Two Small Things You Can Do to Practice Your Faith in the Marketplace by Dave Kahle

           For many Christian professionals and businesspeople, the prospect of practicing our faith in the marketplace is overwhelming.  It’s easy to remain paralyzed in the face of so many things calling for our time and attention.  In the face of an overwhelming number of choices, most marketplace Christians default to what’s comfortable and familiar, which is to focus on worldly success in business and give up on having an impact for the Kingdom.

To break through this inertia, here are two small things you can do. These are small acts that get you started and moving on the right path.

            1.  Pay your bills on time.

           This is such a basic thing that I’m almost embarrassed to bring it up. If you are going to be a good steward of the worldly resources that God has put into your hands, you must start by handling your money, and your business’s money, with discipline. 

           When you chose to buy the home, rent the space, buy the car, invest in software, take on supplies, etc., you made a promise to your vendors and lenders that you would pay back according to their terms.  To not do so puts you in the position of a debtor, and cedes power and influence to the person or companies to whom you owe the money.  It adds one more thing to think about to your list of worries.

           On the other hand, if you stay current with everyone, it keeps you in good standing with your vendors, marks you as reliable and responsible, and may, in the long term, open up additional opportunities for you. All that’s from a worldly perspective. 

           In a spiritual sense, it says to God, through your actions, not your words, that you believe his promise to you that He will provide.  It launches you into a new stage of your relationship with Him. You are going from just believing His Word, to actually acting on it. It’s a step up from mumbled prayers at a church meeting to actually stepping out on faith and acting on it. 

           I call it moving from belief to knowledge.  You come to rely on Him, not just because He told you to in His word, but because you have experienced it in your life.   Expect to grow closer to Him as a result.

           I have been in business for over three decades.  I’ve weathered two significant business reversals, and at least three serious economic disruptions in the country. In all of that, I don’t think I have ever not paid a bill on time. That’s a testimony to God’s provision.

           If you are struggling with cash flow, decide to trust God to provide, and make a commitment to stick to the promises you made.  Ask him for a date on which you begin to pay every bill on time and trust him to help you get there.

           Money, and your attitude toward it and practices with it, is often the bridge between the world’s economic system and God’s economy.  It is how the world measures and rewards worldly success.  On the spiritual side, it is a useful tool to grow your spirituality and a test to develop your trust in Him.

            2.  Give more.

           This refers to the quantity as well as the quality of your giving.

           In terms of quantity, if you are giving a fixed percentage of your income, no matter how you calculate it, you can add a percentage point today.  So, you can go from 10% to 11%, or whatever applies to you.  When you do that, regardless of your current financial circumstances, you take the same step I mentioned above.  You say to
God, through your actions, not just your words, “God, I trust you.” You move from a worldly attitude toward money to a Kingdom-oriented view of it.

           Everyone reading this post can do that today, even if you are in adverse financial circumstances. I know that sounds a bit off, but I have, whenever I was in a time of financial pressure, I decided to increase my giving.  It was a statement to God that I trust His word, I trust Him and I’m going to act on that trust.

           If you own a business, and are not giving through the business, now is the time to consider giving from the business, out of the business's cash flow.  The same rationale applies.  It moves you out of the realm of purely worldly values and begins to acknowledge that the business is God’s, and you are a steward of its assets and resources.

           Because a business is potentially a larger and more significant enterprise than just you personally, it has greater resources, in terms of money, people and influence, and therefore offers the possibility of greater impact.  Deciding to give through the business, and then acting on that decision, is a first step toward a larger role in the Kingdom and more influence in the world.

           But, just as important as the quantity of giving is the quality of your giving. Few Christians give this concept this much thought, and it’s too bad because it offers a huge opportunity to impact the world through the Kingdom.

           First, understand that the Bible offers no examples of giving to institutions. Every gift in the New Testament was made by individuals to other individuals. That’s probably not a message you have ever heard before. 

           What would happen if you could strive to (understanding that it is not always possible) to make your gifts directly to individuals in your sphere of influence whose life could be enhanced by a gift of money?

           Following this idea, here’s what my wife and I have done for decades.  Instead of writing a check to a church or non-profit, we set aside, out of each piece of income, a certain amount, and deposit it into a special checking account which we call the Give account.

           This follows the Biblical teaching in I Corinthians 16

           Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come, no collections will have to be made.

           At this point, the money has been given, but it hasn’t yet been distributed.  We then look for people in our world who may need a gift of money. We both agree and make a gift, seeking to be anonymous and giving it in Jesus’ name. It’s not always possible. A check, for example, has our name on it. But that is the standard to which we strive.

           This makes us, in conjunction with the spirit guiding us, responsible for the gift and forces us to be more attuned to the needs of people around us.  And, it fits the model taught in the New Testament.

           What if you did something similar with your personal funds, and began a similar approach with your business giving? Suppose you created a business fund dedicated to ’giving” and then asked for input from your employees, vendors, and maybe even customers as to people whose lives could be impacted by a gift of money.

           These are two easy, small things you can do today that will eventually have a huge impact on your spiritual journey and nudge you further along the road of living a Christ-centered life in the marketplace.