. In fact, he owned so much stuff I'd say he almost had a hording problem. He literally had hundreds of warehouses all over the world to hold all of the things he bought. Yeah, that's how crazy rich he was. God blessed him immeasurably across the board even though he didn't know Jesus. But I think that was for a reason. Later on when he became saved my friend sold or gave away almost all of the items he had in those warehouses, and all but the most essential of his possessions, ultimately blessing lots of people. So with all of that said, which I'm sure you're wondering how it pertains to the topic at hand, I will explain what the key was to his success, both pre and post salvation. It comes from a simple three part philosophy he taught me one day when I asked him about his success and how he could be so amazingly rich, and so easily at that. His answer rather surprised me. He said, "The key to success is not to focus on the bottom line. All that will do is lead to ruin. Maybe not right away, but eventually it will, as all businesses that are money focused fail. But companies that are other focused and don't worry about the bottom line almost always succeed, and do so indefinitely." When I asked him to explain further, this is the three part philosophy he gave me. "Take care of your employees first, your customers second, and the rest will take care of itself." You know what? I never once saw that fail. The logic is pretty simple. If you're taking care of your employees, paying them well, treating them well, leading them (not bossing them), and standing beside them the whole way, they will in turn make sure your customers are taken care of, and when they're taken care of, you never ever have to worry about the bottom line. I kid you not. In my 42 years of life I've seen lots who have used that principle and it has never failed. Not once. The only time companies that have used that philosophy have failed is when they took their eyes off others and onto the bottom line. They may claim they didn't, but I can guarantee 100% they did. If you take care of your employees they will bend over backwards for you, which then spills over into your customers will gain an undying loyalty to you that can never be shaken. In that you will always find success, and your bottom line that you so worry about will become a thing you never have to worry about....ever. That now brings me into my next point. There's yet one more business plan out there, very similar in nature to this one, that is even more successful. And what plan is that? I call it the JOY plan, based off of the JOY principle of Christian stewardship. I also saw this employed in my friend's company and let me tell you, if you thought he was successful before JOY, you should have seen him afterwards. So what is this joyful business plan? Well, to understand it, you have to understand the JOY principle itself. J - Jesus First O - Others Second Y - Yourself Last See? It's very simple to the first plan my friend used, and fully encompasses his original business plan and ideas. And it's the same ones we should use. And the bible, while it doesn't lay out the specifics of business operations, does give you a few pointers to use as well when dealing with both employee and customer. Leviticus 25:14 (ESV) - "And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another." Proverbs 11:1 (ESV) - "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight." 1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV) - "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV) - "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." Colossians 4:1 (ESV) - "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." See? Even the bible tells you to be good to your employees, and honest and up front with your customers, just as my friend's success shows. Now some of you, I'm sure, are thinking, "But that can't and never will work in today's world!" Then how do you explain my friend's success both pre and post salvation? "Oh that's just because he was lucky." or "Well, duh, God blessed him. Of course he's always going to succeed!" You sure about that? Are you willing to put your proverbial money where your mouth is? Well, how about this one. A lady, who runs a roadside restaurant, was struggling and her business was barely making it. But as soon as she turned her entire business over to Jesus it not only became successful, but double in profitability overnight. And for those of you who think this is a fluke, let me ask you this. How do you explain her sudden increase in business and profits? Or what about the countless other stories of people doing the same and seeing God's hand of provision move mightily in their business? What about biblical giving? I'm not talking about tithing, as there is no defined amount in the New Testament (only the old) that believers are required to give. You are told to give cheerfully, but there is no set amount you must give. All you are instructed in the New Testament to do is to give, but in no set amount. However, that doesn't preclude you from giving everything to Jesus, either directly through giving, or indirectly by committing things to His care and blessing. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (KJV) - "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." The point is, when it comes to business, you should always apply the JOY principle to everything you do, and within the O of JOY you should in turn apply the Employee first, Customer second principle, and in all of this you will find success in your business. But how do you fulfill the Jesus part of the JOY principle? That, my friends, is probably best left to wiser minds than mine. But if I were to make a recommendation, I'd say to turn your attention FIRST to God's word, and if that doesn't give you all the answers you're after, then it doesn't hurt to seek biblical counseling on the matter, and one group I can highly recommend is Crown Financial Ministries. Their information is very insightful and should help you to answer the questions that you're unable to answer on your own in God's word. Even so, lean on Jesus and put everything in His hands and He will bless you and your business immeasurably. |
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