June 25, 2025 • 23 mins
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The dividing line between being a Christian who owns a business and running a genuinely Christ-centered enterprise might be thinner than you think. In this penetrating exploration, Harold Milby challenges listeners to examine whether they're merely compartmentalizing their faith from their work life or truly allowing God's principles to permeate their business operations.
Through the compelling story of Marion Wade, founder of ServiceMaster (which grew to 7,000 locations and 46,000 employees), we witness how commitment to godly business practices can lead to extraordinary success without compromising spiritual values. The company name itself—derived from being "servants of the Master"—exemplifies Wade's devotion to running a business that honored God even when facing pressure from stockholders.
Harold identifies purpose as the fundamental difference between Christian-owned and Christian-run companies, then outlines five essential dynamics that characterize businesses aligned with God's intentions: realization that your business affects lives worldwide; globalization of your impact (like Tom's Shoes, which donated 95 million pairs to those in need); participation that requires your active engagement; utilization of your God-given talents; and navigation through worldly business thinking to embrace an eternal perspective.
"What you cannot walk away from is a clue to your purpose," Harold observes, suggesting that the problems that frustrate you most often point toward your divine assignment in business. He challenges listeners to look beyond conventional ROI (Return on Investment) to consider EROI (Eternal Return on Investment)—a paradigm shift that might occasionally conflict with business norms but remains essential for fulfilling God's purpose.
Ready to discover how integrating faith into every aspect of your business can transform not just your company, but your life's impact? This episode provides both the biblical foundation and practical wisdom to begin that journey today.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with
your host, harold Milby.
Christian Business Concepts isdedicated to guiding companies
and business owners in becomingeffective, efficient and
successful through God's Wordand godly principles.
Now, here's your host, haroldMilby.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, thanks for tuning in to today's broadcast.
You know, today I'd like tokind of talk to you about the
difference between being aChristian-owned company and a
Christian-run company orbusiness.
You know, I guess you have toask yourself this question Do
you include the Lord in yourbusiness or your business life?
(00:41):
Do you work for a companythat's owned by someone who's
not a professing Christian andwonder if you can or should
include godly principles at work?
You know, some Christians neverinclude the Lord in their
business life at all, and youknow their business life is
something that they keep in acompletely and separate
(01:02):
compartment, and so they nevermix the two.
There are many companies todaythat are owned by Christian
people and yet they keep theirbusiness segregated from their
walk of faith, and I classifythese as Christian-owned
businesses.
You know they're an owner whohappens to be born again, but
they never really incorporatetheir faith in the business.
(01:24):
They never share their faith.
They never.
You know people wouldn't evenknow that they were born again.
The principles that they liveby are mostly business
principles that you pick up inthe world, but nothing that you
pick up from the Word of God.
And so you know and I thinkthat there are other companies
that are out there that areowned by Christians who
incorporate their faith in theirbusiness.
(01:47):
I mean, they actually livetheir faith through their
business.
Let me give you an example.
A man by the name of MarionWade, you know, he wanted to
live his faith and further thekingdom of God.
I mean, that was what hisdesire was, that's what his plan
was, that's what he had hopedto do In 1929, he and a friend
(02:08):
of his started a business andhis desire was to run a company
that was pleasing to the Lordand that showed the world what
Christian leadership was.
It was not always easy because,you know, as the company grew,
he was faced with either makingthe stockholders happy or
conducting business in a waythat was pleasing to the Lord.
(02:29):
So there was always that rub.
And if you're going to run yourbusiness and you're going to
live your faith out loud, you'regoing to have to make that
determining decision.
You're going to have to makethat decision that says you know
, I don't really care what theworld thinks, I don't really
care what other people think.
I'm going to run my business asthe way that I feel like God
(02:51):
would want me to run my businessand I'm going to incorporate my
faith and godly principles intomy business.
And so, marian Wade, that'swhat his desire was and that's
what he tried to do.
So you know, he saw thisconflict, that was there, but he
made that commitment.
He made that commitment andsaid, no, I'm going to run the
company the way that I feel likethat the Lord would have me to
(03:13):
run the company.
And so his company grew and itwas just a tremendous growth and
you know, to a point to where,30 years later or more, there's
over 7,000 locations and over46,000 employees.
1,000 locations and over 46,000employees.
(03:36):
As Marion and his friend decidedon a name for the company when
they first thought about the youknow that, and they had to come
up with a name, you know theygot to talking and they said you
know, we are servants of themaster.
And then it just hit them bothwhen they talked about that and
said well, that's what we'regoing to call the company.
And so the company that I'mtalking about is a company
called ServiceMaster, andServiceMaster not only has those
(03:57):
locations and 46,000 employees,it also includes a couple of
other brands you may have heardof.
One is Terminex and the otheris Molly Maids.
So you know, here's a greatexample of a company that they
decided we're going to run itaccording to what God's Word
says.
(04:18):
Let me give you a scripture inEcclesiastes 2, verses 24 and 26
, in the New InternationalVersion it says as a person can
do nothing better than to eatand drink and find satisfaction
in their own toil, this too, Isee, is from the hand of God,
for without him, who can eat orfind enjoyment?
(04:38):
To the person who pleases him,god gives wisdom and knowledge
and happiness, but to the sinnerhe gives the task of gathering
and storing up wealth to hand itover to the one who pleases God
.
This too is meaningless, achasing after the wind.
(04:58):
So in Ecclesiastes, you knowyou can run your business as a
business and you can be aChristian, but not incorporate
it.
And if you want to do that, youknow people do it all day,
every day.
I mean, there are businessesthat are out there like that.
But understand that when you dothat it's like chasing the wind
(05:22):
.
I'm not saying that you can'tfind success.
Can you find true godly success?
No, can you find success,certainly, but it's going to be
the type of success that isfleeing, it's not going to be
true and lasting success becauseit's not coming from the Lord.
So if there is a single word, ifthere's a single word that I
(05:43):
would try to use to distinguishthese two types of businesses,
and from what I have seen andunderstand from reading,
listening, going to differentseminars, hearing different
interviews with differentbusiness owners, I think the one
word that sets these two typesof businesses apart is purpose.
(06:05):
The one business operates inthe purpose of the person who's
running the business or thedepartment, in case you're not a
business owner and then theother is a business that
operates in God's purpose forthat person and business.
In Proverbs 19 and 2, it saysthere are many devices, and that
(06:26):
word devices means thoughts.
So there's many thoughts in aman's heart, Nevertheless the
counsel, and that word counselmeans purpose or plan.
So we could just add that inthere.
It says there are many thoughtsin a man's heart, nevertheless
the purpose or plan of the Lordthat shall stand, and that word
(06:47):
stand comes from a Hebrew word,kum, and it just means to arise
and to become powerful.
So it's the Lord's purpose, theLord's plan, that shall arise
and become powerful.
I mean, what a great passage tobase your business model after.
I mean, that's what we want tolook at, that's what we want to
(07:07):
think about, and so that's whatwe're going to talk about today.
We're going to talk a lot aboutpurpose.
In 2 Timothy 1 and 9, it sayswho has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, notaccording to our own works, but
according to his own purpose andgrace, which was given us in
Christ Jesus before the worldbegan.
(07:30):
So we're talking about apurpose that is in Christ.
We're talking about a purposethat's not according to our work
, but it's according to Hispurpose and grace, which was
given to us by Jesus Christ.
So let's assume that you'vedecided at this point, let's
(07:50):
assume that you've decided to bea Christian-run business and
not a Christian-owned business,and of course, that's what this
ministry is really about.
That's what Christian businessconcepts is about.
It's about helping people thathave not really thought about
the fact that they could be aChristian business owner who ran
their business the way that theLord would have them run it
(08:13):
through the purpose that he putsin their heart.
That's the goal.
That is what our purpose is atChristian Business Concepts.
So I'm going to assume thatthat's where you want to go.
I'm going to assume that you'relistening to this broadcast
because you're wanting to runyour business as Christ would
(08:34):
want you to run it.
So as you seek the Lord to findhis purpose for you and your
business, you'll find thatpurpose will be embodied, I
think, by the followingcomponents.
I mean actually, I'd rather usethe word dynamics it's a better
word than components for thisbecause dynamics means
underlying force.
(08:55):
So I think that you're going tofind that God's purpose for
your planter business is goingto be embodied by these
underlying forces that we'regoing to be taking a look at.
So let's take a look at some ofthese dynamics.
So the first one is realization.
So the first thing you have torealize is that you've got to
(09:16):
understand that God has plansfor your life.
That includes more than justhaving a business and making
money.
There's nothing wrong with that.
But God's got more.
His purpose for you having thisbusiness, his purpose for you
running your department, is muchbigger than just running your
department.
God has a bigger view than that.
(09:39):
See, god sees your life from amuch larger and an all-inclusive
perspective.
If God didn't think that we hadmuch purpose for Him, we'd get
saved and then He'd just take ushome.
But the reason that we stayupon this earth him, we'd get
saved and then he'd just take ushome.
But the reason that we stayupon this earth after we give
our life to Christ is becausethere is a purpose and God wants
us to find that purpose andlive in that purpose.
(10:01):
That's his desire for our life.
You know, god has a worldviewof your purpose for him.
Now, maybe you don't think aboutit, maybe you don't think.
Well, my business, you knowI've got this small little
business.
I'm not, you know, it's not abig business.
I don't have a whole lot ofemployees.
Maybe it's just you and that'sthe only business you have.
But you need to realizesomething God can actually use
(10:22):
you to touch people around theworld.
You know I'm doing this podcast.
I don't know how many peoplelisten to this podcast on a
daily basis.
I could be talking to peopleright now.
You could be in the sound of myvoice and hearing me and you
could be in another country.
What I'm saying is that you'vegot to have a realization that
(10:42):
God's purpose for you could beworldwide, not necessarily your
business, but the purpose andthe way that God uses your
business could be worldwide.
You know this realization willcome when you begin to see your
life and your purpose from Hispurpose.
(11:04):
That's beyond what you think.
But let's look and see what Godsays and what God thinks about
your purpose.
In Genesis, chapter 13, andverses 14 and 15, god tells
Abraham he says look to thenorth, look to the south, look
to the east and look to the west.
(11:24):
And then he says this and allthe land thou seest to thee will
I give it.
And so what I want you tounderstand, it's in the scene.
If you can't see it, you're notgoing to have it happen.
You have to begin to see howGod sees your business.
(11:46):
You've got to begin to seeyourself how God sees you,
because that's what we'redealing with here, when we're
talking about getting God'spurpose.
You've got to begin to see thepotential and see the
possibilities that you have.
Realize this.
Realize that your life has aripple effect that touches other
(12:06):
people's lives, some you maynever even know about.
You may never know about it,but your life touches people
every single day and theseripple effects can last for
years, even after you go home tobe with the Lord.
The ripple effects of yourpurpose in this world that you
try to fulfill can have aneffect even after you're gone.
(12:28):
Uh, you know, I always likedthe movie.
It's a great Christmas movie.
It's called it's a wonderfullife.
It's got Jimmy Stewart in it.
It's just a great movie.
But he gets the opportunity tosee what the world would have
been like without him in it, asif he had never existed, and it
was life-changing for him.
(12:50):
Uh, it completely changed hisperspective on what he was doing
and the effect that he washaving.
So that's something that wehave to begin to have in our
life and that's one of thosedynamics, that realization.
The next dynamic isglobalization.
God wants you to understandyour purpose could actually be
(13:12):
worldwide.
As I said before, keep in mindthat you and your business could
reach people throughout theworld that could never be
reached by a church, could neverbe reached by a preacher or a
missionary.
You know we're talking aboutreaching people because of who
you are as a business owner thatpeople would listen to.
When they won't listen to apastor, they won't listen to a
(13:35):
missionary.
A good example of this is Tom'sShoes.
I don't know if you're familiarwith Tom's Shoes, but the owner
, blake Mykowski.
He overheard some women when hewas in another country.
He had overheard some womentalking and they were talking
about how they were going intosome of the wealthy
neighborhoods and thencollecting shoes and then
(13:56):
distributing them to poorneighborhoods.
And after interjecting himselfbecause he's a pretty bold guy,
after interjecting himself intotheir conversation he came back
home to the US and started Tom'sShoes witha very important
purpose, with a very importantpurpose For every pair of shoes
that Tom sold, he gave anotherpair to a poor family in a
(14:20):
third-world country.
Now the company now gives awayone-third of its profits every
year, but up until the time theychanged that methodology of how
they handle things in theirbusiness, that methodology of
how they handle things in theirbusiness, over the years they
had given away over 95 millionpairs of shoes 95 million.
(14:41):
All because he found hispurpose.
And so he runs his business notto make a bunch of money, but
he makes his business to usethose resources to reach others.
Now it may not be that extreme.
God may not use your businessand you to that extreme, but he
(15:03):
might, and all I'm saying is youhave to be willing to hear what
he says and what he wants youto do and that may change.
Just like with Tom, you knowthey were giving away shoes for
every pair that they sold.
Now they're giving one-third oftheir profits away and he gives
that into charitableorganizations, christian
organizations.
So his purpose for you is farmore reaching than you can
(15:24):
realize.
It's global.
So the next dynamic isparticipation.
God's purpose for you willrequire, it will require your
participation.
Let me say that again, becausethat's a wisdom seed.
God's purpose for you willrequire your participation.
(15:44):
In Ephesians 2, verse 10, itsays For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus untogood works which God has before
ordained that we should walk inthem, you know.
So, here again, what are wewalking in?
We're walking in those goodworks.
We have to do something, we areparticipating.
(16:06):
Yes, god gives us a plan, butwe have to participate in that
plan.
In Romans 12, chapter 12, verses1 and 2, it says I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by themercies of God, that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice,holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this
(16:28):
world.
Wow, that's great for abusiness owner, right.
Be not conformed to this world,but be you transformed by the
renewing of your mind.
You've got to change the wayyou think about business.
You've got to allow godlyprinciples to permeate your
business, to be utilized in yourbusiness and don't look at it
just from the way that the worldlooks at your business and it
(16:51):
goes on to say that you mayprove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will ofGod you could use for will.
You could put purpose for thatpurpose, for that perfect,
acceptable purpose of God thathe has for your life.
So he needs your participation,he needs you to do something.
(17:13):
The next dynamic is utilization.
God has gifted you with certaintalents that he wants you to
use in this purpose through yourbusiness and business life.
He wants you to use yourpassion and your desires.
So God puts in.
In fact, in Psalms 37 and 4, itsays Delight thyself also in
(17:35):
the Lord, and he shall give theethe desires of thine heart.
I don't believe thatnecessarily just means that he's
going to give you things thatyou desire, but I do believe it
means that he will put desireswithin your heart.
So I do believe that you've gotto utilize those gifts.
It's important that youdiscover these gifts, these
talents, these passions tofulfill His purpose in you A lot
(18:00):
of times.
A problem that infuriates youthe most is the purpose God has
called you to resolve.
Understand that whatever youtolerate, you'll never change.
So here's a wisdom seed.
What you cannot walk away fromis a clue to your purpose.
What is that thing?
You just can't get it out ofyour mind.
(18:21):
For me, it was this.
You know, I pastored for 15years and yet I always had this
drawing to business.
Then I left the ministry andgot involved in business, and
now, at the latter part of mylife, I can see how God is
bringing those two thingstogether, and so the gifts that
(18:42):
he's put in me, he's bringingthose things together, and so
you've got to begin tounderstand that God wants to
utilize the gifts and thingsthat you have in you.
Now there's lots of books outthere that can help you discover
your gifts, your talents.
If you want, you can email me.
You can go to the website andfill out a form on the website,
(19:03):
ask me questions.
I'll be glad to send you a listof these types of books and
hopefully on the website soonwe'll have a list of resources
so we'll be able to have somethings there for you to go look
at and find out what those booksare.
But just, it's sufficient toknow at this point that God
wants to utilize you and thegifts and the talents that you
have.
(19:24):
All right, so the next thing,the next dynamic, is navigation.
You're going to need tonavigate through some worldly
thinking.
Remember to be renewed in thespirit of our mind.
I think that we get hammeredwith the way the world thinks
every day, and yet God expectsus to think the way he does.
The Bible says we have the mindof Christ and I'm sure the mind
(19:46):
of Christ doesn't think the waythe world does.
He certainly didn't exemplifythat.
So you've got to navigatethrough some of that worldly
thinking and some of thoseworldly expectations.
Remember Marian, you know, whenhe started Service Master, he
realized that when he mentionedthe tensions that he would
(20:06):
sometimes have that would arisebetween making stockholders
happy and pleasing the Lord.
And these can be hard decisionsto make.
I'm not going to lie to you.
Sometimes they can be verydifficult.
There's a lot of peer pressurethat comes either from your
management team that maybe maynot all be Christian people, or
it could come from stockholdersif you're a publicly held
(20:28):
company.
So I understand that what I'mtelling you to do is not always
easy, but it doesn't change thefact that that's what God
desires for you through hispurpose.
So you know you're going toneed to learn how to lean upon
his direction through his word,his direction through the Holy
Holy Spirit, and you know hisdirection through good godly
(20:50):
counsel.
And at times it may not makeearthly sense, but it doesn't
matter if it makes earthly sense.
If you read the Word of Godfrom Genesis to Revelation,
there's a whole lot of thingsthat God had His people do that
didn't make a whole lot of sensein the natural, but God knew
what he was doing.
I mean, let's talk about themost common concept ROI return
(21:12):
on investment right.
Every business incorporatesthis into almost every decision
they make.
They talk about return oninvestment right.
Every business incorporatesthis into almost every decision
they make.
They talk about return oninvestment.
But I've got a new one that Ithink you ought to consider and
that's the EROI, which is theeternal return on investment.
So stop and think about that.
Psalms 32 and 8 says I willinstruct you and teach you in
(21:34):
the way you should go.
I will counsel you with my eyeupon you.
In James 4, 17,.
It says Therefore to him thatknoweth to do good and doeth it
not, to him, it is sin.
That's pretty straightforward.
Galatians 6 and 9 says and letus not be weary in well-doing,
for in due season we shall reapif we faint, not.
(21:58):
So what I'm saying is that, eventhough you may be doing things
that are contrary to what theworld says you need to do, if
you keep doing those things, ifyou're faithful to do that, god
will be faithful.
I can promise you that here's awisdom seed.
Your purpose is not for you todecide, it's for you to discover
.
That's a great wisdom seed.
Let me say it again yourpurpose is not for you to decide
, it is for you to discover.
That's a great wisdom seed.
Let me say it again yourpurpose is not for you to decide
(22:18):
, it is for you to discover.
Here's another wisdom seed thedegree of God's purpose
manifested in your life isdetermined by the level of your
obedience and faithfulness toHim.
The more that you are obedientand faithful to Him, the more
God will manifest His purpose inyour life, for you and your
(22:41):
business.
So that's, I think, such animportant thing that we
understand today is to decidethat we want to be that
Christian-run company and not aChristian-owned company, and I
hope with all my heart, I pray,that each and every one of you
(23:02):
are making that decision.
Maybe, if you haven't beforenow, you're making it now to be
that Christian-run company.
God bless you and we'll lookforward to talking with you
again on the Christian BusinessConcepts podcast.
Have a great day.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian
Business Concepts podcast.
Go tochristianbusinessconceptscom for
more information and resources.
Be sure to check out otherpodcasts that will help you take
your business and your personallife to a whole new level of
success.
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with
your host, harold Milby.
Christian Business Concepts isdedicated to guiding companies
and business owners in becomingeffective, efficient and
successful through God's Wordand godly principles.
Now, here's your host, haroldMilby.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, thanks for tuning in to today's broadcast.
You know, today I'd like tokind of talk to you about the
difference between being aChristian-owned company and a
Christian-run company orbusiness.
You know, I guess you have toask yourself this question Do
you include the Lord in yourbusiness or your business life?
(00:41):
Do you work for a companythat's owned by someone who's
not a professing Christian andwonder if you can or should
include godly principles at work?
You know, some Christians neverinclude the Lord in their
business life at all, and youknow their business life is
something that they keep in acompletely and separate
(01:02):
compartment, and so they nevermix the two.
There are many companies todaythat are owned by Christian
people and yet they keep theirbusiness segregated from their
walk of faith, and I classifythese as Christian-owned
businesses.
You know they're an owner whohappens to be born again, but
they never really incorporatetheir faith in the business.
(01:24):
They never share their faith.
They never.
You know people wouldn't evenknow that they were born again.
The principles that they liveby are mostly business
principles that you pick up inthe world, but nothing that you
pick up from the Word of God.
And so you know and I thinkthat there are other companies
that are out there that areowned by Christians who
incorporate their faith in theirbusiness.
(01:47):
I mean, they actually livetheir faith through their
business.
Let me give you an example.
A man by the name of MarionWade, you know, he wanted to
live his faith and further thekingdom of God.
I mean, that was what hisdesire was, that's what his plan
was, that's what he had hopedto do In 1929, he and a friend
(02:08):
of his started a business andhis desire was to run a company
that was pleasing to the Lordand that showed the world what
Christian leadership was.
It was not always easy because,you know, as the company grew,
he was faced with either makingthe stockholders happy or
conducting business in a waythat was pleasing to the Lord.
(02:29):
So there was always that rub.
And if you're going to run yourbusiness and you're going to
live your faith out loud, you'regoing to have to make that
determining decision.
You're going to have to makethat decision that says you know
, I don't really care what theworld thinks, I don't really
care what other people think.
I'm going to run my business asthe way that I feel like God
(02:51):
would want me to run my businessand I'm going to incorporate my
faith and godly principles intomy business.
And so, marian Wade, that'swhat his desire was and that's
what he tried to do.
So you know, he saw thisconflict, that was there, but he
made that commitment.
He made that commitment andsaid, no, I'm going to run the
company the way that I feel likethat the Lord would have me to
(03:13):
run the company.
And so his company grew and itwas just a tremendous growth and
you know, to a point to where,30 years later or more, there's
over 7,000 locations and over46,000 employees.
1,000 locations and over 46,000employees.
(03:36):
As Marion and his friend decidedon a name for the company when
they first thought about the youknow that, and they had to come
up with a name, you know theygot to talking and they said you
know, we are servants of themaster.
And then it just hit them bothwhen they talked about that and
said well, that's what we'regoing to call the company.
And so the company that I'mtalking about is a company
called ServiceMaster, andServiceMaster not only has those
(03:57):
locations and 46,000 employees,it also includes a couple of
other brands you may have heardof.
One is Terminex and the otheris Molly Maids.
So you know, here's a greatexample of a company that they
decided we're going to run itaccording to what God's Word
says.
(04:18):
Let me give you a scripture inEcclesiastes 2, verses 24 and 26
, in the New InternationalVersion it says as a person can
do nothing better than to eatand drink and find satisfaction
in their own toil, this too, Isee, is from the hand of God,
for without him, who can eat orfind enjoyment?
(04:38):
To the person who pleases him,god gives wisdom and knowledge
and happiness, but to the sinnerhe gives the task of gathering
and storing up wealth to hand itover to the one who pleases God
.
This too is meaningless, achasing after the wind.
(04:58):
So in Ecclesiastes, you knowyou can run your business as a
business and you can be aChristian, but not incorporate
it.
And if you want to do that, youknow people do it all day,
every day.
I mean, there are businessesthat are out there like that.
But understand that when you dothat it's like chasing the wind
(05:22):
.
I'm not saying that you can'tfind success.
Can you find true godly success?
No, can you find success,certainly, but it's going to be
the type of success that isfleeing, it's not going to be
true and lasting success becauseit's not coming from the Lord.
So if there is a single word, ifthere's a single word that I
(05:43):
would try to use to distinguishthese two types of businesses,
and from what I have seen andunderstand from reading,
listening, going to differentseminars, hearing different
interviews with differentbusiness owners, I think the one
word that sets these two typesof businesses apart is purpose.
(06:05):
The one business operates inthe purpose of the person who's
running the business or thedepartment, in case you're not a
business owner and then theother is a business that
operates in God's purpose forthat person and business.
In Proverbs 19 and 2, it saysthere are many devices, and that
(06:26):
word devices means thoughts.
So there's many thoughts in aman's heart, Nevertheless the
counsel, and that word counselmeans purpose or plan.
So we could just add that inthere.
It says there are many thoughtsin a man's heart, nevertheless
the purpose or plan of the Lordthat shall stand, and that word
(06:47):
stand comes from a Hebrew word,kum, and it just means to arise
and to become powerful.
So it's the Lord's purpose, theLord's plan, that shall arise
and become powerful.
I mean, what a great passage tobase your business model after.
I mean, that's what we want tolook at, that's what we want to
(07:07):
think about, and so that's whatwe're going to talk about today.
We're going to talk a lot aboutpurpose.
In 2 Timothy 1 and 9, it sayswho has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, notaccording to our own works, but
according to his own purpose andgrace, which was given us in
Christ Jesus before the worldbegan.
(07:30):
So we're talking about apurpose that is in Christ.
We're talking about a purposethat's not according to our work
, but it's according to Hispurpose and grace, which was
given to us by Jesus Christ.
So let's assume that you'vedecided at this point, let's
(07:50):
assume that you've decided to bea Christian-run business and
not a Christian-owned business,and of course, that's what this
ministry is really about.
That's what Christian businessconcepts is about.
It's about helping people thathave not really thought about
the fact that they could be aChristian business owner who ran
their business the way that theLord would have them run it
(08:13):
through the purpose that he putsin their heart.
That's the goal.
That is what our purpose is atChristian Business Concepts.
So I'm going to assume thatthat's where you want to go.
I'm going to assume that you'relistening to this broadcast
because you're wanting to runyour business as Christ would
(08:34):
want you to run it.
So as you seek the Lord to findhis purpose for you and your
business, you'll find thatpurpose will be embodied, I
think, by the followingcomponents.
I mean actually, I'd rather usethe word dynamics it's a better
word than components for thisbecause dynamics means
underlying force.
(08:55):
So I think that you're going tofind that God's purpose for
your planter business is goingto be embodied by these
underlying forces that we'regoing to be taking a look at.
So let's take a look at some ofthese dynamics.
So the first one is realization.
So the first thing you have torealize is that you've got to
(09:16):
understand that God has plansfor your life.
That includes more than justhaving a business and making
money.
There's nothing wrong with that.
But God's got more.
His purpose for you having thisbusiness, his purpose for you
running your department, is muchbigger than just running your
department.
God has a bigger view than that.
(09:39):
See, god sees your life from amuch larger and an all-inclusive
perspective.
If God didn't think that we hadmuch purpose for Him, we'd get
saved and then He'd just take ushome.
But the reason that we stayupon this earth him, we'd get
saved and then he'd just take ushome.
But the reason that we stayupon this earth after we give
our life to Christ is becausethere is a purpose and God wants
us to find that purpose andlive in that purpose.
(10:01):
That's his desire for our life.
You know, god has a worldviewof your purpose for him.
Now, maybe you don't think aboutit, maybe you don't think.
Well, my business, you knowI've got this small little
business.
I'm not, you know, it's not abig business.
I don't have a whole lot ofemployees.
Maybe it's just you and that'sthe only business you have.
But you need to realizesomething God can actually use
(10:22):
you to touch people around theworld.
You know I'm doing this podcast.
I don't know how many peoplelisten to this podcast on a
daily basis.
I could be talking to peopleright now.
You could be in the sound of myvoice and hearing me and you
could be in another country.
What I'm saying is that you'vegot to have a realization that
(10:42):
God's purpose for you could beworldwide, not necessarily your
business, but the purpose andthe way that God uses your
business could be worldwide.
You know this realization willcome when you begin to see your
life and your purpose from Hispurpose.
(11:04):
That's beyond what you think.
But let's look and see what Godsays and what God thinks about
your purpose.
In Genesis, chapter 13, andverses 14 and 15, god tells
Abraham he says look to thenorth, look to the south, look
to the east and look to the west.
(11:24):
And then he says this and allthe land thou seest to thee will
I give it.
And so what I want you tounderstand, it's in the scene.
If you can't see it, you're notgoing to have it happen.
You have to begin to see howGod sees your business.
(11:46):
You've got to begin to seeyourself how God sees you,
because that's what we'redealing with here, when we're
talking about getting God'spurpose.
You've got to begin to see thepotential and see the
possibilities that you have.
Realize this.
Realize that your life has aripple effect that touches other
(12:06):
people's lives, some you maynever even know about.
You may never know about it,but your life touches people
every single day and theseripple effects can last for
years, even after you go home tobe with the Lord.
The ripple effects of yourpurpose in this world that you
try to fulfill can have aneffect even after you're gone.
(12:28):
Uh, you know, I always likedthe movie.
It's a great Christmas movie.
It's called it's a wonderfullife.
It's got Jimmy Stewart in it.
It's just a great movie.
But he gets the opportunity tosee what the world would have
been like without him in it, asif he had never existed, and it
was life-changing for him.
(12:50):
Uh, it completely changed hisperspective on what he was doing
and the effect that he washaving.
So that's something that wehave to begin to have in our
life and that's one of thosedynamics, that realization.
The next dynamic isglobalization.
God wants you to understandyour purpose could actually be
(13:12):
worldwide.
As I said before, keep in mindthat you and your business could
reach people throughout theworld that could never be
reached by a church, could neverbe reached by a preacher or a
missionary.
You know we're talking aboutreaching people because of who
you are as a business owner thatpeople would listen to.
When they won't listen to apastor, they won't listen to a
(13:35):
missionary.
A good example of this is Tom'sShoes.
I don't know if you're familiarwith Tom's Shoes, but the owner
, blake Mykowski.
He overheard some women when hewas in another country.
He had overheard some womentalking and they were talking
about how they were going intosome of the wealthy
neighborhoods and thencollecting shoes and then
(13:56):
distributing them to poorneighborhoods.
And after interjecting himselfbecause he's a pretty bold guy,
after interjecting himself intotheir conversation he came back
home to the US and started Tom'sShoes witha very important
purpose, with a very importantpurpose For every pair of shoes
that Tom sold, he gave anotherpair to a poor family in a
(14:20):
third-world country.
Now the company now gives awayone-third of its profits every
year, but up until the time theychanged that methodology of how
they handle things in theirbusiness, that methodology of
how they handle things in theirbusiness, over the years they
had given away over 95 millionpairs of shoes 95 million.
(14:41):
All because he found hispurpose.
And so he runs his business notto make a bunch of money, but
he makes his business to usethose resources to reach others.
Now it may not be that extreme.
God may not use your businessand you to that extreme, but he
(15:03):
might, and all I'm saying is youhave to be willing to hear what
he says and what he wants youto do and that may change.
Just like with Tom, you knowthey were giving away shoes for
every pair that they sold.
Now they're giving one-third oftheir profits away and he gives
that into charitableorganizations, christian
organizations.
So his purpose for you is farmore reaching than you can
(15:24):
realize.
It's global.
So the next dynamic isparticipation.
God's purpose for you willrequire, it will require your
participation.
Let me say that again, becausethat's a wisdom seed.
God's purpose for you willrequire your participation.
(15:44):
In Ephesians 2, verse 10, itsays For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus untogood works which God has before
ordained that we should walk inthem, you know.
So, here again, what are wewalking in?
We're walking in those goodworks.
We have to do something, we areparticipating.
(16:06):
Yes, god gives us a plan, butwe have to participate in that
plan.
In Romans 12, chapter 12, verses1 and 2, it says I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by themercies of God, that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice,holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this
(16:28):
world.
Wow, that's great for abusiness owner, right.
Be not conformed to this world,but be you transformed by the
renewing of your mind.
You've got to change the wayyou think about business.
You've got to allow godlyprinciples to permeate your
business, to be utilized in yourbusiness and don't look at it
just from the way that the worldlooks at your business and it
(16:51):
goes on to say that you mayprove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will ofGod you could use for will.
You could put purpose for thatpurpose, for that perfect,
acceptable purpose of God thathe has for your life.
So he needs your participation,he needs you to do something.
(17:13):
The next dynamic is utilization.
God has gifted you with certaintalents that he wants you to
use in this purpose through yourbusiness and business life.
He wants you to use yourpassion and your desires.
So God puts in.
In fact, in Psalms 37 and 4, itsays Delight thyself also in
(17:35):
the Lord, and he shall give theethe desires of thine heart.
I don't believe thatnecessarily just means that he's
going to give you things thatyou desire, but I do believe it
means that he will put desireswithin your heart.
So I do believe that you've gotto utilize those gifts.
It's important that youdiscover these gifts, these
talents, these passions tofulfill His purpose in you A lot
(18:00):
of times.
A problem that infuriates youthe most is the purpose God has
called you to resolve.
Understand that whatever youtolerate, you'll never change.
So here's a wisdom seed.
What you cannot walk away fromis a clue to your purpose.
What is that thing?
You just can't get it out ofyour mind.
(18:21):
For me, it was this.
You know, I pastored for 15years and yet I always had this
drawing to business.
Then I left the ministry andgot involved in business, and
now, at the latter part of mylife, I can see how God is
bringing those two thingstogether, and so the gifts that
(18:42):
he's put in me, he's bringingthose things together, and so
you've got to begin tounderstand that God wants to
utilize the gifts and thingsthat you have in you.
Now there's lots of books outthere that can help you discover
your gifts, your talents.
If you want, you can email me.
You can go to the website andfill out a form on the website,
(19:03):
ask me questions.
I'll be glad to send you a listof these types of books and
hopefully on the website soonwe'll have a list of resources
so we'll be able to have somethings there for you to go look
at and find out what those booksare.
But just, it's sufficient toknow at this point that God
wants to utilize you and thegifts and the talents that you
have.
(19:24):
All right, so the next thing,the next dynamic, is navigation.
You're going to need tonavigate through some worldly
thinking.
Remember to be renewed in thespirit of our mind.
I think that we get hammeredwith the way the world thinks
every day, and yet God expectsus to think the way he does.
The Bible says we have the mindof Christ and I'm sure the mind
(19:46):
of Christ doesn't think the waythe world does.
He certainly didn't exemplifythat.
So you've got to navigatethrough some of that worldly
thinking and some of thoseworldly expectations.
Remember Marian, you know, whenhe started Service Master, he
realized that when he mentionedthe tensions that he would
(20:06):
sometimes have that would arisebetween making stockholders
happy and pleasing the Lord.
And these can be hard decisionsto make.
I'm not going to lie to you.
Sometimes they can be verydifficult.
There's a lot of peer pressurethat comes either from your
management team that maybe maynot all be Christian people, or
it could come from stockholdersif you're a publicly held
(20:28):
company.
So I understand that what I'mtelling you to do is not always
easy, but it doesn't change thefact that that's what God
desires for you through hispurpose.
So you know you're going toneed to learn how to lean upon
his direction through his word,his direction through the Holy
Holy Spirit, and you know hisdirection through good godly
(20:50):
counsel.
And at times it may not makeearthly sense, but it doesn't
matter if it makes earthly sense.
If you read the Word of Godfrom Genesis to Revelation,
there's a whole lot of thingsthat God had His people do that
didn't make a whole lot of sensein the natural, but God knew
what he was doing.
I mean, let's talk about themost common concept ROI return
(21:12):
on investment right.
Every business incorporatesthis into almost every decision
they make.
They talk about return oninvestment right.
Every business incorporatesthis into almost every decision
they make.
They talk about return oninvestment.
But I've got a new one that Ithink you ought to consider and
that's the EROI, which is theeternal return on investment.
So stop and think about that.
Psalms 32 and 8 says I willinstruct you and teach you in
(21:34):
the way you should go.
I will counsel you with my eyeupon you.
In James 4, 17,.
It says Therefore to him thatknoweth to do good and doeth it
not, to him, it is sin.
That's pretty straightforward.
Galatians 6 and 9 says and letus not be weary in well-doing,
for in due season we shall reapif we faint, not.
(21:58):
So what I'm saying is that, eventhough you may be doing things
that are contrary to what theworld says you need to do, if
you keep doing those things, ifyou're faithful to do that, god
will be faithful.
I can promise you that here's awisdom seed.
Your purpose is not for you todecide, it's for you to discover
.
That's a great wisdom seed.
Let me say it again yourpurpose is not for you to decide
, it is for you to discover.
That's a great wisdom seed.
Let me say it again yourpurpose is not for you to decide
(22:18):
, it is for you to discover.
Here's another wisdom seed thedegree of God's purpose
manifested in your life isdetermined by the level of your
obedience and faithfulness toHim.
The more that you are obedientand faithful to Him, the more
God will manifest His purpose inyour life, for you and your
(22:41):
business.
So that's, I think, such animportant thing that we
understand today is to decidethat we want to be that
Christian-run company and not aChristian-owned company, and I
hope with all my heart, I pray,that each and every one of you
(23:02):
are making that decision.
Maybe, if you haven't beforenow, you're making it now to be
that Christian-run company.
God bless you and we'll lookforward to talking with you
again on the Christian BusinessConcepts podcast.
Have a great day.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian
Business Concepts podcast.
Go tochristianbusinessconceptscom for
more information and resources.
Be sure to check out otherpodcasts that will help you take
your business and your personallife to a whole new level of
success.
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