I found a brief article in a Christian professional magazine entitled “Three Marketplace Worldviews,” taken from truthnetwork.org, and I want to talk about those three marketplace worldviews. Hopefully you realize your worldview has a great influence on your life. If you view your world through an incorrect paradigm, it will cause you to make wrong decisions and poor choices and lead you down wrong paths. It is extremely important we scrutinize our own worldviews and make certain they are accurate. As Christians, our challenge is to make certain we have a biblical worldview as the foundation for our attitudes, opinions, and approach to life. That means, of course, we need to know the Word of God and continually study it so we know truth, which sets us free. Over the many years I’ve been broadcasting this program, it has become clear that far too many Christians do not have a biblical view of their jobs. That means they often approach their work incorrectly, for the wrong reasons and with the wrong motives. That, in turn, means a great portion of their life is spent with an unbiblical worldview, and this can only mean trouble! It interferes with their fellowship with God and with other believers. It causes a disconnect in their spirit and may cause them to lead a double life, as it were: One person on their job and another person at church and with other believers. For ten years of my career, this is exactly what I did. I was one person Monday through Friday and another one on Sunday. I had a selfish and greedy approach to my job, and soon I was swallowed up by the world’s culture and found myself operating in my job like most everyone else—looking out for number one and for personal success. …the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do (James 1:6 – 8). When we, as true believers, have a conflicting worldview not in agreement with God’s word, we become double-minded, tossed back and forth like waves on the sea, and unstable in all we do. Have you ever thought your instability on your job, your inability to find the right job, or your unhappiness in the job you have could be because you have become double-minded? Your lack of a biblical marketplace view could indeed be the root cause of your struggles. Let’s look at these three marketplace views, and as we do, ask yourself which one most represents your own view of your job or career. These three views are categorized as secular, non-biblical, which is described as a compromised Christian view, and biblical. First, what is your view of the origin and purpose of business? In the article, the author states the secular view is “Business is something man created, to serve man, and its ultimate purpose is to serve the interest of man. If there is a God, he certainly would not have any concern with business and how it is done.” Now, admittedly, that’s how most of your non-believing friends and coworkers view their jobs. They are there to make as much money as possible, achieve as much success as possible, prove their worth, and help them realize their dreams and goals, etc., etc., etc. In other words, their view of their job is it’s all about them—making them successful, happy, financially secure and fulfilled. They most likely have never even thought about connecting God or his principles to their jobs. It’s like separation of church and state; it’s almost a constitutional divide; your job and religion are two different things. That’s the secular marketplace view. What is the non-biblical compromised Christian view of the origin and purpose of business? That view says, “Work is a ‘necessary evil’ and I cannot wait until retirement. Once I have enough money to retire, I will serve God ‘full time.’” In this non-biblical marketplace view, ministry is not done at work. It could be done at church or somewhere else, but not at work. This compromised Christian view intends to do things right, but if the rules must be bent once in a while, so be it. They may view their jobs as a means for them to earn money, which they can give to their church and missions—after all, those are the real ministries. If it were possible to take an accurate survey of true Christians in the secular marketplace, I wonder how many would fall into this non-biblical marketplace view. I fear it would be greater than fifty percent. Frankly, this is why I began this ministry, to challenge Christians to see their jobs as their mission fields, to see themselves as ambassadors for Christ on their jobs. And what is that view of the origin and purpose of business and work? Based on biblical truth, that view is “Work is a God-ordained activity.” Christians with this worldview agree that God has ordained them to serve him in the marketplace. The biblical marketplace view recognizes work was given to man before sin entered the world, but it became hard as a result of sin. Adam was given what we would call a secular job description by God. But it wasn’t secular because God gave it to him. For a Christian there is no secular/sacred category divide. Everything in our lives is sacred and should be viewed from a biblical perspective. The Christian who has a biblical marketplace view sees every aspect of her work as an opportunity to glorify Jesus Christ. He or she actively seeks to work and live by biblical principles on the job and sees his or her work as an extension of God’s work on earth. Now I ask you, if Christians who regularly go to a secular workplace did so with a biblical workplace view, would it make a difference in the way they perform? It would have to! Would it make a difference in their attitude? No question about it. Would it make a difference in how they treat people? Absolutely. On the other hand, if you view your job as simply a way to pay your bills, a necessary evil, as it were, will that not have a negative impact on your behavior and attitude? You see, what you think is what you are, as we are told in the Bible. If your thinking is wrong, your behavior and attitudes will be wrong, and they will be harmful to you and to others. Looking further into these three marketplace views, this article identified the differences in how we view the source and ownership of business and wealth. The secular marketplace view is, “Man owns what he can build, buy, or take by force. The one with the most toys at the end wins. It is the survival of the fittest.” Those with mindset see themselves as the owner of what they have earned. The non-biblical compromised Christian view is, “God owns everything, but he really doesn’t care about business or how I minister in it.” This Christian makes their career plans and expects God to bless them. They haven’t prayed for guidance in selecting a job or career, because they don’t see this as part of their sacred life. Whatever success they achieve is viewed as their just rewards from their hard work. And because they see themselves as the owner of their finances, they may struggle with how much of it they really must give to God’s work. One of the best gifts you can give yourself is to understand the truth that as a believer, you are not your own. You’ve been bought with a price, and everything you have is simply on loan to you from God, given for you to use in his service. Simply put, you own nothing. Richard Foster talks about being possessionless and positionless, and once we can acknowledge that we truly own nothing and everything we have is God’s gift to us for temporary use in his kingdom, then it takes a huge monkey off our backs. The biblical workplace view is, “God owns my business, career, and resources.” This view causes you to pray for God’s clear guidance in what job to take and how to conduct yourself there. This view recognizes you are a steward of God’s blessings, and you will be held accountable for how you’ve used God’s resources. It causes you to see how much you can give to God’s work, rather than how little. What is your marketplace worldview? Is it biblical or secular or non-biblical? Search your heart and ask yourself this question: What are you typically thinking when you head out to your job each day? Are you often truly aware that you are the representative of God in your workplace, or do you subconsciously leave God out of the picture when you’re at work? Now I know work is work, and there are hard things that must be done on your job. I’m not asking if you go to work singing, “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go.” But I am asking if you truly see your job as a calling—a mission. Do you pray about your testimony on your job? Do you consistently take seriously your opportunity to be an ambassador for Christ where you work? What is your view of your job—your career? Remember the three options: Secular Non-Biblical, which is described as a compromised Christian view Biblical Give it some serious thought because how you view your job really makes a difference—in your attitude, your motivation, and your contentment.
