Audiobook2 hours
Business for the Glory of God: The Bible's Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business
Written by Wayne Grudem
Narrated by Maurice England
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Can business activity in itself be morally good and pleasing to God? Sometimes business can seem so shady-manipulating the "bottomline", deceiving the consumer, or gaining promotions because of whom you know. But Wayne Grudem introduces a novel concept: business itself glorifies God when it is conducted in a way that imitates God's character and creation. He shows that all aspects of business, including ownership, profit, money, competition, and borrowing and lending, glorify God because they are reflective of God's nature. Though Grudem isn't naive about the easy ways these activities can be perverted and used as a means to sin, he knows that Christians can be about the business of business. This biblically based book is a thoughtful guide to imitating God during interactions with customers, coworkers, employees, and other businesses. See how your business, and your life in business can be dedicated to God's glory.
Author
Wayne Grudem
Wayne Grudem (PhD, University of Cambridge) is Distinguished Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary. He is a member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible, the general editor of the ESV Study Bible, and the author of over twenty-five books.
More audiobooks from Wayne Grudem
"Free Grace" Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What the Bible Says about How to Know God's Will: "Factors to Consider in Making Ethical Decisions" Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Poverty of Nations: A Sustainable Solutions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Decisions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What the Bible Says about Divorce and Remarriage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What the Bible Says about Birth Control, Infertility, Reproductive Technology, and Adoption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Business for the Glory of God
Related audiobooks
Faith Driven Entrepreneur: What It Takes to Step Into Your Purpose and Pursue Your God-Given Call to Create Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Humility: True Greatness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bible Doctrine: Audio Lectures: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What's Best Next: Audio Lectures: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Christian Entrepreneur: Dream, Plan, Execute, Grow Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Masculine Mandate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What He Must Be: ...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Discipline of Grace: God's Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good to Great in God's Eyes: 10 Practices Great Christians Have in Common Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secrets of Joyful Giving Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What is the Mission of the Church?: Making sense of social justice, Shalom and the Great Commission Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gospel Deeps: Reveling in the Excellencies of Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Measure of a Man: Twenty Attributes of a Godly Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dangerous Duty of Delight: The Glorified God and the Satisfied Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foxe's Book of Martyrs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Can We Know the Truth? Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Christian Manifesto Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scandalous: The Cross and The Resurrection of Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Basic Christianity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thoughts for Young Men Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Expert Ownership: Launching Faith-Filled Entrepreneurs into Greater Freedom and Impact Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life of God in the Soul of Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5True Spirituality: How to Live for Jesus Moment by Moment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Christianity For You
The 5 Love Languages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little Book of Letting Go Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Return of the Gods Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership 25th Anniversary: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cost of Discipleship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries in Marriage: Understanding the Choices That Make or Break Loving Relationships Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: Third Edition with Bonus Content, New Reflections Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Switch on Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Garden Within: Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More Than a Carpenter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weight of Glory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Business for the Glory of God
Rating: 4.185185198148148 out of 5 stars
4/5
54 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Clarified some ideas regarding working and business as "ministry" for life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5it will change the way you look at life. May God be glorified
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Super helpful book on business from a biblical perspective. It provides a convincing arguement that business is in line with scripture and is beneficial to society.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Super good for all employees and managers alike who struggle to see work as a ministry.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Concise survey of the topic. Grudem addresses 11 different aspects of business from a Scriptural perspective.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Solid, biblical, and a great understanding of money. Can’t recommend enough.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With clarity, compassion and scholarship, Grudem has written an accessible and powerful treatise on business for the glory of God.I highly recommend this slim volume for any Christian in business.I love how Grudem starts each chapter with a confession that every aspect of business has the capacity for glorifying God and the capacity for the temptation to sin. He then ends each chapter with the encouragement that just because something has the capacity for evil does not make the thing itself evil.Business, productivity, money, profit, the accumulation of goods, these are not evil things. In fact, they can, and should, provide wonderful opportunities to bring glory to God and to serve our fellow man.This was a wonderful book that I will definitely be reading again.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An excellent little book on a most important topic. Dr Grudem argues that business is not morally neutral nor is it a necessary evil. Rather it is a legitimate sphere of creation which is honouring to God. He shows that it is solidly grounded in God's created order and when engaged in properly, it is a calling as spiritual as being a pastor.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"Business for the Glory of God" by Wayne Grudem is adapted from a paper he wrote entitled "How Business in Itself Can Glorify God". Grudem refers to business as "a neglected way to glorify God". He argues that the central aspects of business are fundamentally good and pleasing to God. He discusses 11 business aspects:1. Ownership2. Productivity3. Employment 4. Commercial transactions (buying and selling)5. Profit6. Money7. Inequality of possessions8. Competition9. Borrowing and lending10. Attitudes of the heart11. Effect on world povertyThe basis of Grudem's argument is that Christian's have 2 choices, to be pleasing to God by imitating him (Ephesians 5:1) or to displease God by sinning. It is within the frame work of these choices that business can become good or bad.He frequently references familiar scripture to make uncommon arguments. For example he writes "When God gave the command, 'You shall not steal' (Ex. 20:15), he affirmed the validity of personal ownership of possessions." It's a long leap from not stealing to affirming the validity of personal ownership of possessions. The commandment against stealing only shows that possessions are owned by entities other than yourself, while it doesn't validate personal ownership it also doesn't eliminate personal ownership of possessions. In nearly every chapter Grudem defends his thesis that a given business aspect is good by appealing to the Christian calling to imitate God, in the chapter on Money (chapter 6). He writes "If money were evil in itself, then God would not have any. But he says, 'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts' (Hag 2:8)." It does follow that if the Lord posses silver and gold (which were and are used as money) they cannot be evil. What doesn't follow is that Christians can and should imitate God in every sense; after all didn't God send a flood and cause the plagues?In each chapter he returns to the concept that “We will find that in every aspect of business there are multiple layers of opportunities to give glory to god, as well as multiple temptations to sin.” This is perhaps best seen in the employment chapter; employees can be a great blessing and can be blessed or one of many other combinations, it’s easy for an employer to exploit and mistreat employees but employees can also exploit their employment and mistreat their employer. It’s also easily seen in his argument on the aspect of profit; profit can be used to help others and multiply resources or it can be used to glorify self. Grudem frequently returns to the argument that the proper use of resources results in the betterment of society and blessing from God. This is seen is the definition of profit “profit is thus an indication that I have made something useful for others, and in that way it can show that I am doing good for others in the goods in services that I sell.” This argument borders on a prosperity gospel message; if my business betters society God will bless it with profit. Business that don’t do good works may also prosper, the factory that exploits workers may still turn a profit but it is not “doing good for others” it is doing evil and justifying it under the definition of profit. Regardless of the potential flaws in the arguments "Business for the Glory of God" is an excellent starting place and launching pad for further study into Christian business. Since the book was first presented as a paper it lacks completely defined and supported arguments, while this may turn some readers away it will drive more to study the business aspects and arguments on their own or in small groups, which is perhaps the best use of the book.