Business and God

“WIthout me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5

Many things have changed since 6000 years ago. When God
first gave Adam the command to work. The very thought from
childhood is ‘where do I want to work when I grow up’. The
thought from every adult is ‘what do i need to do to survive’.
Satan has surely changed the temperature in this world, from a
family and community based life to a work and career based
life, where family, friends, and God are compromised to reach
the desired goals. Perhaps the toughest of all is the College
life, that requires students to spend massive amounts of hours
studying leaving little time for much else, including exercise,
building healthy friendships, sleep, and of course, things of
God. Today’s society has become quite favorable to the devil in
wedging the gap between the christian and God.
But how can we work and make a
living, yet have a living relationship
with God? Another question may be,
how can men be dedicated to their
jobs and their families at the same
time? “The bustle of business, if
continuous, will dry up spirituality
and leave the soul Christless.
Although they may profess the truth,
yet if men pass along day by day
with no living connection with God,
they will be led to do strange things;
decisions will be made not in
accordance with the will of God. -
Pg. 423

Are you cultivating devotion? Is love of religious things

prominent? Are you living by faith and overcoming the world?
Do you attend the public worship of God?

What you think about, watch, talk about, and spend more time
at, is what you love the most.

Paul the Apostle saw this problem arising in Ephesus and told
Timothy “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we
brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall
be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation
and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which
drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money
is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from
the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
Is your business thriving? Is your bank account full? Are you
financially prospering? Better questions to ask should be...Is
your relationship with your family tight, Is your devotional and
spiritual life thriving? Are you receiving a daily portion of
spiritual food?

Many pastors in christianity preach

the gospel that you can be rich
and happy financially and all you
have to do with pray a prayer and
give offering and you will be rich
too. Neglecting the true gospel of
Jesus Christ and the fact that it is
harder for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of heaven then a camel
into the eye of a needle.
“WIthout me,” says Christ, “you
can do nothing.”

For all the fathers and men in

the business world trying to
provide for their families and
live a better life, this provision
should be providing their
families the best opportunity
for healthy spiritual lives. “As
from such a home the father
goes forth to his daily duties, it
is with a spirit softened and
subdued by converse with God. He is a Christian, not only in
his profession, but in trade, in all his business relations. He
does his work with fidelity, knowing that the eye of God is upon
him. In the church his voice is not silent. He has words of
gratitude and encouragement to utter; for he is a growing
Christian, with a fresh experience every
day.” “God is not glorified when
influential men make themselves mere
businessmen, ignoring their eternal
interests, that are so much more
enduring, so much more noble and
elevated, than the temporal.” “There are
some who are seldom found in the
house of worship. They make one
excuse, then another, and still another,
for their absence; but the real reason is
that their hearts are not religiously
inclined.” “They have no living
connection with [God]; they are purely
businessmen. Pg. 424-425

Yet the push in the business world is to make yourself sound

as good as possible. The more vanity (disguised as
confidence) you display, the better your chances of more
money and more power. Not knowing that “The more
responsible the position they occupy, the more fierce will be
Satan’s attacks; for he knows that if he can move them to take
an objectionable course, others will follow their example. But
those who are continually learning in the school of Christ will
be able to pursue the even [course] of their way, and Satan’s
efforts to throw them off their balance will be signally
defeated.” - Pg. 426 Therefore the higher you seem to rise, the
more satan will attack you, which means the more you will
need God. But how often is it that the higher we rise, the less
we feel in need of God.

“Without me,” says Christ, “you can do nothing.”

As you can see it is in today’s business that the devil does
some of his best work “Satan makes every effort to lead
people away from God; and he is successful in his purpose
when the religious life is drowned in business cares, when he
can so absorb their minds in business that they will not take
time to read their Bibles, to pray in secret.” “When He is not
chosen as their counselor and their strong tower of defense,
how soon secular thoughts and wicked unbelief come in, and
vain confidence and philosophy take the place of humble,
trusting faith. - Pg. 426

A tragic turn of events

After many years of working in
occupations that if rightly
used would be a glory to God,
the opportunities were wasted
to witness to the people
around them. They in turn end
up like the ones around them.
With the same spirit and
ambitions. However, still going
by the name of Christian. So
when this person tries to engage or have conversation in
spiritual things the vigor they may of once had is gone. “Often
temptations are cherished as the voice of the True Shepherd
because men have separated themselves from Jesus. They
cannot be safe a moment unless right principles are cherished
in the heart and carried into every business transaction.”
“Whatever position in life we may occupy, whatever our
business, we must be humble enough to feel our need of
help...Lean to your own understanding, dear brethren, as you
make your way through the world, and you will reap sorrow
and disappointment Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and
He will guide your steps in wisdom.” - Pg. 427

So can you have a pursuit of money and a pursuit of God. The

answer is no. If you pursue perishables you will be come
perishable yourself. However if you pursue things of God,
everything else will be added unto you and your bread will be
sure. Sadly this is not the case. “For the sake of making money,
many divorce themselves from God and ignore their eternal
interests. They pursue the same course as the scheming,
worldly man, but God is not in this; it is an offense to Him...All
business matters should be transacted in harmony with the
great moral law of God.” “Those..who devote their lives to the
advancement of the truth, to bringing many sons and
daughters to God, have the promise that they shall have a
hundredfold in this life and in the world to come life
everlasting.” - Pg. 428

“Without me,” says Christ, “you can do nothing.”

The Remedies
The remedies for this temptation is simple yet only can be
done with the help of Jesus.

1.We must remember what it

means to be a Christian.
Our most earnest mission is to be
like Christ and to know Him as a
friend. How can we do that? By
reading and immersing yourself in
the Bible, spending ample time in
secret prayer, and sharing what God
has shown you and done for you,
especially in regard to the first two. Say you don’t have time?
Find time. You say you are always tired? One hour with God is
better then one more hour of sleep. Trust me, when you are
talking to God, that time that sleep will not be missed.

2. Walk with God

Everywhere we go it is
understandable that many cannot just
spend hours reading their bible and
praying for 8 hours a day. Everybody
has their job to do as part of the body
of Christ and if they are doing what
God has sent them to do, then they
do well. However walking with God
takes no extra time. To walk with God
is to act as if God is walking with you,
that you are in the very presence of
the angels. Why? Because you are!
When we were young and were
tempted to do things we knew were wrong. Would we not look
around before we do it? Why? Because if someone was
watching us, we certainly would not do it. Yet we forget that
that small voice telling us we should not do it, is the Holy Spirit,
who is with us always.
3.Dedicate your day to God
“Consecrate yourself to God in
the morning. Make this your very
first work. Let your prayer be,
‘Take me, O Lord, as wholly
Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy
feet. Use me today in Thy
service. Abide with me, and let all
my work be wrought in Thee.’
This is a daily matter. Say, “I am
the purchased possession of
Jesus Christ, and every hour I
must consecrate myself to His
service.” “Thus day by day you
may be giving your life into the
hands of God, and thus your life will be moulded more and
more after the life of Christ.” This is consecration. And it is not
a burden, but a living, everlasting joy.

4. Rest
There is a command in the bible about how we are to work. It is
very simple “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you
shall do NO work” (Exodus 20:9-10) God looked down through
the ages and saw that from the beginning of creation men
would need a day of rest. How much is that needed in these
last days! A sabbath rest was given as a gift to all men, who
want it, to rest from their work. Yet men work 7 days a week
and break down their bodies until it is useless. The saying is
true. “So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and
then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.” God has
given us this great gift so that we can use it. As you notice
also, it says the seventh day. You ask “Why can i not rest any
other day?” The Lord goes on
“For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is
in them, and rested the
seventh day. Therefore the
Lord blessed the Sabbath
day and hollowed it.” Rest on
the sabbath day is blessed
and if God can do it who
doesn’t get tired, I can follow his example. Another great thing
about it is, it is not only physical rest, but emotional and mental
as well. Of course this element is not complete with only taking
your mind off work, it becomes special when the mind is then
turned to God who makes all things new.

God has given us great things we have the ability to

accomplish. So wherever we are..whether it is in a Corporate
setting, in a cubicle, traveling, or in whatever you do, “do all to
the glory of God”.

“Without me,” says Christ, “you can do nothing.”

Conclusion
“...Heaven is open to everyone who makes God his trust. The
only safety for any of us is in clinging to Jesus and letting
nothing separate the soul from the mighty Helper. Those who
have merely a form of godliness, and yet are connected with
the cause in business relations, are to be feared...They will be
overcome by the devices of the tempter and will imperil the
cause of God.” “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap.” What seed are we scattering? What will be our harvest
for time and for eternity? To every man the Master has
assigned his work in accordance
with his ability. Are we sowing the
seed of truth and righteousness, or
that of unbelief, disaffection, evil
surmising, and love of the world?” “If
all who profess to believe the truth
would sow the precious seeds of
kindness, love, faith, and courage,
they would make melody to God in
their hearts as they travel the upward
way, rejoicing in the bright beams of
the Sun of Righteousness, and in the
great gathering day they would
receive an eternal reward. - Pg. 429

Written By: Hayward Penny III

Source: Ellen G. White “Testimonies to the Church Vol. 5” “Business and
Religion”

Done