A company hired a CFO. The man was a friend of one of the owners; they attended the same local church. The CFO seemed qualified for the job, at least his training and experience appeared appropriate.
This company routinely engaged in various transactions memorialized in contracts. Part of the CFO's responsibility was to review all contracts. The contracts could be voluminous and complicated legal documents and frequently required considerable time to review. Terms and conditions had to be understood and risk had to be assessed.
Soon after joining the company, the CFO’s inability to timely perform the company’s contract review process became evident. He agonized over each contract. There were many ways for the CFO to make mistakes. Fear gripped him. What if he misunderstood or omitted something? His workflow slowed and accordingly the whole company slowed down. His aversion to risk crippled the company. Compounding the situation was the CFO's refusal to take responsibility for anything. When something went wrong, he blamed others.
The CEO was a Christian. Consequently, he and I both understood that the underlying problem with the CFO was spiritual; we knew that the root problem was wrong theology. The CFO’s theology was based on a “gospel of fig leaves.” He was seeking to be perfect because he believed that God required human perfection. Therefore, he could not accept making any mistakes; to make mistakes was to be flawed and unacceptable with God. He made the error of the Galatian believers who fell from the gospel of grace.
Though the CFO was a member of a local church that professed the gospel of grace, he only nominally embraced it. He claimed that he was regenerated by the sovereign work of God, but in practice he was trying to be good enough to merit favor with God. He was trying to save himself; therefore, he had to be perfect. He could not tolerate mistakes and errors since they implied he was flawed before God.
This story illustrates the importance of sound theology and, in particular, a sound gospel and how it practically impacts our lives.
In Christianity there is only one sound gospel—the gospel of the grace of Christ. Most of the Bible is the Old Testament and a major message of the Old Testament is that no matter what man does, man can never do enough good works to satisfy God’s standard of righteousness, therefore, mankind needs a savior. No person can self-save; the only savior is Jesus. This is the core of the gospel of grace and the foundation of sound theology. Theology has consequences. Good theology has good consequences and bad theology has bad consequences.
Here is your business tip. In a universe created by a spirit being, spiritual reality is primary and physical reality is secondary. To enjoy sustained blessings and favor in the physical universe requires proper understanding of and alignment with the Creator. Management must always recognize the importance of alignment with the will and ways of the Creator. When misalignment occurs, the organization’s ability to function properly will be impaired. Misalignment is sin, and sin has negative consequences. Sin, such as the wrong gospel, will manifest in people’s work product. Wise managers will learn how to discern sin in workers by evaluating their work, knowing that excellent work product is rooted in sound theology. |
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