The Abbott government's overseas aid policy encourages engagement with the private sector. For agencies following Jesus this means grappling with whether their role is to challenge business or to foster it. Are they to follow Jesus in upturning the tables of the money changers in the temple (Mk 11:17), or in some less conspicuous example (Lk 14:13 for example) by boosting the livelihoods of the poor with business development and development by business. Good governments, like thoughtful Christians, wrestle with the tension between these two competing calls for justice.
Jesus' most colourful and obvious interaction with business is his violent upturning of the money changers tables in the temple (Mk 11:17). Entrepreneurial people had turned the need of worshippers into selfish business. Jesus is quick to take them to task.
This incident reflects the churches role in challenging business when it is exploitative or inappropriate. Campaigns for fairly traded products are a current example.
Jesus is also supportive of legitimate taxation (Mk 12:17), a challenge to both individuals and business today. Churches and both sides of politics have taken up this challenge.
That people will engage on productive business to sustain themselves is the backdrop of the whole Bible (eg Ez 27:13,17,19,25; Mt 11;160. Working for a living is the New Testament norm (2Th 3:10). There is nothing intrinsically dirty about being involved in business. Dishonest business dealings, of course, are called to account like every other unjust behaviour (eg Ho 12;7).
That churches find themselves amongst the poor (Jn 12:8), helping people get started in businesses is as it should be. It is recognition that the goal is not to give people health and education and other services but to enable them to provide these for themselves and their families - even more - to have the resources to pursue their own hopes and aspirations, whatever these are.
"But what if a business we helped start turns into a greedy, exploitative monster!?"
Firstly, we need to recognise that this is completely possible in the most perfectly planned and executed project. Development projects are like lighting a fire - you never know where they will spread because they are about freeing people to pursue their own hopes and aspirations. We hope they free people to be more of what God has created them to be (Jn 10:10), but we know that freedom can be misused (1Co 8:9).
Secondly, Christians engaging in this space are challenged to build a better breed of business - one that makes profits but values people. With what is often a long partnership to helping small businesses get started they have an ideal opportunity to do just that. There are some of these out there and a few examples at home, but we could do with a lot more models of profit making, people valuing businesses.
So set up trading tables and flip them over, followers of Jesus and leaders of good government, but don't think that you can do only one or the other. The deeper challenge is creating something that builds wealth and honours people. Jesus says this is possible with a proper alignment of the heart (Pv 14:34), not merely choosing one side of a dilemma.
So set up trading tables and flip them over, followers of Jesus and leaders of good government, but don't think that you can do only one or the other. The deeper challenge is creating something that builds wealth and honours people. Jesus says this is possible with a proper alignment of the heart (Pv 14:34), not merely choosing one side of a dilemma.
