Why does business matter to God?

Why does business matter to God? As a business major at Canadian Mennonite University this is a question that has kept me up at night as I think about what I want to do with my degree once I graduate this spring. I received an answer when I attended the Mennonite Economic Development Associates conference at the beginning of November.

The team went in order to participate in a student competition against other Mennonite schools across North America. The competition was a great opportunity to put what I have learned in the classroom into practice. However, what I will remember the most from the conference were the lectures by Jeff Van Duzer, the dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University. During the weekend he delivered two presentations entitled, “Ethical Risks: Why Do Good People End Up Doing Bad Things?” and “Why Business Matters to God.” It was through these lectures that I gained a better understanding of what it means to live out my faith within my vocation of business.

In the first lecture Van Duzer explained the three main reasons why people end up doing bad things in business: speed, spin, and stuff. In regards to speed, he explains that the growth of new technology has made it possible to accelerate many aspects of business. This acceleration increases the expectations of business people until they become so overwhelmed that they start cutting corners to meet deadlines.

Under those greater expectations the art of spinning the truth has infiltrated the business world more frequently. The last reason comes from the common desire to accumulate material things, which may lead to an increase in unethical decisions. While these three reasons do not speak to why business matters to God, they do act as guidelines of what to avoid when making decisions for a business.

The second lecture helped me gain a better understanding as to what I should strive for in running a business. The common depiction of Christians incorporating their faith in matters of business is the generous business person—giving back to charities through financial donations. Van Duzer affirms donation as a key part of faithful business practices, but says that donations alone are not enough. People need to intertwine their faith into every part of their business. To go beyond simply donating, business owners need to consider the purpose and practices of their business.

Many entrepreneurs assume that the primary purpose of business is to make money by providing a service. Van Duzer turns this around and says that the purpose of business is to provide a service for people. This is accomplished by providing goods and services and creating jobs, both of which further the growth of a community. The main point Van Duzer stressed is that a business needs to work within a limit: no business practices should cause harm to any of the stakeholders. Though there was much more to what Van Duzer had to say, his ideas in these areas helped me to understand how I should approach business as Christian.

Ethan Heidebrecht is a student at the Redekop School of Business at Canadian Mennonite University. He is from Crossfield, Alberta, and is a member of Bergthal Mennonite Church in Didsbury Alberta.