Success and the Christian Business

When you think about success, what image comes to mind? A big house with a swimming pool, well behaved children and nice cars on the drive? All of these can be an indication of success but the problem with this definition is that it will make the majority of people who do not have any of these seem pretty unsuccessful by comparison. So how do we define success? The Bible dictionary defines success as the accomplishment of an intended task, the fulfilment of a purpose. It is not measured by wealth, but by the carrying out of a project through to its conclusion. Thus Abraham's servant asked God to, "give me success today" (Gen. 24:12), meaning "Let me find the bride I was sent to fetch". Success involves the satisfactory accomplishment of the milestones that have been set along the way to reach the final destination. Thus, the way to success is a journey of adventure leading to a destination. The journey to the land of success is a covenant walk. Behind every successful Christian business is effective planning with a framework of performance attached to it. An assessment of your performance against the targets set provides an indication of the level of your success at each stage. Called to be successful Outstanding success is of God! Success is your kingdom right, your redemptive right. God has destined you for all-round success and wants you to succeed abundantly in your business. You have to be convinced that He wants you to succeed in your business. Begin to see yourself as successful. As a man believes in his heart, so is he (Prov. 23:7). Visualise your business growing in leaps and bounds for God. Use your imagination to focus on your future as you remember His faithfulness in the past. See yourself with the mind of Christ and as you do, you will see a portrait of success. The picture you paint of yourself can determine the level of your success. Dream big dreams about your business. Remember that Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Why God wants you to succeed God wants to show you off as a demonstration of His power and glory. He wants your success to serve as an example of what His love and power can do in a person's life. Your Christian business is on display. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says that He has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the wise, for His strength is made perfect in weakness. It will serve as a testimony to unbelievers. Secondly, He wants you to be successful so that you can carry out the great commission. He has called us to be partners with Him in the work of spreading the gospel. As our businesses prosper, we can use our resources for God's work and good things will start to happen. What is a covenant of success? Covenants are essentially formal announcements by God of His purposes and intentions. Most define how God's people are to relate to Him. A covenant is a commitment by God to do what He wants to do. It is a formal binding agreement defining relationships and responsibilities between two or more parties. Because the covenant was legally binding, God chose to express His commitment to human beings in this readily understood form. So biblical covenants define the relationship between God and His people and state His plans and purposes. The formula for success Imagine a business consultancy introducing a concept which it guarantees will double your company's productivity, increase sales, improve staff morale, increase profit, always keep you at the cutting edge and increase the efficiency and performance of your business. In addition, the consultants are so convinced of the effectiveness of this method that they agree that you pay only on results. They have probably got your attention at this point. This is too good to be true you tell yourself. You will probably test the validity of the concept because at the end of the day, you have little or nothing to lose. You turn the theory over in your mind from time to time and even begin to imagine great success. However, there is absolutely no guarantee that it will be successful for you. No system is 100% failure proof Joshua is a character that all Christian business people can relate to. He was responsible for leading the children of Israel out of the wilderness into the promised land - the land of success that God had prepared for them. He was the leader of multitudes and no doubt much of his time was taken up with administrative matters as he kept his focus on the strategic will of God. Even though, there were prophetic people around him, God gave him responsibility as the overall leader. It makes many of our businesses look small in comparison. It's almost comparable to God giving you a large vision for your business. God comes on the scene and encourages him to be strong and courageous because He is with him and then He gives him the key to success. "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it: for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success." This point is also made in Psalm 1:1-3: "How blessed is the man, who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither: and whatever he does, he prospers." The secret key to the door of success is continuous meditation on and obedience to the word of God. Meditation is the practice of pondering, considering and reflecting on scripture. It must be done in total reliance on the Holy Spirit to bring revelation of truth and meaning. It must also result in obedient response. We are to receive the word of God in our inmost being. This is often illustrated by eating, as in Jeremiah 15:16 "Your words were found and I ate them, and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart". All the above factors combine to give make us successful in business. The call to meditate is a command to be disciplined, watchful and prepared, to think clearly and above all to know God. We should consider meditation as a clear instruction from God that deserves our attention and obedience. We live in days of uncertainty especially in the business arena. We are tempted to do things the way the world does in order to survive. To meditate is to be exposed to the work of the Holy Spirit. The abiding word is the way to overcome uncertainty. The call to meditate is a call to think his thoughts and learn from Him. Bringing a divine perspective is what distinguishes our businesses from secular companies. Biblical meditation will leave you in no doubt that the Christian mind has a wholly supernatural orientation. It is the life of Christ in us that will remain unshaken. We are destined to succeed, therefore let us use the key to open the door to success.

Ola Aroyehun is the editor of The Christian Business Magazine, a magazine dedicated to applying biblical principles to business.