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Book Report: Why Business Matters to God
The document discusses the importance of business from a Christian perspective, emphasizing that business serves God's agenda by providing goods, services, and meaningful work. It outlines the roles of various institutions, the consequences of the fall, and how businesses can operate sustainably while fulfilling their purpose. Ultimately, it stresses the need for a focus on community flourishing alongside profitability.
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Book Report: Why Business Matters to God
- 1. Why Business Mattersto God: (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed) by Jeff Van Duzer David L. Johnson, Ph.D. For more Christian content, go to LessonsForUS.com Video Book Report
- 2. About the Author Work background Seattle Pacific University Dean of School of Business and Economics Professor of Business Law and Ethics Lawyer Jeff Van Duzer Philosophy background Thought business was the source of damage and evil in the world and Christian beliefs supported this Learned these prejudices were wrong To advance God’s agenda, a focus on business and its role in society is critical. Video Book Report
- 3. Table of Contents 1. The Effect of Creation 1a. Role of Institutions in Creation 1b. Role of Business in Creation 1c. Role of Profits 2. Evidence of the Fall 2a. Consequences of the Fall 2b. Market Economy Needed after Fall 3. How Then Should We Do Business? 4. Messiness of Real World 5. Borderline Situations Video Book Report
- 4. 1. The Effectof Creation God created the world; it belongs to God God created men and women; they are to be stewards of creation God is a worker; work matters to God. Men and women were called to work as co-creators with God. Be fruitful and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28) Name animals and classify and bring order (Genesis 2:19-20) Take care and protect the earth (Genesis 2:15) Men and women alone are created in God's image God is relational; people are relational with one another and God. Men and women are diverse creatures with differences that complement each other and delight God. Men and women are limited and not created to become God. The Garden was incomplete Video Book Report
- 5. 1a. Role ofInstitutions in Creation Family (be fruitful and multiply) Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.." Church (nurture community) Gen 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, …." Universities (naming the animals) Gen 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. Government (guarding creation) Gen 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Business—private enterprise (be fruitful) (provide work) Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…" Gen 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Video Book Report
- 6. 1b. Role ofBusiness in Creation The role of business is to Provide community with goods and services that will enable it to flourish Provide opportunities for meaningful work so employees can express their God-given creativity. The primary role is not to Foster relationships and community (although is important) Protect the environment (although is important) Earn a profit (but is important constraint) Video Book Report
- 7. 1c. Role ofProfits Not primary role for business Employees and customers become the ends of the business. Allows business to attract capital to serve employees and customers Allows business to create value and create wealth Find innovative ways to make more and better things from less. Enables all other institutions to exist through taxes or philanthropic giving Video Book Report
- 8. 2. Evidence ofthe Fall So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken (Genesis 3:23). Dumping in India Nicaragua Sweatshops Enron convictions and collapse Child labor in China Racism at Texaco. Joe Camel advertising Ford Pinto crashes Video Book Report
- 9. 2a. Consequences ofthe Fall Lost sense of meaning about work Identity crisis Impaired discernment Corruption of relationships. Lack of livable wages. Unsafe working conditions. Ignoring employee rest Advertising aimed at children. Growing disparity of income. Damage to the environment Video Book Report
- 10. 2b. Market EconomyNeeded after Fall Market economy reflects God's concession to the Fall Assumes scarcity Assumes self interest Values what you can deliver Astonishingly elaborate system No central planning or coordination required Video Book Report
- 11. 3. How ThenShould We Do Business? Purpose: Business exists to serve Should deploy resources to Enable the community to flourish and Provide meaningful and creative work Making money for family and missionary support is acceptable Must provide shareholders with reasonable rate of return Employees not favored over stockholders. Constraint: A business should conduct its operations in a manner that is sustainable. To investors To employees To suppliers To customers To communities and natural environment Video Book Report
- 12. 4. Messiness ofReal World May not be able to earn reasonable return and pay livable wages May not be able to provide jobs and avoid environmental harm May not be able to pay sufficient prices to suppliers May not be able to avoid consumerist advertising When in doubt, choose the course that provides a reasonable return on investment Video Book Report
- 13. 5. Borderline Situations Don't readily conclude there is no way out Practice praying in the moment Build long-term habits: Praying daily Fasting Keeping the Sabbath Studying and meditating on the Scriptures Practicing hospitality and generosity Living simply Participating in regular corporate worship Receiving the Eucharist Video Book Report
- 14. To Learn More Click on Video Book Report
Editor's Notes
- #2 Hello. This is Dave Johnson. In this video book report, I will discuss Why Business Matters to God: (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed) by Jeff Van Duzer. The book discusses the purpose of business for a Christian. I hope you enjoy it, and encourage you to order the book for yourself.
- #3 Jeff Van Duzer is a dean and professor at Seattle Pacific University. Before that he practiced law. As a young man, he thought that business and market economies were somewhat evil and damaged the world. After all didn’t greedy capitalists pollute the environment? Didn’t big business profit from the war and encourage its continuation? Wasn’t there discrimination against blacks and women? Weren’t large international businesses plundering the poor? He felt as a Christian that God would agree with those assessments. A radical Jesus would turn over the tables of these moneychangers and merchants and drive the business leaders from the temple. However, what he learned quickly was that his high school prejudices were simply wrong and one-sided. Of the 150 largest economies in the world, nearly half are businesses, not countries. Annual sales from the top 200 corporations are larger than the combined economies of all but the 25 largest countries in the world. In short, companies doing business will dictate the kind of world we live in. Thus, a focus on business and its role in society is critical for Christians.
- #5 God created the world and everything in it. Therefore, it belongs to God and matters to God. Human beings are called to be stewards of God's creation. A steward (or trustee) is a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another. Therefore a business does belong to its earthly owners; it belongs to God. God is a worker and makes things. When businesses produce material things that enhance the welfare of the community, they are engaged in work that matters to God. Genesis 2:15 says, “the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Men and women were made in part to work. Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and fill the earth Genesis 1:28. They were to name the animals and to classify and bring order to creation Genesis 2:19-20. They were called to take care of the earth, to protect God's created order Genesis 2:15. These tasks were given by God to humanity as a blessing. Performance of the tasks allowed men and women to delight in the work itself. Therefore, work must be meaningful work. After each act of creation God examined the creative handiwork and pronounced it good. God created men and women and endowed them with a unique dignity. They alone were created in God's image, designed from the beginning to reflect God's glory. God is inherently relational. Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” Human beings are also inherently relational. When humans engage in creative, meaningful work that grows out of relationships and gives back to the community they become more deeply human. The dignity of men and women must be particularly respected in light of their unique place in the created order. God delights in variety. God perceived that Adam was inappropriately alone, but God did not make a second Adam. Rather God made an Eve, who was different--a difference that complemented and made whole Adam. Humans are made to live within limits. While human beings were made in the image of God, men and women were clearly not made to be gods. God placed a limit at the very center of human existence. The garden was incomplete. The garden was just a starting point. God anticipated partnering with human beings to cause the Garden of Eden to flourish. God could have done it supernaturally, but he didn't. Rather, human beings were created with a capacity to pool their resources (what we now call capital), to design and build (technological innovation), to make products (operations) and to transport (logistics). In Revelation John speaks of a New Jerusalem, not the Garden of Eden. Therefore, God never intended for the Garden to be the end. Humanity was expected to innovate and to build. The New Jerusalem reminds us that God's plan is not to take us back to a pre-urban, agrarian society. We are called into the complexity, intensity, and messiness of the city. And the city is the place of business.
- #6 From God's perspective, what is the purpose of business? First, business is not the only institution here on earth. Certain institutions are better suited for certain tasks. The family is the best institution to bear and raise children (be fruitful and multiply). Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." The church and neighborhood are best suited to nurture community. Gen 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Universities are best suited to study and analyze the created order (naming the animals). Gen 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The government, with its coercive powers, is best suited to assume primary responsibility for guarding creation. Gen 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Business, (that is private enterprise, not the government) appears to be best suited to work the fields, to cause the land to be fruitful, and to fill the earth, what we might call “to create wealth.” Business is best equipped to provide organized opportunities for meaningful and creative work. From the collapse of the Soviet Union and the failure of socialism, we can conclude that private enterprise operating in a free market system can best deliver the goods and services desired by consumers and is the greatest source of new job creation. Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." Gen 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
- #7 Therefore, the role of business is to provide the community with goods and services that will enable it to flourish and provide opportunities for meaningful work that will allow employees to express their God-given creativity. This can be summarized as providing good and services that enhance the quality of life. The author has left some things out. He does not believe that fostering relationships and community (done by the church) or protecting the environment (done by government) would make God's list of fundamental purposes of business. However that does not mean that they are of no importance to business.
- #8 The author does not believe that business should be operated for the sole purpose of maximizing profits. Under the Genesis model, employees and customers become the actual ends of the business. The business is run for their welfare. Profit becomes the means of attracting sufficient capital to allow the business to serve its customers and employees. However, profit is important. Business should create value and create wealth. Successful businesses find innovative ways to make more and better things from less. As the sole source of wealth creation in the world, business enables every other social, civic, and even spiritual institution to exist. The wealth first created by business funds all other institutions through taxes or philanthropic giving.
- #9 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken (Genesis 3:23). There is much evidence today of business failures. Companies have dumped toxic chemicals in India, poisoning villagers Companies in Nicaragua pay wages that workers cannot live on. Plus, Workers not allowed to talk to each other or to have water or food at their station. Enron executives committed fraud, which led to the collapse of a triple A rated Fortune 50 company. Children as young as eight years old were kidnapped and forced to work as slaves in illegal Chinese brick factories and coal mines. Texaco executives limited advancement due to race. RJ Reynolds created ads with a new cartoon look in which Joe Camel wore an aviator jacket, sunglasses, and a smirk. Camel’s share of the under 18 market climbed from 5% to 33%, and even six-year-olds were familiar with Joe Camel. Ford resisted changes to fix a fire prone gas tanks in the Pinto that would explode when rear-ended. There are many more examples, but we can all readily agree that we live in a fallen world.
- #10 The consequences of the fall are many Men and women have lost a sense of meaning about their work. Work, rather than being a joyful and peaceful God-centered activity, has become a means of self protection and preservation. God intended it as a gift, but most of us experience it as a burden. Some attempt to fill this hole with career advancement or high pay. The Fall has produced an identity crisis as well. For some, work has become their identity. We are what we do. This is exactly the opposite of what God intended. Loss of intimacy with God has also impaired our discernment. The shift from a God-centered to me-centered approach leads to distorted judgments. For example, a number of the participants in recent corporate frauds were active churchgoers and some were very outspoken about their faith. Relationships have been corrupted, characterized by office politics, personal ambition, free riding, domineering behavior, and self promotion. Employers pay less than living wages, using up the individual’s earning capacity, justified by their need to compete with businesses operating in low wage environments Companies provide unsafe working conditions, justified sometimes because their competitors do not invest in safety equipment. Companies feel they need access to their employees on a 24/7 basis. Since the end of World War II, the average American has added almost an additional month of work (between 150 to 160 hours) to his or her work year. This is true even though during the same period, the per-hour productivity of American labor has increased several times over. Companies advertise to children in an attempt to lock in a customer for life, justifying the practice because the competition will otherwise own the kids. Companies feel that they can only hire the kind of CEO they want if they pay a salary that is hundreds of times more than they pay their average worker. Companies damage the environment because they feel that they would have to price their product out of the market if they installed equipment that none of the competition has installed.
- #11 A market economy is required and reflects God's concession to a fallen humanity. Frankly, it seems beyond imagination that such an elaborate system could have developed by chance. However, a market economy assumes scarcity, but abundance, not scarcity, was provided in God's original garden design. A market economy assumes that individuals will act in their self interests, but such a self-oriented perspective seems at odds with the more common-good orientation of the Garden. The market values a participant based on what he or she can deliver, but this is a the exact opposite of a grace or gift economy. Nevertheless, a market economy is an astonishingly elaborate system Consider buying a gallon of milk for three dollars. Farmers buy feed and milk cows. The milk is processed. Plastic jugs are constructed and delivered to the milk processing plant. The milk is transported to a central warehouse and is refrigerated. Employees regularly restock the shelves of a supermarket. Electricity is provided. Cash registers are manufactured and delivered. Point-of-sale devices are installed and computers programmed. All of this occurs without any central planning or coordination. Furthermore, it can adapt almost instantly if people stop drinking milk. History has shown that a market economy, especially when compared to a state directed economy, doe a much better job contributing to human flourishing
- #12 What is the purpose of Business? Business exists to serve. Business creates new products and new way of delivering services to bring a healthy abundance to the community. But it also can restore and redeem by helping address broken relationships, oppression and injustice in the world today. Business should deploy its resources to enable the community to flourish and provide meaningful and creative work However, it should be noted that a person can engage in business activities to make money to feed his or her family or to support missionaries, both noble and godly purposes. Business must also provide shareholders with reasonable rate of return For example, you cannot sell your products at below-cost prices, because this would not be sustainable. A reasonable risk-adjusted rate of return is offered to shareholders in exchange for the investment of their capital. Profit is a measure and a key indicator about the business that forces managers to distinguish between what is important and what is not. In addition, employees shouldn’t be favored over stockholders. Excess profits above a reasonable return are not required to be paid to employees. The purpose of business is not to pay the employees as much as possible or to provide products to the community as cheaply as possible. Indeed, an appropriate division of profits is not provided in the purpose statement. What are the constraints to business? A business should conduct its operations in a manner that is sustainable. Sustainability means more than the environment. Sustainability means maintaining sustainable relationships between God and among its stakeholders. Business should do no harm. To be sustainable to investors, a business must provide shareholders with a reasonable risk-adjusted return on their investment. Therefore, for a business to do no harm to investors it must operate at a profit. To use up capital without generating an adequate return is clearly not sustainable. To be sustainable to employees, a business must treat employees as having intrinsic value, not just as a means of production. It should respect their privacy, their safety and their dignity. It should respect the rhythm of rest and work. It also should pay employees a living wage. It is not sustainable for a business to use up all the productive capacity of a person and not give him or her an amount sufficient to live on. To be sustainable to suppliers, a business should deal honestly and transparently with suppliers. To be sustainable to customers, a business should inform customers what they are purchasing and meet their expectations for usefulness and safety. Business should not use marketing techniques that cultivate an insatiable consumerism because this is not sustainable. It creates a condition of constant dissatisfaction and always seeking more. To be sustainable to communities and to natural environment businesses must conserve and protect the environment in which the community lives
- #13 In light of the fact that we still live in a fallen world, it may not always be possible for business to operate fully within these sustainable constraints. For example, a company may not be able to earn a reasonable return for investors and pay all employees a livable wage. The business may not be able to increase salaries for the lowest paid workers above a living wage threshold and still keep product prices in line with those of the competition. A company may not be possible to provide jobs that a community relies on and avoid all adverse long-term effects on the environment. A company may not be able to pay high prices to suppliers and keep them afloat A company may not able to avoid advertising that stimulates a previously unknown consumer appetite When these types of situations occur, companies should prioritize the need for earning a reasonable return on investment for investors. This must be done because profitability (at least over the long term) is necessary for the business’s survival and to sustain the shareholders. However, the mere fact that a reasonable rate of return for shareholders is a first-order constraint does not convert it into a purpose. In short, as we wait, work, and long for God’s kingdom to be fully realized; there may not be enough to go around. What then does this mean for those of us in business? Put simply we pray, we orient our businesses towards God's purposes, and we strain to live within these limits as best we can.
- #14 There are many borderline situations that may occur. Therefore, we must be guided by God and must make Spirit-informed improvisations at the time. We must stay alert. In the midst of hectic demands of running a business, it is easy to miss market-kingdom conflicts. Christians need to build in regular times of prayerful reflection on their work in order to remain spiritually sensitive to these dilemmas. Don't readily conclude that there is no way out. Practice praying in the moment. Finally, build long-term habits of the heart such as Praying daily Fasting Keeping the Sabbath Studying and meditating on the Scriptures Practicing hospitality and generosity Living simply Participating in regular corporate worship Receiving the Eucharist.
- #15 I hope that you have enjoyed this presentation. For more information, please click on the displayed graphic to purchase this book. Thanks for listening.