The Greatest Command and Business

I have several business books that I recommend to people, it’s just not all of them have anything to do with business. I recommend the usual titles like “Crush It” by Garry Vee, and “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. I also recommend things like “The Big Book Of A.A.” which gets me a weird look. (I have never had a drop of Alcohol in my system before, but I read it in college and still thumb through it when I need a devotional thought). I then explain to them that it is just as relevant to someone looking for the tools needed to be a successful person. It preaches consistency and integrity, which is the kind of person I like to deal with.

I believe that scripture may be the best business book out there though. I like many people I worship with, find myself thankful after I have gone to worship because I hear something I was very much needing to hear, based off of where I am at mentally, and a lot of that revolves around how the business is doing. Are sales slow? Odds are I’m needing to be reminded to surrender to God right now. Are sales up? Odds are I should take a moment to say thanks to God and those around me. But I find that these are tips I’m reading time and time again, in the secular business books I am starting to immerse myself into.

For example, In “Crushing It” Garry Vee’s follow up book to “Crush It”, he talks about instagram as a casual opportunity to network with complete strangers. If you are able to come across someone and enjoy their content and connect with them at a time when they just happen to be in need of a service you provide, do you let them know? Yes, but it’s not for the sake of the money you make from the transaction. It’s because you genuinely want to be the person providing a service that will help this person you have grown fond of. You have a contextual relationship with that person and you want to see them succeed, and have something that you can offer them. Those relational transactions make me feel good, and the more I have of them- the better I feel.

They say you can smell a phony a mile away. True, I can usually tell when someone is there for my money and when someone is there with the express purpose of helping me with my problem. I can usually tell when someone is wanting something from me and when someone is there to provide a service and the money comes as an afterthought. I believe that is by design.

(28) And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” (29) Jesus answered, “The most important is ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (30) And you shall love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (31) The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (32) And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. (33) And to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (34) And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that on one dared to ask him any more questions. (ESV)

In other words the greatest commandment the one true God has given to any of us is how to love Him and our neighbors.

The greek words used both times for love here is agapaō which is a word used to imply an active love. I WILL love you. You SHALL love the Lord your God. From what I understand agapaō is the verb form of another word for love we use in the bible which is Agape: An unconditional Love, or inherent love or fondness for someone.

That is to say, the most important thing God has commanded anyone to do to Love Him unconditionally, and to Love their Neighbor unconditionally.

Now what does this look like? Does agapaō mean that when I talk to a customer I don’t like (of which there are some), I pretend that I do? Some might say yes, but I don’t because even the people I love sometimes need to know that I don’t like them right now. I say that every person has inherent value, and I will show that in every interaction I have with them.

Do you know how many of the parables that Jesus taught had to do with servants? There would usually be several characters in Jesus’s parables, there would be a master or employer that was chosen to represent God and then there would be a servant or servants who served that master and usually they represented someone present at the time of Jesus teaching the parable. And so, when I look for examples of agapaō in my work, I can usually find it in a parable.

Matthew 25:14–30 Is the parable of the Talents. A talent was a measurement of money for that time, but it is ironically a Homonym for a skill we may have. In that story there were 3 men left in charge of various amounts of money by their master, after which 2 were praised for trading and doubling their master’s money and one was punished for hiding it and doing nothing to make it grow.

Here I ask the question, which servant showed agapaō for their master? And if those 2 servants who showed love for their master by using the talents their master had invested in them, am I showing agapaō for my investors?

Luke 10:25–37 is the parable of the good Samaritan. Ironically enough Samaritans were a race related to (and yet at odd with) the jewish people that Jesus was teaching to. In this story a traveler was robbed and beaten on the road and passed by a rabbi and a priest, 2 religious leaders in their culture. But the third man who passed by was this samaritan who stopped and helped him by going out of his way physically and financially.

I don’t have to like someone to go out of my way for them. Today I had a customer send me a sort and angry message about their order. I had mailed them the wrong item and they immediately assumed I was making life difficult for them by being devious. After looking at the pictures they sent me, I realized I had mixed up the shipping labels and as a result they had the wrong item.

I explained this to them and apologized for the inconvenience. I then told them I’d send them the correct item and provide a full refund, as is my policy. In response they said a refund was not necessary, they just wanted the item, in terms less furious but just as short.

Did I like them? No. They jumped to conclusions, insulted my character, and assumed the worst possible scenario. Did I send them the refund when they said they didn’t have to? Yes. My policy does not make any ways out for people who are rude to me. I offered a service, which they paid for, and then failed to uphold my end of the transaction under the agreed upon terms. I also know that I am guilty of doing the exact same things they have done in the past and later came to regret it as my character developed. They may have just been having a bad day, and I pray they can lighten up in the future. I also have had clients follow up with me later after such an exchange and leave great reviews or apologize for jumping to conclusions, which made me honoring my policy worth it just for the connection that was made. It can also lead to follow up sales but that is a topic for another day.

James 4:17 — “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (ESV)

I think the term we use today is integrity. Integrity is preached on in just about every business book I pick up anymore. The simple way that people describe integrity is knowing what I tell you doesn’t change from person to person, sort of like honesty in action. I believe it is more of a mind set where all your interactions are held by the same moral standard.

I run sales on a weekly basis in my store. Customers often will message me about an item during the sale and have a question. When the sale is over, I will get another message from them saying that when they first looked at the item, it was at a discounted price and ask if I will honor it again. Do I? Yes. Why? Because I love it when other vendors do the same for me. It makes me want to come back and buy from them again because of the way they treat me. If I love that feeling, why wouldn’t I extend it to my customers?

It goes back to building contextual relationships with my costumers, where they are looking for a service and I want to be the one who helps them by providing it. I want them to have a great experience, not just because it is good for success but because I like being a customer who gets a great experience. And when I do get that experience, I usually think of ways I can provide a similar experience for my customers and I remember the times I failed to do so when I knew that I could have. I feel regret for a missed opportunity.

I will not equate my relationship with my customers as being on par with my relationship with Christ. But I will stress, that there is so much I can learn from the later relationship and apply it to the former. And that is why I believe scripture is a great business book.

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