Kingdom values may cause business setbacks

The business world values profit over principle, and circumstances rarely align such that the higher road and the wealthy road merge. The business person who lacks integrity often gets the upper hand of the honest dealer, the deceitful regularly overtake the good. The Psalms are filled with exhortations against the wicked, “from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me” (ESV, Ps 43:1b).

One may wonder, as David did in Psalm 73, what profit there is in the way of righeousness when the wicked competition prospers? In order to understand; however, one must have a long-term view. Deceit may prevail for a time, but it will eventually be exposed and demolished by its own lies. The business person who maintains their integrity; however, will never suffer from exposure - if anything it will make them more successful. This is God’s doing, “for the wisdom of this world is folly with God.” (ESV, 1 Cor 3:19a)

A business person who seeks to obey God’s Kingdom values will receive God’s blessing but shouldn’t be surprised when their decisions negatively impact the business' profits. A stand against corruption may result in higher prices, fewer employees, poorer living conditions or, in the case of Paul’s Mexican ranch, the exit of your business ((Burkett, pg. 17)).

Therefore a business person ought not to fall into despair because their business is hindered by its commitment to Kingdom values. Instead a wise business person will remind themselves of the end result of their way of life, and the end result of the deceitful, and count their business' value in years, even decades, and not quarters or months alone.

Paul’s story doesn’t impress me. Without more details, it’s hard to believe he couldn’t have found another way to handle corruption at the border and retrieve the equipment he needed for his ranch. Even so, his story demonstrates that some decisions to follow Kingdom values will result in financial setbacks other businesses don’t have.

To start a company in another country on a business visa that holds Kingdom values there’s a high likelihood of setbacks. It could be tempting to view the business as temporary. This view is dangerous; however, since a short-sighted view often makes corrupt practices appear lucrative. Thus it may be valuable for me to hold a long-term view (5+ years) of the business' impact in the country even if I don’t expect it will last that long.

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