Profit is defined as “the monetary surplus left to a producer or employer after deducting wages, rent, cost of materials, etc.” (“Def.”). The debate over this gain being good or bad has brought up so many arguments over the years. You would think that profit is always good because everyone knows you have to have money to survive in our economy. But as Christians we have a little bit different of a perspective. In the book of Philippians, 2:3-4, it is written, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.” The problem today is whether the firm or company is benefiting only itself in all aspects …show more content…
or helping the ones around or associated with them. Most of the big companies we see advertised everyday have some form of ties with the smaller businesses, this is an example of benefiting others.
While some companies, take for instance any producer that uses sweatshops in order to obtain the most profit by using the cheapest labor is wrong in so many ways. They continually take advantage of the work ethic in people who need the money in many third-world countries due bad safety regulations. This is a big reason why profit is seen as evil. The reason behind obtaining revenue is more important than the people actually producing the output in this situation.
This topic, however, made me think of how non-profit organizations are looked at. Any foundation that gives back is always going to be looked at highly because it’s more appealing to our hearts. Society is going to support the needy even if they aren’t Christians not because they feel convicted but because they have a conscience. We see non-profit organizations as better because they’re going to benefit society. I completely agree that non-profit
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organizations are great, if they are doing it for the right reason. Same goes for a for-profit organization if they have the right goals in mind. An example of a for-profit company with great motives is TOMS. Blake Mycoskie, founder, created this business and came up with the original idea. His company provides a pair of shoes, water, “eyesight”and many other things for every product sold. “One for One, he called it” (“TOMS”). He created a company “that would use the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good.” (“TOMS). I don’t really know of anyone who thinks giving needy children with bare feet a pair of shoes is evil. He makes profit to support his workers, his company, himself but also to be able to provide for the less fortunate in several countries. The idea of not supporting a cause or disapproving the idea would just seem selfish in our society. “A simple idea has grown into a global movement: TOMS Shoes has provided over 35 million pairs of shoes to children since 2006, TOMS Eyewear has restored sight to over 275,000 since 2011 and TOMS Roasting Company has helped provide over 67,000 weeks of safe water since launching in 2014.” (“Blake”). Does that sound like an evil company just because they’re making profit? No, of course not because they’re giving in return for their accomplishments. Blake is using his gift from God, great entrepreneurship, to give back to those around him. I believe God allows us to obtain great profits for our hard work and commitment but, we have to remember with such wealth comes great responsibility.
It is spoken of many times in the Bible to be compassionate towards those less fortunate than us. Now no one says we have to give up everything to give to the poor but different scenarios in the bible show such drastic measures because that is what it took to show their faith and show whether they truly believed in what they were doing. Giving everything might be your way of glorifying Him and showing selflessness but, it isn’t the way for everyone. Wealth does not show how blessed a person is, the way they go about their financial situation is. The one with little to nothing could have more faith than the rich man who seems to be so blessed. This is all just a matter of spiritual poverty and wealth. But the human eye cannot see such things, only the One with mighty power can see where we stand in our faith.
While watching The Biblical Money Code by a man named Sean Hyman, founder of Ultimate Wealth Report, I learned a few things that pertain to my topic. He has come up with a step by step plan to build yourself a foundation and then multiply your income through investments. He uses a different method than most because he bases his ways through biblical stories and ideas from the Bible. He says that “Many people misquote ‘money is the root of all evil’ but in his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul actually says ‘the love of
money is the root of all kinds of evil.’” (Hyman). Companies that are bringing in large amounts of money from the public are often looked at as greedy but you need to understand both sides of the story before jumping to a conclusion. Everyone has to make a living some way or another and it might be working for a very large, profitable company. Keep in mind the production costs of the product you’re buying. That overpriced gallon of Mayfield milk has to be set at a price to cover all of their costs, which includes their workers, the factories, the supplies and land. You aren’t just supporting one specific person by your purchase but an entire company as a whole. The quote I just used was to point out the multiple misconceptions of many bible verses. People that don’t understand the bible take quotes out of context all the time. 1 Timothy 6:10 refers to what we feel towards money, not the action of possessing it. It is not wrong to obtain money when there is righteous action taking place with it. People were blessed with wealth in the Bible weren’t they? Do you believe that God wanted to reward his people with evil? He blessed Solomon in 2 Chronicles with so much because He had great faith in his Lord and continually obeyed him. He also gave Abraham, Isaac, David, Job and Joseph much wealth so that they could prosper and do good things with their gifts. We are bound to take advantage of our financial situation at some point in our life. We are human and in no way perfect but, we have to “unlove” the money that we receive in order to properly use it. If we take advantage of what we are provided then we are ultimately disobeying His commandment, even if it is just a small amount of income. So what exactly makes the difference between profit being good or bad? It all depends on how people acquire it, why they’re making it, what they use it for afterwards and how they give it back to God. Now I know this is a lot to consider when working in your life but remember who the real power is that’s providing for you. Your wealth, even what little you have, must not come before God. The moment a company solely benefits itself and hurts the ones around them is when profit becomes evil.
I would say this teaching shows that God is a selfish God and he does not want anything or anyone above or before him. We cannot serve a God and try to serve money and everything else as well. Money is the root to all evil, people are killed over money, they still money and family, friends, partners are torn apart over it. We spend so much money on materialistic things that are completely worthless once it leaves the store r parking lot and after this is all said and done there is nothing of value that can be utilized later. Knowledge, heart are things that will be utilized in the afterlife.
Non-Profit organizations are a major mold in society in general, and they continue to help advance many of the social causes of our time. From the description, we know that employee and volunteer morale is quite low, and that is the fault of the senior management. In an organization, it is important that each individual knows that they are contributing to something larger than themselves. In many cases, employees seek to work somewhere where they can earn a living, but also where they can become a member of a team, and feel a sense of purpose. When they are not treated with respect or given the ability to make their own decisions, they lose engagement and become stagnant in their work. Volunteers look for much of the same thing; they are, after
"…admitting what is called philanthropy, when adopted as a profession, to be often useful by its energetic impulse to society at large, it is perilous to the individual whose ruling passion, in one exclusive channel, it thus becomes. It ruins, or is fearfully apt to ruin, the heart, the rich juices of which God never meant should be pressed violently out and distilled into alcoholic liquor by an unnatural process, but should render life sweet, bland, and gently beneficent, and insensibly influence over other hearts and other lives to the same blessed end." (348)
The stronger will do anything in their power to make a profit, leaving the weak with nothing. Kuyper says, “…the more powerful exploited the weaker by means of a weapon against which there was no defense” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 26). Additionally, he states that “…the idolization of money killed the nobility in the human heart” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 31). Kuyper talks about how Jesus felt bad for the rich and sided with the poor (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 32). Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Earthly materials mean nothing because the real treasure awaits in
...e their product. Sweatshops are found usually all over the world and need to make a better decision as in more labor laws, fair wages, and safety standards to better the workers' conditions. It should benefit the mutually experiences by both the employers and the employees. Most important is the need to be educated about their rights and including local labor laws.
The nonprofit sector in America is a reflection some of the foundational values that brought our nation into existence. Fundamentals, such as the idea that people can govern themselves and the belief that people should have the opportunity to make a difference by joining a like-minded group, have made America and its nonprofit sector what it is today. The American "civil society" is one that has been produced through generations of experiments with government policy, nonprofit organizations, private partnerships, and individuals who have asserted ideas and values. The future of the nonprofit sector will continue to be experimental in many ways. However, the increase of professional studies in nonprofit management and the greater expectation of its role in society is causing executives to look to more scientific methods of management.
The Bible clearly explains the role of government in society and the framers of our nation built America on Biblical principles. Since economics is the science that deals with production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, Christian economics entails how men use God-given resources, ideas, and energy to meet their human needs and to glorify the Lord. Christianity produces internal liberty in man, which is the foundation for a Christian economy. The internal change of heart that Christ brings produces Christian character and self-government which is necessary for an economy to be prosperous. Christian character and self-government produce people who do not steal, who have a strong work ethic, and who save and invest to
Richard’s purpose is to remind Christians about the importance of loving neighbor and to teach how Christians can help the poor with their hearts and minds. He relates an important commandment in the Bible, “Love your neighbor,” with the economics by using the concept of “consequence of action.” He promotes the Christians to live a life which God is expecting for them to live by learning about the economics. He wants the Christians to stop justifying ourselves that we love each other when we are not, and he wants us to truly understand God’s intention of putting “love your neighbor” as one of the important commandments. As we study economics, it is important to understand that we should not focus on worldly issues and that we should not forget about God’s commandments. Moreover, this article teaches the Christians that we don’t need to be afraid to study economics because we can use the economics to obey God’s
Jesus also preached about God and money. “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Our society today is consumed with money; how to make money and how to get more money. Jesus was against living in favor of money. If one ...
In Proverbs 14:31, it says, “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” If we love God, we will be good to the poor. If we do no, we are not only reproaching the poor, but we also reproaching God. In Matthew 7:15, it says “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” It is bad to have the appearance of sanctity and innocence, when the heart is, in fact, evil. According to Aristotle, the highest good is a final end: it is desired for its own sake and not for the sake of anything else. It is also self-sufficient: it is enough in isolation; nothing more is needed. This could not be gold because wealth is not desired for its own sake, but as a means to other ends. Neo-Platonists say “The One” is the self-caused source of all being (God) and to be in the pursue for material things is to be directed away from “The One” and this is thus bad because you are furthering yourself away from God. That is not Christian like to further yourself away from your one and only
5:3-6) (98). This states that even though an individual may be poor, they are blessed in spirit as
... specifically on how the one who has many possessions must give to the poor and not put so much emphasis on themselves (Luke 12:33 and Philippians 2:1-4). It also supports the allegation that some churches are, in fact, after prosperity and not concerned with the spreading of gospel. This also raises the following question: If acquiring wealth and building a church with the intent on making oneself more comfortable is not ethical in Christian beliefs, why does God allow it? This question cannot be answered because of the circumstances and religious bias, but nonetheless makes one draw his or her own conclusion. Sanneh, throughout the whole piece, does not give any strong indication of which side she is on. So, this is an unbiased source because she allows her audience to consider the issues instead of making them sit through a lecture with the intent of persuasion.
The great truth is that “God has not created us for the perishable and transitory things of the earth, but for the things heavenly and everlasting” (RN, no.18). Therefore, the possession of money and material goods humans desire are of no use in heaven. The only significance it could hold is the use of such items on earth. For example, a rich man who does not share in his wealth with the poor will see no gain in heaven. However, a rich man who shares his wealth with the poor and helps the Church to support his brother will receive a warm welcome into heaven. This brings Pope Leo XIII to quote Thomas Aquinas again about the use of money to help explain that the rich should “give with ease”, this leading to Christian Charity (RN, no.19). The Church does not ask for the sharing of everything in one’s possession to be shared with the poor. However, Leo XII explains that what is left over, after the necessities are supplied, are to be shared. This explanation is very beneficial for the parishioners of the Church, for it allows the wealthy not to feel obligated to share all of their wealthy. The Church only asks for the “leftover” of their wealth. After talking about the purpose of wealth in the society, it's only appropriate to talk about the Church’s
Much of scripture speaks to the issues of money and taking up cause for the poor, who are among the most vulnerable in society. The Old Testament has a key theme of protecting the powerless. The powerless in biblical times were often the most financially vulnerable within society, yet God cares for them. Kyle Fedler explains that God’s favoritism seems to rest with the poor and oppressed, and to reject those members of the community, is to reject the God that so deeply loves them. Within our society we often show our favoritism not to the poor, but to the wealthy. Our society runs off of individualism. That individualism blinds us to the needs of
If the separation is the terminology of CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility), Corporate is the company or organizing that aims to profit. Social is a group of people who are related or have a common way of either natural include other living thing and environment surrounding. Responsibility is a duty is engaged to prevent and improve the bad results include the creation and maintenance of good results, which impact the stakeholder groups. Now a CSR project has been a collaboration of many organizations in many companies, so that everyone is aware of the rewards that made us live a good day. Activities related to corporate social responsibility in my activities consist of environmental responsibility, social responsibility and economic responsibility.