Is It Ever Really Just Business?
Many of us work in private business. It’s how we make our living and provide for our families. Many of my readers may not know that being a priest is a second career for me. For nearly a decade, I worked in the finance industry and one of the things I will never forget is how many people told me, “It’s just business.” I never liked that phrase and I’m going to tell you why.
First of all, as people made in the image of God, we have an obligation to God to do our work well. God is perfect and He is the Creator of all things, even the things you use to be successful in business. Your skills, your gifts and your acumen are all a gift from God, intended to be used to make the world more like The Kingdom of God. If you are a schoolteacher, teach well. Go the extra mile with the kids who don’t seem to get much family support. If you are a small business owner in a declining city, beautify your exterior anyway. Don’t join the downward slide, model where God is taking us, not what a lack of effort looks like. If you are a stay-at-home parent, invest deeply in your children. Sometimes, the most profound vocations do not include a paycheck.
Our perfect God calls us to pursue Him and that includes the curacy of our daily work.
Now, you may be thinking, “Fr. Gavin, you do not understand. I am a school teacher and I have 40 kids in my class. Half of them have almost no family support. My classroom is unmanageable and I cannot do what you are asking.” If you are in a work situation where doing it very well is not possible, you have two choices. You can either do the best you can and call that “well” reminding yourself that you are not responsible for controlling all the details of your workplace. Or, you can quit. I’ve done the latter more times than I can count. I love doing things well and I hate being present long around unfixable mediocrity.
Secondly, there are not multiple spheres of ethics for business in a free society and private life in a free society. The idea that you can be a church member in good standing but stealing from customers at an auto repair shop is patently false. It is never “just business.” Instead, God lays claim to every square inch of the earth we live in and your workplace is no exception. If you need a more personal stake in the decisions you make at work, remember that generally speaking “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him (Proverbs 14:31).”
Ultimately, when we decide to do business honestly and with respect for the people we serve, we are doing so because we honor and respect God.
If this gives you something to think about, I’m glad. If you want to talk about it, I’d love to buy you a cup of coffee and hear more. May God bless you.