PART 10 – MOTIVES
A fundamental question we should ask if we are thinking of starting a business is “Why am I doing this?”
There will be many answers, and some of them may come in as first equal. The following possible reasons for starting a business, below, are not listed in any particular order:
To obtain wealth (to get rich)
To provide for family
To beat the neighbours (status)
To pay the bills
To continue with an inheritance
Psalm 39 has some good advice for business people. “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.” In other words all things are temporary, everything passes. Is it worth your one short life to labour that one short life away for a business? Surely there are other better things in life to do, besides this? Life is short. Is every precious second we live worth spending on something as temporary as making money, buying and selling, and paying bills?
“Surely they busy themselves in vain. (They) heap up riches and do not know who will gather them.”
Ecclesiastes 2:20 says: “For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity (or skill); yet to a man that has not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.” Or, as the proverb goes, “You can’t take it with you!”
None of the above is meant to be a criticism of business. The point being made is that to make a business the sole focus of our energy is futile. This brings in the aspect of controlling the size of your business. If you are too successful, you may have no choice but to work 24/7 just maintaining the business. It is much better to work out how much income you need, and control the size of your business to meet your needs. Besides, the larger a business is, the larger the bills it generates, so in the end you may make no more than a far smaller business, without the extra stress.
For example, a giant supermarket, with dozens of staff, and huge outlays on insurance, rates and so on, may make no more or less than a home-based business which runs out of a modified garage. In order for the supermarket to survive, it needs a river of customers, and fleets of trucks supplying the shelves. The comparatively tiny home-business needs only a fraction of this, so overall profit, in proportion, is actually higher than the mega-supermarket sprawling across the neighbourhood.
Examine your motives. Consider your purposes. Get your priorities right. Aim for quality of life, rather than quantity. Life is short; make the most of it while it lasts.
How to run a business using Bible principles – Introduction
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 1
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 2
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 3
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 4
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 5
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 6
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 7
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 8
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 9
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 11
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 12
How to run a business using Bible principles – Part 13