Entrepreneurs and the Christian Church

In the 18th century, an early economist and moral philosopher, Adam Smith, wrote a book called An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. In it he describes the principles of free market economies. He stated that by allowing and encouraging individual enterprise, all the people of nation states would benefit. He believed that individuals, by serving their interests for material gain, would ultimately serve the interests of society.

But his vision remains an elusive dream. One of the most chaotic areas of the human race today is in the world of business were greed and exploitation are rampant. It is one sphere that right morals are often trampled for the sake of profit and Christian capitalist lost their decency. And one big reason behind this is the poor relationship between the businessman and God. They get so preoccupied with their desire to earn more that they stop thinking about the Lord. Many of them don’t even bother to attend Eucharistic celebration anymore.

Though we don’t have a formal survey done on this but we can readily see this trend in our churches today. Sunday masses here in Cebu seem to overflow with churchgoers but if you look at the number of people residing in the city (almost 500,000) and compute the figure that can be accommodated in the existing churches, taking into account the number of masses therein, you will find that only about one-half go to church. The fight of Manny Pacquiao last May 2 faired even better than the attendance during the masses that day.

Business people should realign their priorities and make better their relationship with the Lord. This is only way that order will be established in their sphere and the vision of Mr. Adam Smith will be realized. Our Lord Jesus Christ called us to remain in Him, to hold dearly to the precepts of His church. In John 15:4 He said: Remain united to me and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself, it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Every Christian entrepreneur should remember this reading and use it to guide his or her undertakings in business. We must remain connected to the source of all power so as not to loss the right values that should govern our trading practices. To strengthen ourselves in building up a Godly environment I would recommend that we should have:

1. Regular church attendance.
2. A Daily prayer time and
3. Habitual Bible reading time

Justin Author