Are Christians free to profit in business or from the work of the ministry?

Are Christians free to profit in business or from the work of the ministry?

This is one of the most polarizing and legitimate questions that I have ever encountered in regards to pursuing LIFE Leadership. Often after sharing the actual information that LIFE distributes in regards to faith, finances, parenting and marriage, many Christians instantly and accurately recognize the information and the mentorship as ministry work. How can it possibly be wrong to teach husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands? Encouraging parents to communicate with their children and spend less time in front of the television is the topic of most sermons on Sunday morning. The teaching of Malachi 3:10, which encourages Christians to give their tithes unto the Lord, is bible study basics for most Christians. But this alignment with God’s word gave me and many other Christians pause because we are all leery of profiting from the Word of God. Countless charlatans have perverted the good news for unsavory purposes. We all have learned that just because the product being sold is the theology of the cross, this does not guarantee that the motive of the business owner is righteous nor does it guarantee that the motive is unrighteous either. So how do we come to a consensus in regards to this dilemma? The Christian must begin to seek answers from the bible in three main areas, business in general, financial profit, and finally what the bible says about profiting from the work of the ministry.

LIFE leadership is a business, and like every other business it is designed to profit from the sale of the goods and services the company provides. In Leviticus 25:14, Christians are given explicit instructions in the Bible on how to conduct business properly…

And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.

In Proverbs 31:15-18, the wise man wrote in regards to the virtuous woman…

She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.

Business and profit are permissible in the Bible as long as we don’t allow them to consume us and become pitfalls of sin in our lives…Jesus taught this in a parable found in Luke 12:16-21…

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘what shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. “Then he said, ‘this is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, ‘you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

This certain man allowed greed and the lust of his flesh to cause him to fall into sin, and Christ went on further to explain that so shall it be for all businesspersons that store up treasures for themselves, and not toward God and their fellow man. The general nature of the parable should cause all Christians to heed this warning, whether we build the LIFE business, climbing the corporate ladder, or inherit a fortune.

It’s clear that business and profit are Biblical when the heart is guided by proper motives, but what about profiting from the Gospel. For years we have been taught to disassociate the Church from business because Christ himself in Matthew 21:12-13, cleansed the temple of those that sold animals for sacrifice as businessmen. But upon further reading, did Christ levy an indictment against businessmen in the Church or just those businessmen that were price gouging their customers at unfair prices? There is a difference between profiting and profiteering! Proverbs 11:1 reads, “A false scale is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.” So God is not necessarily displeased with business, he his displeased with sinful businessmen.

Once I gained perspective on business according to the Bible, I began evaluating the scales by which LIFE used in pricing our products and in sharing the wealth with its members. First let’s examine the product pricing from a reasonable standpoint. Of course no business can sell everything cheaper than every other business. But I challenge anyone to evaluate our product prices against similar types of products in the market place. We are hands down one of the best value prices companies in our burgeoning industry. Similarly, the LIFE Compensation Plan and Income Disclosure Statement are as fair and transparent as I have ever seen in regard to sharing the wealth properly. I encourage the reader to study the plan, and read the entire document thoroughly in order to accurately measure your investment proportionate to your expected results. Often, in sharing the LIFE business plan, I will encounter those that register as a member, but never really study the training materials, attend a meeting, or get a proper understanding of their commitments. Jesus spoke to this natural human tendency to skip the instructions in Luke 14:28-30…

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

I encourage the Christian to study the business and gain perspective based upon your studies. Count the costs, and build the business in proportion to the size of your dreams and goals. Be prayerful, and finish the race set before you both spiritually, and earthly. Because in the end we are all created with a God given purpose. That purpose is uniquely yours and God has equipped you to finish the charge. In fulfilling your mission, you inherently bring God Glory, by being an example of a faithful servant. Christians must fight the temptation to argue and debate over the endeavors that have been assigned to another person’s hand. We must instead fight the good fight of faith assigned to our hand and be an encourager of our brothers and sisters fighting their specific fight. We have all been called to live a Holy and righteous life, but we are not all called to live the same life. Paul spoke of this individualism in Romans 12:3-5…

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

As one Body in Christ we are encouraged to exercise our gifts in order to complete the body. As Christians, Christ has liberated us from the cumbrances of this world, and with righteous humility we are free to exercise this freedom. II Corinthians 3:17 states…

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

In John 8:36, this freedom is further solidified…

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

As Christians we are called to freedom. The Christian is free to marry, have children, choose a career, and make thousands of lifestyle choices according to their specific purpose.  Christians should especially be careful not to label others as materialistic or greedy based upon their lifestyle or possessions.  God is our Judge, and He is not mocked.  If the Christian’s motives and actions are not in line, then God will sovereignly deal with that sin.  If you feel called to join LIFE Leadership, then feel free to pursue your purpose without the burdens of guilt, shame or criticism that may be levied against you.  LIFE Leadership is a compensated community that strives to help everyone live the life that they have always wanted. LIFE offers a unique blend of personal development and business development to everyone that feels compelled to build the business. The individual is free to succeed, and free to fail, we are all free to join, and free to quit, we are free to make a profit and free to lose money, but one thing is sure for the Christian, we have the spirit of the Lord, and we are free indeed.  May you find comfort and freedom in these words found in 3 John 1:2…

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.