Someone recently said to me, “Whatever you do, just don’t do business with a Christian!” implying that many Christians (probably most, in his opinion) cannot be trusted in business. The accusation is not new at all, I have heard it many times before, and make no mistake, it always hurts! But is it valid?
Unfortunately, although exaggerated, the accusation is not entirely unsubstantiated! As a Christian, this accusation initially concerned me greatly and resulted in a reluctance on my part to identify myself as a Christian in my business dealings. Identifying myself as a Christian in the marketplace robbed me of my confidence as a businessman, until one day… I realized that while there is probably an Ananias and a Sapphira in every Christian community, most Christians are people of high integrity!
You don’t have to apologize for being a Christian.
The fact is that dishonesty, organized crime, unreliability, fraud and corruption are everyday phenomena in this world and occur to a greater or lesser extent in all societies and all religions. I certainly don’t want to make excuses for dishonest Christians, but at the same time I’m not going to apologize because I call myself a Christian businessman! The fact that I am a Christian certainly makes a difference in my values and the way I conduct my business. I was fired from my job twenty years ago because I refused to sign a bid that contained dishonest practice and I don’t regret it.
Covering up your moral deficiency makes you a hypocrite
I live in South Africa and you all know our history of apartheid before 1994. I have a black Christian friend, an evangelist, whom I have known for many years. During the apartheid years he was invited to preach to the workers of a certain farm. When he arrived, the white farmer told him: “If there will ever be kaffirs in heaven, I don’t want to go to heaven!” In response, my black friend said, “Lord, where will you go then, there will be many more!”
Hypocrisy is the concealment of character. I have found that when people make sweeping accusations like the one in the first paragraph, in fact, they are often simply trying to hide their own moral deficiency. It’s the same as saying, “I don’t want to go to church because the pews are full of hypocrites.” What they forget is that where they are, there are many more!
Your ears will hear a word behind you saying: This is the way, walk in it. (Isaiah 30:21 NIV)
To Christians I want to say, if you claim to be a Christian, you have to do what you say! You have to live up to your Christian identity and the standard of the Bible, or stop calling yourself a Christian! “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV) I am told that Alexander the Great once told one of his troops by the name of ‘Alexander’ who ran away from the army, “Young man, change your behavior, or change your name!”
I want to tell unfaithful Christians that when they are not trustworthy in business, they are not only betraying the Name of Jesus Christ, whom they claim to follow, but they are also betraying the entire body of Christians. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and then killed himself. Thirty pieces of dirty silver on the market is just not worth it!
To non-Christians I want to say that true Christianity is something to be desired. Don’t be misled by unfaithful followers! Look at our Leader and Teacher; His Name is Jesus Christ, Lord of Lords and King of Kings! if he is that for you will certainly make a difference in the world — and the world of difference for you!