Business Tips from a Biblical Worldview

At the end of his epistle to the Colossians, the apostle Paul provided insight into some of his key relationships in his organization. One such person was an Asian man named Tychicus, who is mentioned five times in Scripture (Act 20:4, Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12, and Titus 3:12). On each occasion, the context of the reference is his work with Paul.

Scripture does not reveal how Paul and Tychicus met, but perhaps he was part of Paul ’s discipleship group in Ephesus. The existence and impact of this group was briefly recorded in Acts 19:9–10.

Regardless of how Tychicus and Paul met, Tychicus became a close associate of Paul and an emissary of communication for him, which was clearly an important work assignment.

In Colossians 4:7, Paul described his relationship with Tychicus in three ways, which gives us some clues as to how Paul viewed community within his organization. These three aspects of community can be categorized as family, service, and ownership.

Family: The phrase “beloved brother” is a familial term. Since we don’t have any indication that Tychicus and Paul were actually brothers, the term intimates Tychicus was a spiritual brother—a brother in Christ. The attribution beloved is a translation of the Greek word that refers to sacrificial living. “Beloved brother” suggests a close familial relationship with a fellow believer in Christ that was marked by mutual sacrifice to help each other align with the will and ways of God.

Service: The phrase “faithful minister” refers to the trust that Paul had in Tychicus as a worker. The Greek word translated minister means “to execute the commands of another” (Christ). The term implies that work is to be performed in obedience to the will and ways of Christ. “Faithful minister” designates both the trustworthiness and alignment of Tychicus with the will and ways of God as expressed in his work.

Ownership: The phrase “fellow servant” refers to ownership. In the first century, slavery was a common practice; slaves were the workers and were considered chattel. Therefore Paul used this metaphor to describe the relationship that both he and Tychicus had with Christ. They were servants or slaves of Christ, that is, they were owned by the same person and therefore served the same master.

It was out of these three aspects of community that Paul and Tychicus worked together. There was a deep familial bond of mutual support that flowed into the trustworthy service for Christ. This bond was based on a profound understanding that they both were servants of Christ. Based on this relationship, Paul and Tychicus worked to the glory of God.

Here is your business tip. To build organizations that deliver excellent value to their customers, management must build with trustworthy workers who are bound together in a spiritually familial relationship (brothers and sisters in Christ). Each worker must be committed to sacrificially serving—helping—one another and to executing his or her work based on obedience to the will and ways of Christ. Workers must have a profound sense that ultimate accountability is to Christ who is the master of all workers, including managers.  Such workers will labor as a mutually edifying community that empowers organizations to deliver excellent value propositions to those the organization is called to serve.

LISTEN TO THE TEACHING: Insight into Working in Community