What is the objective of business? A senior manager of a global financial services company stated without hesitation that the objective of his organization is always to increase profit.ⁱ If this is true of most organizations then the pedestrian understanding of the purpose of management must be to support this objective.

From a biblical worldview, this perspective reflects the worship of money and is therefore not sound biblical thinking. According to Scripture the worship of money precludes the worship of God and vice versa.ⁱⁱ To be clear, the biblical view does not preclude profit, rather it offers a different primary objective, namely, the primary purpose of organizations, and therefore organizational management, is to fulfill the Creation Mandate found in the above text. And because God funds his will,ⁱⁱⁱ a by-product of obedience to God is profitability.

When the primary objective of an organization is money, then obedience to God’s will and ways will be subordinated to the greed of mankind. As noted above, since organizations cannot worship both God and money, the worship of money precludes the worship of God. Therefore, organizations driven by self-centered greed will never practice the biblical values and principles necessary to deliver excellent products and services.

To deliver excellent value requires selfless sacrificial action. This necessitates an attitude of always seeking to put the interest of the customer or client ahead of the organization’s interest. Management must model and require such deportment of all organizational stakeholders and cannot permit greed to interfere. When greed influences management, the organization will be severely impaired in its ability to deliver excellent products and services.

The predicate for organizational excellence is therefore recognition that the purpose of management is primarily alignment with the will and ways of God as expressed in the Creation Mandate. Consequently, a by-product of this alignment is an excellent, growing, and profitable organization.

Here is your business tip. Management must be clear that its purpose is to align with the will and ways of God. Greed must not be allowed to be the driving agenda. Greed will block an organization from delivering excellent products and services. The purpose of management must always be to serve God’s purpose. A key to discovering God’s purpose is alignment with his will and ways as expressed first and foremost in the Creation Mandate.

_______________________________
i. Private communication.
ii. Matthew 6:24.
iii. Matthew 6:33.