From the beginning of time God wanted His people to be productive.
Grudem lets us know that without productivity the world would not have inventions that lead to all the resources we have today. Grudem goes into detail about small items that the world may overlook on a daily basis, to the important items that are focused on daily. For example, he talks about Adam and Eve being brought into the 21st century and them being able to turn on a water faucet and obtain water immediately. Two thousand years of being productive made it possible for the people of the 21st century to have the ability to do that.I agree that being productive shows how the world is being obedient to God’s Word.
God has given us every essential commodity we need in order to live this life He has given us. I feel that Grudem was implying exactly that when he stated: “Subdue implies that Adam and Eve should make the resources of the earth useful for their own benefit, and this implies that God intended them to develop the earth so that they could come to own agricultural products and animals, then housing and works of craftsmanship and beauty, and eventually buildings, means of transportation, cities, and inventions of all sorts’.Grudem also points out that God wants His people to be productive in order to help other people. I agree with him on this point because if we did not work towards helping others, wealthy people would endure all the resources and the poor would lack in their everyday necessities.
In 1 Corinthians 3:10 an example is given about helping one another to build up a foundation according to God. 1 Corinthians chapter three lets us know that we all labor in Christ. While one person lays a foundation another person builds on that very foundation.This particular chapter in the Bible lets us know that God is in favor of being productive and as Grudem says, “productivity is [still] not morally neutral but fundamentally good and pleasing to God”. Grudem understands that today’s society views being productive as evil.
He explains that there are elements tied to producing goods and services that present a temptation to make someone want to act in an immoral or malicious manner. Dr. Greg Waddell wrote an article titled, “Is Work a Necessary Evil? , and in the article he gives a historical account of why work or being productive was viewed as being evil. Dr. Waddell explains that ancient Greek philosophers did not feel that working would enhance their chances of being redeemed, so they felt it was useless and they saw it as a curse.
The ancient Greek philosophers’ main goal was to become like the gods’ so they would have slaves do their work for them. As Grudem commented, there are also temptations to pride, and to turning our hearts away from love for our neighbor and towards selfishness, greed, and hard-heartedness (Grudem 2003).I agree that just as the Greek philosophers sought out selfishness and pride, productivity or working was viewed as evil because the slaves were being dehumanized as they worked for the philosophers. Dr.
Waddell explains that he feels work signifies honor, creativity, and love. Dr. Waddell states, “[vocation] expresses the belief that God is present in calling and equipping people to fulfill a particular purpose in life and this correlates with Grudems’ statement, “that is why God made us with a desire to be productive, to make or do something useful for [ourselves] and other people”.Another aspect of business activity that Grudem inquires about is profit. When people think of profit the first thing that comes to mind is making money and a famous saying usually follows that train of thought; money is the root to all evil.
This saying is derived from the Bible but the scripture is reworded and taken out of context. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “for the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows”. Because some people feel that money is the root to all evil, they view making a profit as being evil.Grudem explains that making a profit not only helps others, but also corresponds with God’s teaching to subdue the earth in making use of the earth’s resources. Therefore, profit is an indication that I am making good and efficient use of the earth’s resources, thus obeying God’s original “creation mandate” to “subdue” the earth (Grudem 2003).
I feel that Grudem made a good point because without profit and making good of the resources God made available to us, how are we to prosper in the earth that God has also supplied?Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us therefore we his servants will arise and built: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:20 KJV). Grudem gives an example of how God, in the Bible, allowed his people to encounter profit using the parable of the minas. In the parable, Grudem explains, Jesus gave the greatest reward to the servant that made the most profit from the one mina God gave to the ten servants. Grudem makes it clear that God expects His people to prosper with the resources he supplies.Good stewardship, in God’s eyes, includes expanding and multiplying whatever resources or stewardship God has entrusted to you (Grudem 2003). In my opinion, in God’s eyes, if we are not making a profit, we are being disobedient, if you will, because He gives many examples of His people profiting in the Bible.
Not only does Grudem point out the parable about the minas, but he also directs his point toward Proverbs where it talks about being a virtuous woman or wife. The English Standard Version of Proverbs 31:18 says, “She perceives that her merchandise is profitable”.Grudem explains that this woman in the Bible is praised for her good work and for making a profit; therefore, he feels that making profit is God’s will. Anything that has to do with money or profit has to have a negative side as well as positive.
Some people will object that earning a profit is exploiting other people (Grudem 2003). In an article written by Bobby Eberle titled, “What Makes Corporate Profits Evil? ” Eberle disagrees that making a profit is exploiting when he says, “The main point is that businesses exist for one reason and one reason only: to make a profit.If someone came up with a great idea for a product or service and decided to just give it away for free, then that person does not run a business. He or she runs a charity”. Grudem feels that anyone in a business deserves to get a profit in order to compensate for that business person’s time, effort, skill, risk, materials, and equipment used in making a product. Even though, he views profit as being fundamentally good, he does not deny that along with making a profit comes some temptation to sin.
He explains that along with making profit comes with a “great disparity in power and knowledge”. I feel Grudem is saying that, if a person has power over another person and that person is in a position to take advantage of that subordinate, and he takes advantage of him, he is going against God’s command and thus, being sinful. Because of greed, some people will take the opportunity to acquire more profit than another person that deserves equal the amount. For that reason, some people view making a profit as being evil.
Grudem concludes his review on profit saying that the ability to produce or gain a profit is a God-given gift that should be viewed as “fundamentally good” and that the act of making a profit is not evil unless a person is committing a sinful act to make the profit. Conclusion In the book “Business for the Glory of God”, Grudem explains that even from the beginning of time, starting with Adam and Eve, God wanted His people to be productive. Productivity assist people today in getting all the resources they need in order to live.Even though, producing goods and services can be viewed as being evil, the overall act itself is fundamentally good. I feel that profit could not be possible without productivity. When a person is productive, making a profit is the outcome.
God used many parables in the Bible to let His people know that making a profit is fundamentally good. With every advantage there is a possibility of a disadvantage and making a profit has one. Grudem lets his readers know that being dishonest in making a profit will cause people to call the actions of making a profit evil.Making a profit is a God-given gift and can be beneficial if done honestly. References Waddell, G.
(2013). “Is Work a Necessary Evil”. Retrieved from www. leadstrategic. com Grudem, W.
(2003). Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business. Wheaton: IL: Crossway Eberle, B. (2012). “What makes Corporate profits Evil? ” Retrieved from www. gopusa.
com Book Review Rubric| | Score| Comments| Research: 25 Points Possible Appropriate research demonstrated by the use of scholarly, academic sources.Primary sources used whenever possible and appropriate supplemented with high quality secondary sources. | | 0| | | Bad| Failing| Poor| Average| Good| Excellent| Perfect| | | | | 0| 12. 5| 15| 17. 5| 20| 22. 5| 25| | of 25| | | Writing: 25 Points Possible Writing level appropriate for 300-level course.
Appropriate word selection, organization, flow of thought, transition, grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. Clear and understandable, communicating well with reader. | | 0| | | Bad| Failing| Poor| Average| Good| Excellent| Perfect| | | | | 0| 12. | 15| 17.
5| 20| 22. 5| 25| | of 25| | | Content: 40 Points Possible Length of Book Review appropriate. Demonstration of interaction with and mastery of subject matter including development of ideas, interaction with and integration of scholarly research, integration of biblical worldview, etc. Author’s main theme(s) articulated clearly. Interaction with main points evident.
Agreement/Disagreement with author’s point of view supported by well-reasoned arguments. | | 0| | | Bad| Failing| Poor| Average| Good| Excellent| Perfect| | | | | 0| 20| 24| 28| 32| 36| 40| | of 40| | |Format and Style: 10 Points Possible Overall appearance and style of the paper. Conformity with APA to the extent appropriate. | | 0| | | Bad| Failing| Poor| Average| Good| Excellent| Perfect| | | | | 0| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| | of 10| | | Final Total of 100| | | | | Bad| Does not evidence a good faith attempt to complete the assignment.
Does not meet minimums in any significant way. | Failing| Significantly falls short of minimum expectations for the assignment. | Poor| Does not satisfy minimum expectations for the assignment. Average| Satisfies minimum expectations for the assignment without additional positive elements such as additional scholarly sources, additional posts, very insightful comments that advance the overall discussion, etc. | Good| Exceeds minimums expectations for the assignment in some ways. | Excellent| Significantly exceeds minimum expectations for the assignment in many areas.
| Perfect| Ostensibly exceeds minimum expectations for the assignment in all ways. Need for improvement of assignment is not evident in any way. |
