Dr. Benjamin George GOD AND BUSINESS’
In a 2001 issue of the Fortune magazine entitled “GOD AND BUSINESS - The Surprising Quest For Spiritual Renewal In The American Workplace,” the writer began with this statement, “Bringing spirituality into the workplace violates the old idea that faith and fortune don’t mix. But a groundswell of believers is breaching the last taboo in corporate America.”

“Why would we want to look for God in our work,” asks Gregory F.A. Pearce, the author of “SPIRITUALITY@WORK”. The simple answer is, most of us spend so much time working that it would be a shame if we could not find God there. Thomas K. Tewell, urges business people to become “points of distribution” for God’s love in the market place. “Are you willing to be a channel in the divine economy?” he asks.

The spiritual revival in the workplace reflects, in part, a broader religious awakening in America, which remains one of the world’s most observant nations. Spirituality in the workplace is exploding and people who want to mix God and business are rebels on several fronts. They reject the centuries-old American conviction that spirituality is a private matter. They challenge religious thinkers who disdain business as an inherently impure pursuit.

They disagree with business people who say that religion is unavoidably divisive....Now more and more people are willing to talk about bringing faith to work.

HOW CAN A CHRISTIAN BE A ‘TENTMAKER’ IN A SECULAR WORLD?
“It is easier done than said!” But,shouldn’t it be the other way around? - “Easier said than done?” No! As long as you do not spiritualise and complicate matters, life can be just natural and even simple. We live among non-Christians who mostly resist the preaching of the gospel. Our task is to communicate God’s love through Jesus Christ to all. It will surprise us that it may be accomplished by our deeds and words rather than by our preaching.

“Follow the golden rule – do to others what you want them to do for you!” (Mt 7.12). The only important difference for the Christians is that when we follow the golden rule, we acknowledge that it is the Lord who gave us the rule and we do it in His Name and for His sake! Mother Teresa used to say, “I do it all for the love of Jesus and the love of people”. How simple indeed was her life and yet how profound! That is all we need to do!

ORDINARY CHRISTIANS IN SECULAR JOBS SERVING GOD
One of my brothers helped in relief work among the poor and illiterate Hindu-Muslim villagers in North India. The desperate people needed huts to live in, food to eat and clean water to drink. It was no time to preach the gospel and in any case, he was no preacher and they were not ready to listen. But, the villagers he helped used to ask, “Why are you Christians doing this?” His answer was simple, like that of all his Christian co-workers, “We do it for the love of Christ and because we care”. The people loved and respected their Christian helpers for their sincerity. That’s all there is to it! Let us commit our ordinary lives into God’s Almighty hand. History is proof to the fact that God uses very ordinary people to achieve His great purposes, which in turn makes them great! You may only ‘shake a hand and never shake the world’, but what matters is that you have become ‘a hand-shaker of men for God!’ Pat someone on the back and tell him, “Have a good day and God bless you” and you would have made the day for a distraught individual. It will make the difference in the lives of those who come across your path each day. Most of all, do your day’s work as unto the Lord and for the benefit of others. It will make your day count for now and eternity!

Be a true Christian by the way you act and react to people. By your very appearance, behaviour, conduct, words and deeds you can bring to other people’s lives much goodness and happiness. Be filled with the Spirit of love and the compassion of Jesus for people so that you can, by your prayer, sympathetic attitude, kind words and good deeds, attract them to you and most of all to your God who loves them more than they know.

A life lived in such a manner is in effect transforming the ‘secular into spiritual’ and ‘twinning the spiritual and the secular’. There is no ‘dichotomy’ any more. You need not be sad or feel guilty that you were too busy that you could not make any special time for witnessing Christ to people. You have done it already! If opportunities come your way to do witnessing by your words too, go ahead and do it.