Beyond Business Ethics

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’” — Matthew 19:21

How would you describe the current status of your spiritual journey? Are you prepared to move beyond business ethics?  Do you trust God with everything?

I am often told by business entrepreneurs, “I’m a Christian and operate my business ethically. I’m fair to my employees, take good care of my customers and do not cheat on my taxes. Why do I still need to be a Biblical Entrepreneur?” What else do people who are already running their businesses in an ethical manner need to learn about doing business God’s way?

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, there is a story of a rich young ruler who approaches Jesus to ask what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus’ response to him is that the young ruler must keep the commandments – he must not murder, he must not commit adultery, he must not steal, he must not bear false witness, he must honor his mother and father, and he must love his neighbor as himself. The young ruler’s response to Jesus was that he had kept all these commandments. He then asked Jesus, “What else do I lack?” Jesus tells him to sell what he has and give to the poor and by so doing, the man would store up treasures in heaven and be considered a follower of Christ. But, the young man, after hearing those words from Jesus, becomes sad and walks away, because he was very rich.

The young ruler had been ethical, but only based on the standards of his time. Jesus calls us to move beyond ethics to righteousness. Ethics is defined as the principles relating to right and wrong conduct or morality. Ethics limits itself to right and wrong based on societal standards or standards accepted by the majority.  Righteousness focuses on being right with God. Righteousness is a lifestyle based on God’s standards alone.  It has no bearing on the acceptable practices of man; rather, it seeks to make and mold us into God’s image. Like the rich young ruler, many of us have limited ourselves to being ethical rather than seeking righteousness. Here is the difference between ethics and righteousness.

Ethics:

I operate my business based on acceptable moral conduct.
I seek to be fair to everyone.
I follow the law of the land and the guidelines of my industry.
I seek to please others.
I pay my taxes
Man is good and simply needs to be guided.
There are several ways to get to heaven; you just have to find the right one for you.

Righteousness:

I operate my business based on God’s standard.
I seek to be just.
I make sure to obey God’s word, while adhering to the law of the land.
I seek to please God.
I pay my taxes, tithe, and give generously as God directs me.
I believe man is sinful and needs salvation.
There is only one way to God – Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, the more ethical a person is, the more difficult it is to get him or her to understand the need for a Savior. Such people believe that if they live a moral lifestyle, there is no need for a Savior. The rich young ruler was willing to do everything for God, except submit to Him. What was most precious to him? His possessions. All those who limit themselves to ethics are willing to give up everything except that which is most important to them, while those who seek to be righteous turn everything to God and are prepared to follow Him wherever He leads.

My prayer for you today is that you will trust God with everything, including your life and resources, and allow you to move beyond ethics to operating in a righteous lifestyle.