Economic Motivation (5) Balance

The balance between different types of activities will be different for different people. The balance for each person will vary from season to season.

• A woman with a young family may spend most of her time serving her children, and a bit of time serving her neighbours.

• A man called to be a pastor will spend most of his time serving people who are his neighbour.

• A young woman studying to be a doctor will have to devote most of her time to serving self.

• A man called to be in business will spend most of his time serving Others. The common view that a person has to be selfish to succeed in business is wrong. Success in business means serving others. Totally selfish people usually fail in business, because they are incapable of doing to others what they want done to themselves. They want others to do for them what they will not do for others.

Each person must balance their life between loving self, loving family, loving neighbours and doing to Others what they want others to do to them, under and overall love for God. Loving God will manifest in a different mix of loving self, loving family, loving neighbours and serving others for each person. The most important thing is that we are all accountable to God and live our lives in obedience to him.

We should be careful about judging others. It is easy to look at a successful business person like Bill Gates and say that he spent to much times serving himself and not enough to time serving others, but we do not know what God required of him. We do not know what God put him on this off for. We cannot look into his heart and understand know his motivation. What looks likes loving self may often be doing to others what we want others to do for us.

Christian faith does not contradict business activity. It actually requires it from most of us. God requires different things from different people. Some people will fulfil their calling by engaging full-time in business activity.