Business to the Glory of God (Grudem)

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RamistThomist

Puritanboard Clerk
Grudem, Wayne. Business for the Glory of God. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003.

This is an outstanding primer in applied ethics that hinges upon good creation theology. Work is good because God mandated it prior to the Fall. Godly labor allows us to image God in terms of responsibility and authority. Even the more criticized aspects of business, such as profits and wages, are allowed by Scripture (and in any case, unavoidable). This is also a good corrective to much of the wokism plaguing Evangelical theology. In reading this short volume, wokists will learn that they have no clue how wages and profits work.

Pace Marxists, having someone work for you isn’t exploiting them. In any case, Jesus didn’t have a problem with it.

Prices and profits are inevitable. Just wage talk is a mirage. Prices reflect the desires (and limits of those desires) on the market. If I charge $2 for a loaf that cost $1, I am not exploiting you. That extra $1 covers the cost of labor, time, and resources

Some Criticisms

Grudem lets his idiosyncratic views on the Trinity mar an otherwise fine discussion. For example, he says that business allows us to image God’s authority. It trains us for responsibility. What a great statement. He then ruins it by seeing it mirrors the authority relations within the (presumably, eternal) Trinity.
 
He then ruins it by seeing it mirrors the authority relations within the (presumably, eternal) Trinity.
It's unfortunate that this is one of his major hobby horses. His association with such ideas taints his reputation as well as other areas that he might otherwise have sound teaching.
 
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