On our sister site, we published a post on making the Bible your standard of truth across your personal life. Because God is the creator of business, Christian business leaders must keep the Bible as their standard of truth to make wise decisions, withstand pressure to compromise their ethics, and successfully navigate relational conflict. Here are some practical tips for making Scripture the standard of truth in your business.
1. Start with understanding how faith impacts your work or look at this blog.
For example, you might note that the Bible says that God hates injustice but delights in justice (Proverbs 11:1, Proverbs 20:17) and tells overseers to treat the people under them fairly (Colossians 4:1, Ephesians 6:9). Think of how to align your business with biblical ethics. For example, this might include providing clients with a quality product at a fair price, treating all people with dignity, and discussing disagreements with the person involved instead of gossiping.
2. Create policies and norms at your company that uphold the principles found in Scripture.
One way a company can do this is to take the Scriptural principles above and then use them to inform values and policies. For example, Chick-fil-a has a mandatory 30-minute break for every six hours of work and integrates the Biblical principle of rest by ensuring that employees have adequate rest and can enjoy their work. Another example is Interstate Batteries, whose values encourage employees to use their gifts to serve others.
3. Make Scripture your first filter for making decisions.
Seek to see every decision through the lens of what Scripture says. You can start evaluating your decisions by asking, “Is this consistent with what Scripture says is good?” “Is this honoring God?”
4. Don’t compromise Scripture in business.
God designed business, and He knows how it is supposed to work. By refusing to compromise on Scripture in our businesses, we follow God’s business design. We may go through a difficult or even costly season, but we are pleasing the One who matters most by standing our ground (Daniel 3:8-30, Matthew 5:10, 1 Peter 3:14). When you stand firm in what is right, don’t be surprised if the Lord blesses your obedience. Obedience to God results in the blessing of satisfaction from doing what pleases God. It also results in character growth, spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), and sometimes even material blessings (Matthew 6:33).
5. Use Scripture as your guide during relational conflict.
The Bible has a lot to say about relational conflict. It guides our thinking and shows us how to act in conflict, including when to get other people involved (Hebrews 12:14-15, Matthew 18:15-17). It also gives Christians in conflict a common ground to rebuild trust.
Chew On This:
Where might your business need to grow in making Scripture the standard of truth?
