Business for the Glory of God: The Bible's Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business

It is a short book, but filled with knowledge that everyone I fill in today’s world need to be reminded of; businessmen or not businessmen we all conduct business in our lives.

Wayne Grudem is Research Professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary. In addition to his work at Phoenix Seminary, Dr. Grudem also taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for 20 years. He has served as the president for both the council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and the Evangelical Theological Society (1999). He has written numerous articles and books. Two of his more recent works are The First Epistle of Peter: An Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007) and Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism: Biblical Responses to the Key Questions (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2006). Business for the Glory of God has a lot to offer for a book that has a total of 96 pages including the notes and indexes. In this work, Dr. Grudem unpacks what the Bible teaches concerning the moral goodness of business. The idea of moral goodness in business sounds like an oxymoron in light of the scandal-laden business world we see around us today. Dr. Grudem does a great job of illustrating how the various aspects of business, when exercised in a Godly manner, allow us to reflect certain characteristics of God. The aspects of business covered in this book are as follows: Ownership Money Productivity Inequality of Possessions Employment Competition Commercial Transaction Borrowing and Lending Profit Attitudes of the Heart In each chapter, the particular aspect of business at hand is contrasted as being fundamentally good, providing both opportunities to glorify God as well as many opportunities to sin. The prevailing negative attitude in our culture towards business today may be largely in part to the numerous examples of business professionals succumbing to those temptations to sin rather than pursuing each aspect of their business to the glory of God. The book closes with an argument for the ability of "business rightly pursued" to make a dent in the problem of world poverty. The long-term solution Grudem proposes involves starting and maintaining productive and profitable businesses in developing countries. As these businesses are pursued to the glory of God, the positive effect of creating jobs and commerce should have a ripple effect where the economic status and ability of the people should continue to improve in ever-widening circles. I would highly recommend this book to any Christian who is working in the business world. A prevailing message in Christian circles today is that the highest calling we could have is to serve God as a pastor or missionary. I feel this book shows how Christians can have a calling to business and in the midst of pursuing it; they can glorify God, reflect His attributes, and bless others.

I found this book to be one of the best regarding the "why" behind Christian principles at work. It very clearly provides an understanding as to how God uses businesses to minister to others in the marketplace. If anyone has negative connatations when it comes to business and profit, this book will clarify the topics once and for all!

This is classic Grudem... clear-minded, well-balanced, Biblical thinking on an important topic. It is a *must read* for every pastor who wishes to properly shepherd the businessmen and potential businessmen in his church. As one who has worked for nearly 15 years in the developing world, I also heartily agree with Grudem's antedote to world poverty (last chapter).

I own quite a few books written by Wayne Grudem and most of them vary between being long and very long (not to say that this is necessarily a bad thing). Grudem takes on difficult and controversial subjects such as Bible translation and the roles of men and women in the church and covers them both thoroughly and biblically. It was with some surprise, then, that I received Business for the Glory of God and noted that it is a mere 96 pages - the perfect size to read in a single evening. Its size may be deceiving, for this little book contains some powerful teaching about the value of business. Grudem says, rightly I'm sure, that when people ask how their lives can glorify God, they are rarely told, "Go into business." Students, when they ask, "How can I serve God with my life," don't often hear the answer, "Go into business." This little book claims just this, that "many aspects of business activity are morally good in themselves, and that in themselves they bring glory to God - though they also have great potential for misuse and wrongdoing." Dr. Grudem examines business under the following headings: 1. Ownership 2. Productivity 3. Employment 4. Commercial transactions (buying and selling) 5. Profit 6. Money 7. Inequality of possessions 8. Competition 9. Borrowing and lending 10. Attitudes of hearing 11. Effect on world poverty Through each chapter Grudem shows that the topic he discusses is fundamentally good, whether it be ownership, profit, or inequality of possessions, and that each one provides many opportunities to glorify God, but also many temptations to sin. The temptation to sin by making an idol of money, for example, does not negate the fact that money is fundamentally good and is a God-given gift. As we have come to expect from Grudem's books, this one is filled with references to the Bible and in fact is driven by Scripture. What the reader will come to understand is that business, as fundamentally good as it is, is not an end in itself. Business and all the elements that comprise it, are instruments God uses to bring glory to Himself. God is glorified when we use our gifts and talents to employ others, to make money and to turn a profit. God is glorified when we borrow and lend and compete. God has entrusted these tools to us and expects us to use them in a way that honors Him. The book concludes with a reflection on the effect of business on world poverty. "I believe the only long-term solution to world poverty is business. That is because businesses produce goods, and business produce jobs. And business continue producing goods year after year, and continue providing jobs and paying wages year after year. Therefore if we are every going to see long-term solutions to world poverty, I believe it will come through starting and maintaining productive, profitable businesses." Business for the Glory of God is a wonderful little book that is sure to edify whoever reads it. As we approach the Christmas

I had never really thought about it, but I guess--even though it is contrary to my longing and belief that God can be and is glorified through all of the Christian's life--that I had always just assumed that business wasn't good in and of itself. In fact like Grudem asserts of those who are like I was, we believe, "that from a moral perspective [profit, competition, money, and business are] 'neutral' at best." I guess that when I was pursuing a degree in engineering, I thought that I could glorify God through it by sharing the gospel at the work place, earning enough money to free my wife up to be a stay-at-home mom, and being able to give more money to the church. But Grudem's view is so much balanced and biblical than these views, exposing my blindness that would have kept me from obeying 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do (including business), do all for the glory of God." (On a side not to 1 Cor 10:31, read "How to Drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God," chapter 5 of John Piper's book, "Pierced by the Word.") The topics in which Grudem covers in this book, with a chapter devoted to each one are: How God is glorified by... 1. Ownership 2. Productivity 3. Employment 4. Commercial Transactions 5. Profit 6. Money 7. Inequality of Possessions 8. Competition 9. Borrowing and Lending and he then includes two chapters on 10. Attitudes of Heart 11. Effects on World Poverty. Grudem is not blind to the abuses of business, the ways in which we idolize money and success and become gracious losing sight of the fact that we are operating with God's stuff not ours. He regularly comments throughout the book on concerns to balance the view, but the real wealth of attitude-changing information comes from not-often-talked-about fact that business can in-and-of-itself be glorifying to God. We don't have to feel "vaguely guilty" about business but can use it to both glorify God while we're doing it and advance the Kingdom through it. My only complaint is the size of the book, and for that I wish I could give it four-and-a-half stars. The book is really small (83 pages of text) and oftentimes when it seems like he is just beginning to develop a thought or when a proposition could use a little more defense, he needs to move on to the next topic of discussion. However, he can be excused because he has let the reader know that he is working on a larger edition saying in the preface, "The Bible says much about these topics, and a thorough treatment deserves a much larger book than this, one that I am still in the process of writing." In summary, if you are in business or are a student studying or considering studying business, read this book. It should have a profound and God-glorifying effect (if read as it is written and not taken as a license to idolize business or success and withhold God's grace from people) on your life, studies, and career. Soli deo gloria.