The pedestrian metrics of organizational success are money, fame, and influence. It is widely assumed that success can be achieved with little or no help from God. Furthermore, workers are simply pawns to enable organizational leaders to achieve success. People are viewed as fungible.
The idea of human fungibility presumes that people do not have unique callings defined by their Creator. This is a corollary of an atheistic worldview. A Christian worldview asserts that God creates people with intent and purpose. This means that God calls people to specific work assignments. For example, in the above text, the apostle Paul was called from birth to his specific work assignment.
Sadly, many organizational leaders, some of whom may be professing Christians, don’t understand God’s intentionality in creating people; rather, they default to the atheistic presumption of human fungibility. This error is frequently compounded by a disdain for work, because, compared to eternity, work is irrelevant.
Furthermore, when organizational leaders experience professing Christians with a poor work ethic, the leaders frequently fire the workers and decide never to hire Christians again. These leaders erroneously assume that non-Christians will have a better work ethic.
Leaders who embrace this assumption or the presumption of human fungibility don’t understand a key principle of God’s universe. God creates each person with intentionality and purpose. Each person has a specific work assignment from God. Christians who understand this principle will be the best workers. But when they aren’t, the problem is wrong thinking. They need a biblical view of both their calling, and the dignity of work.
Sound organizational leadership is the by-product of sound Christian thinking about people and work. God creates every organization and every person sovereignly, intentionally, and strategically for his purpose. Therefore, the proper way to utilize each person is in alignment with his or her calling, that is, his or her divine design. Plus, organizational leaders must practice and teach a Christian view of work to help workers realize the fullness of their potential. Human potential is released when people gain God’s perspective on their workplace calling and the dignity and divine nature of work.
Leaders with a Christian worldview will build with workers congruently with their callings. This is the only way to build successful organizations because to enjoy eternal and temporal success in a created universe requires alignment with the Creator (Deuteronomy 28 and Psalm 1).
Here is your business tip. Organizations that train people in a Christian work ethic and employ people aligned with their individual callings maximize the opportunity for temporal success. God works with intent and purpose in every area of life—individually and organizationally. Consequently, people are not fungible; they must be employed according to their callings. Failure to do so is abusive. In addition, workers must embrace a sound work ethic including valuing temporal work as part of their individual calling. When organizational leaders build based on biblical principles, excellent products and services will be delivered, all will be blessed, and God will be glorified.
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