“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Growing Dominion, Part 46
One of the best ways for a merchant, tradesman, or businessman to determine if he is thinking biblically about his enterprise when he is managing it is through reflecting on how he behaves when he is a customer. We all have a sinful tendency to want all circumstances to be taken into account when a cranky customer comes into our shop, but point to the letter of the law when we are being a cranky customer in someone else’s shop.
So one of the best disciplines a businessman can establish for himself is the discipline of being a godly patron of other businesses. Here are just a few things that can be done (or not done) in the course of this discipline. Do not take advantage of a brother or sister in your church by using the fellowship time after worship as a time for getting free consultations. Do not waste any time hoping that a brother in business might cut you a deal because you are both Christians. If you are both brothers, then you give to him instead of angling for a discount with a little fish on it. Don’t take advantage of a brother in business by “pleading the costs” and driving a shrewd bargain. When he finds out later that you make three times what he does, and he was giving you a break because of your poverty, he might have to get grace from the Lord for any future dealings with you. Don’t say during the course of your haggling that an item you are attempting to obtain is “a piece of junk” and then boast of your purchasing prowess when you get home. Don’t make life more difficult for those who have nothing to do with your problem. The chances are pretty good that the waitress had nothing to do with the lack of parking outside.