Profit Margins

First Published October 31, 2011

My father was a businessman. Over his lifetime he owned several businesses including the grocery store in which I grew up. I learned a lot from working in the family store, observing how my parents ran the business, and how they interacted with people. My father told me often that there are two ways people remain rich in the business world. They spend less than they make, or they make more than they spend.

It is very true that our life in Christ is not a business. Grace and love from God the Father through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus are contrary to our Western business sense. However, since we are familiar with the notion of making and spending money, we will see how business and finance terms relate to an enriched spiritual life.

First we must remember that our God is Lord over everything, and He is creator of both the spiritually rich and the spiritually poor.

Proverbs 22:2
Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.

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Material things will not last, but your good character is a perpetual gift.

Proverbs 22:1
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

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Put God first in your life and you will profit with valuable treasure: salvation.

Isaiah 33:6
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

Proverbs 22:4
Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

Here’s an enriched adage: People grow spiritually rich in life by giving of themselves that which God abundantly supplies: salvation, wisdom, knowledge, and good character.

Copyright 2011 Karen Vaughn