Musings on The Christian and Business

It occurs to me that for a Christ follower (with at least a slightly engaged conscience), you are sometimes restricted in what kind of business you purchase and what kind of products and services you offer. For instance, I love books but I don't think I could ever own a bookstore. Why not? Well, because a bookstore sells a lot of books and magazines that I wouldn't be comfortable as a Christian selling. Could I get away with just selling "decent" books? Probably not. And even if I could I'm not sure it would be profitable. And who would want to spend all of their time censoring which books are OK and which are questionable? And of course some books might be "grey" area ones where you aren't sure if they are OK or not. Some Christians might not have a problem with selling all books, but I don't think I could do it.

Another business I have considered is owning a resort. Owning and operating a resort in some beautiful locale seems like the perfect business. But if you own such a resort you can't really choose and pick who your guests are or control what they do on your premises. Would you be OK to have guests who you know will most likely be doing things that you ethically don't support? For instance, what if NAMBLA (the North American Man Boy Love Association) wanted to rent your facilities and you really don't support anything they say or do? Or what about a same sex couple on their honeymoon? Or even a young unmarried couple wanting to get away for a romantic retreat? I want to underline here that I don't condone any sort of cruelty or unkindness against people who's sexual behavior I disagree with. And some Christians might have no problem with these things as the law protects these people from being discriminated against (and hey, maybe it's a chance to minister and be a witness to these people, right) but I wonder how I would feel if I was the owner. Should one just obey the Golden Rule and offer lodging to all who ask? I feel conflicted on this one.

Another example of this: I talked with someone the other day who knew a person (a Christ follower) who as part of their job basically had to lie all the time. "Were they in sales?" I said. Turned out this person was. Sales is an area where deception seems to either be required or at least is a major temptation. Deception comes in many forms; outright lieing, witholding certain information, and sharing selective information (but not all of it). Now don't get me wrong, I have known a few excellent Christian salespeople over my lifetime - but very few. Sales can be a tricky area for Christians involved in business.

The ironic thing is that we as Christians sometimes have no problem supporting businesses that we ourselves might find morally impossible to operate! It might be something small: like buying your jeans in a store that sells shirts with immoral slogans on them. Or buying diamonds from a jeweler who gets their rough diamonds from a country where the goverment uses that money to oppress their own people. Or renting a movie from a place that also rents out soft or explicit porn. Or buying body spray from a company who uses illicit advertising/messages to sell their product. The question always comes back; where do you draw the line?

Anyway, this post is not about trying to come up with a solution (or a judgment) on anyone, but is an attempt to illustrate some of the ethical challenges involved for the Christian business person. I'm guessing some would say my conscience is way too sensitive (or completely off!) but these are honestly some of the things I think about. Have a good Wednesday!