We’re about to start a new content series, but first, let’s wrap up the current one.
Now, if you’ve been following along, you know we’ve posed the question: True or False: God and business don’t mix.
Corporate America tells us you can’t mix ’em. Many politicians say they don’t mix. Even your pastor might advise against it. So we just put the question out to you.
Reader responses varied. No one came out and said True. Most commenters at least implied False – while one commenter came out and explicitly said it: “False.” And it must be a “good minds think alike kind of thing” – because he quoted the same scripture I was going to feature in the subsequent video.
A few other commenters were explicit with their “false” – and I love the way viewer Don Schin said it:
“It HAS to mix for me” – he said – “I can’t live any other way”
Well, I think you know by now the way I’d answer that question. Which I did through a video, declaring that I was unequivocally in the False camp.
Since I’m a top down thinker, early on in my walk of faith, it only took two scriptures to convince me that God wanted my whole life, including my work life, not just a few hours in a church building on Sunday.
First, Deuteronomy 6:5 says “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all your strength”
(Though you can also find that again in red letters in the Matthew, Mark, Luke)
Also, Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
Now I know everyone’s brain doesn’t work the same as mine, so we then did a deeper dive, and shared some additional resources to help you reason for yourself whether God and business mix, starting with a video, in which I recommended some books you can read to understand WHY your faith should be part of your work and your business.
There are plenty of great resources out there, a lot of well-regarded authors have taken this topic on extensively. But I admitted, candidly, that my book – At Work As In Heaven – probably isn’t your first choice.
While it does touch on why you’d want to mix God and business, it’s far more a book about the how. That is, now that you understand that God wants your Tuesday, not just your Sunday – how do you actually do that?
But if you need some help with the why, and you were overwhelmed with where to start, like we gave you too many choices, we made it even simpler, and followed up with a post recommending to just start with Ed Silvoso’s “Anointed for Business.” If you’re not sure where to start trying to understand the Why, just start with this classic.
Now for those of you who didn’t want to go read a whole book to figure it out – we made it even simpler still, and published a blog entry that showed God commissioning, engaging in, and blessing business (and man’s labor in it), all throughout scripture, including both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
So if, with all these resources, you STILL aren’t convinced that God cares about your work and your business, and He wants to be part of it – well, I’m just not sure what to tell you. If you really think you can do it by yourself … well, good luck with that.
As for me and any business I’m involved in, for at least any aspects where I have influence and authority in that business – we will serve the Lord.
That wraps up this series. Next up, after the new year:
I feel it, you feel, there’s just a lot of weariness, heaviness, just-surviving-it mentality all around as we close 2022. Now this weariness is very much broader than work, and I can’t address all of it – but we’re going to explore, at least in a work context, how in 2023 we can have life and have it to the FULL, just like Jesus promised! Even though we’re going to focus on a work context – I think you’ll find much of what we talk about applies in other realms of your life as well.
In the meantime, I pray you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful, refreshing, holiday respite. See ya next year …
