Is God A Business Man?

Business has so many definitions and meanings to different people, but the most popular one, as you can attest, sounds something like this: ‘It is an arrangement, or an initiative, whose ultimate aim is that after investing a unit of resource, more than one unit of resource is expected to be reaped at least.

Very basic, isn’t it? I guess this makes everyone a business man in some way. All the methods, processes and schemes brought up by a business person, eventually has one end point in mind- to make profit, and the definition of profit here is large, not necessarily monetary as we all tend to think.

So, having gotten that point cleared, how then did we come up with the idea of God being a business man? Is it really true? If it is, how does it come about and what can we learn from it?

Well, most of these ideas are deductions from observations based on facts and recorded happenings of which you’ll find out for yourself soon enough. But first, you have to realize that…

ALL LIFE IS A BUSINESS

If our earlier definition is anything to go by, then isn’t it logical to see all your activities, events and life itself as a business? Come to think of it, what area of your life do you wish to remain stagnant? 

Whatever input you give in, in any area, do you not expect at least a commensurate, if not additional benefits? It isn’t an unrealistic or absurd demand. It is expected that you grow and improve in every aspect of your life.

So, this isn’t about the business’ that comes to your mind when the word ‘business’ is mentioned. It’s about your life- every aspect of it. It’s important that you learn these principles and master them. They are infinitely useful in every aspect of your life, and of course, your business.

THE ALL PURPOSE GOD

God is a God of purpose. In whatever he does, there is a grand plan he has in mind. But most importantly, the major purpose of his actions is to teach. We are his creation- gods, created to function just like him, but all we have is simply the potential to do so. In other words, unless we identify our abilities to create, we won’t do anything. We can’t not because we do not have the potential, but because we don’t know how to use it.

My thinking then is that all actions and events orchestrated by God has the ultimate aim of teaching us a lesson- or series of lessons in order to fully attain that God potential. The potential to create and I suppose that’s what business is all about- to create value.

The law of conservation of matter hence, does not apply to God, and consequently to you and I. We all have the potential of creating new matter.

So, listen, learn apply and share…

GOD IS INDEED A BUSINESS MAN

The conventional business man (of course, when we say ‘business man’, we mean both man and woman) possesses several qualities that makes him earn the title of being called a good business man. 

We will analyse some of these qualities and relate them with some things that God did and is probably still in the process of doing.

Business requires seriousness (one definition of business means something similar, mind you), and to get good results, you’ve got to be mean. You’ve got to discard sentiments and mean business (see?).

OK. Time for analysis. Pay full attention. Business begins…

#1

HE HAD A PLAN

I like to think that God always had, always have, and always will have plans for everything he does. And who has any evidence to the contrary? Please show up!.... I thought as much.

Think about this for a moment. If God were like me (I mean, who I was before) I really can’t imagine how the universe would look like now.

Let’s discuss the creation a bit. God created everything there is in like 7 days, right? And if you make the analysis; if you follow the thing backwards, there was a perfect plan for everything; a fool proof, perfect plan.

First, the earth was without form and void and without plan or hope. But the spirit of God (another way to say ‘God’) was hovering around (making some plans, I believe). There was darkness everywhere and nothing can be created in a dark place right? (well, apart from children).

Anyway, in darkness, nothing will be seen and any creation will likely be blinded and will achieve nothing. So, he had to create light first. That’s great if you ask me.

If it were me, you know, (em… I mean, former me), I would just create everything, in like, 2 hours, and then finally create light for all to see the spectacle of my creation. After all, I’m all powerful. Cool isn’t it? I guess not.

Now, here’s light and everything can be seen. He called light day and the other guy, darkness, got the name, light. But there was still water everywhere. Just try to picture it this way. Light (lots of light) in a large tank of water. What next do you think someone like me would think of creating? That’s right.  Fishes. But God ain’t me and he had a plan and he stuck to it.

He made an expanse and separated the waters from it. The expanse got a name: Heaven and another day passed.

Sorry I’m taking you through all of this. This an article about business excellence but it’s looking like a Christian Religious Knowledge class, I suppose. Just follow my lead. You’ll get the full gist soon enough. OK, let’s roll…

Now, it was time for the land to be formed and remember, each of this book its own day. He was patient and stuck to plan (unlike the ‘me’ version of God). He formed land and seas and all was good so far.

And then, vegetation, plants and fruit trees according to its kind and they all produced crops and fruits.

And then signs seasons for days and years and then from the light, he carved out the sun (greater light to rule the day) and the moon (lesser night to rule the night). Good nomenclature, if you ask me.

And then fishes and birds, and they were blessed.

And then land creatures and livestock.

And then God and some other great heavenly people make man (Adam) and blessed him and gave him absolute dominion over everything that was made…

And then he took a day off.

OK. Story time’s over. A little…

EHMM…. A LITTLE ANALYSIS

Have you ever watched a documentary on the formation of the universe? If yes, observe with care about how their narrations (I’m talking about physicists, Astronomers, etc) greatly resemble the above plan. They may not believe in the creation story by God, but observe that the protocol of creation indicates the relative age of earthly organic matter.

The issue isn’t about age. God created everything to perfection. For instance, Adam probably looked as old as 30 years when he was created, but clearly, he was a day old, wasn’t he? In the same way, the 2 million year old fossil is probably as old as that irrespective of the fact that recorded history isn’t that old.

The creation protocol made the life of the next set of creation possible and its survival was established. Take another look at the protocol. Everything was planned.

The land and seas and water has to be there first in order to house and take care of the next creation- plants. And then seasons (including the sun and the moon) in order to ensure survival of the plants.

And then fishes and birds. Before creation of plants, the whole world would be lacking in oxygen and no animal would survive, so, fishes and birds were created after the plants to ensure this (and they had to feed on something, didn’t they?).

And then man, the ultimate creation to take charge of everything else- the fully furnished world and to make food of plants and animals.

Just imagine that the world was created by me (yeah, you’re right, the old version of me). There would be chaos and disorder everywhere. Creations and creatures won’t know their place and try to imagine if animals were created before man. The lion would now probably the king of the earth, after all, it was created first.

Everything came on in their increasing order of complexity. It had to be so. There was a plan. Order had to be maintained.

It’s the same in business. The fact is this. God is all powerful and could create everything in a moment. But he didn’t. The planned route was the only perfect way to go about it and it was so, also, to each us a very important lesson. And that is to PLAN YOUR BUSINESS.

Let there be a daily protocol, a weekly protocol, a general protocol. Know what you have in mind to achieve and map out a plan and specific things to do to get there. Make your plans like God. Let later things be made possible and more feasible by earlier things. 

Don’t leave anything to chance. This is just an example of God in planning. Every other thing you read or learn about God, there’s also a plan involved. There was also plans in case of deviations from plans. There had to be.

OK. I’m certain you get the picture now. And remember to take a day off now and then!

#2

HE IS ACTION-ORIENTED

I could give you hundreds of examples and stories on this, but the point is this. Business requires action. Someone once said that any action is better than no action. After your plan is set, you need to take the bull by the horn and take immediate and decisive action. 

Action makes things realizable.

Think about this for a moment. God could have come up with a better creation plan. Afterall he’s god and he’s all-knowing. But as a great general said, a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.

Once your plan is realizable to an extent, take action. It’s only action that gets results. If you keep planning and do nothing, you get nothing. TAKE ACTION.

#3

HE DOESN’T WASTE RESOURCES

Business like we explained is a conservative venture. Resources like time, effort and money are inputted to create value. Real and positive value, which is more valuable than the combination of all the resources that was put in initially. This is where new value is created. And the thing about resources in business is that if you don’t break even and make profits when due, you lose precious resources that you probably cannot get back and then, you’ve failed in business. This doesn’t in any way look like God.

Take for instance the creation again. The daily plan and process of creation made it possible to conserve resources. If you’ve run an enterprise, you’ll realize the tremendous resource conserving abilities of gradual implementation of plans, resources and ideas. 

Crashing everything together at once wears everything and everyone out. Efficiency is lost as well as valuable resources.

Yet another example is when the woman was formed. God could have easily formed her from another batch of clay, but he did something interesting. We all know that clay is bountiful, but imagine for a moment that it is not. God, instead of using another amount of clay to create another human being, he used a portion of the man he formed to create the woman (the rib). I know a lot of guys out there have a lot of theories about that incident, but in the light of our discourse, the point to extract from here is that resources were conserved. God is really all knowing, isn’t he?

OK. Take a close look at yet another incident. I’m sure you remember that incident where Jesus fed five thousand men, including thousands of women and children. There were 12 baskets of leftovers right? What happened to them?  You’re right. Jesus gave orders for the leftover baskets to be gathered. Why? You’re right too. So that nothing is wasted. So, learn not to waste precious resources.

It was from five loaves and two fishes that thousands of loaves and fishes were produced. It was a miracle. Jesus could have fed a hundred thousand men if he so wished. He could perform the miracle any time and get as much food as he needs without resorting to the old, used 12 baskets. But he chose to preserve them, not to waste them, just for you and I to learn that no matter the level of resources that are available for use, a shrewd business man never wastes them.

Our people have a proverb that says something that sounds like this, ‘One cannot get wealthy by earning and squandering resources’. So, learn point #3 from God. Do not waste resources.

#4

HE USES WHAT HE HAS

Well. It may not really be simple to understand this point clearly, after all, God owns everything there is, right? Anyway, we’ll give it a shot. Let’s discuss some examples.

The creation: can you remember how God made man? From the clay of the earth right? From already available resources. I know every other creation was made by his spoken word, but his best and most valuable creation was made from already available resources. 

This teaches us an important lesson. God could have said, let there be a man and a woman. But he teaches us that we can create even more value by recycling raw materials than by going for new stuff.

It teaches us that we can start from where we are, with what we have.

Yet another example. Do you remember Moses, the servant of God? The guy that led the Israelites out of Egypt? OK. The first time God met him in the bush, he was instructed to show Pharaoh 3 signs for him to let the Israelites go. Moses was sceptical. He didn’t want to go at first, for he wasn’t sure that he will be believed that he was sent by God. He needed signs. God asked him a question: 

‘What is that in thine hand?’ then came the first sigh. Which was for Moses to throw down his staff and it was to transform into a serpent.

The second was for him to dip his hand into his cloak and it was to become leprous, and for him to dip it in again, and it was to become normal. The third was for him to pour an amount of water from the river out in front of Pharaoh and it was to turn to blood. 

All 3 signs were to be done with already available resources.

Remember that God is all-powerful and could have asked Moses to 

command all hell to let loose and everyone in there to start dancing on the streets of Egypt (well, that’s a funny way of saying, he could have done anything). But he chose to use already available resources, just for us to learn.

Another incident from Moses, when his people were stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea (actually, it was between Pharaoh’s charging army and the red sea). Moses cried out to God and what was the reply. Yes, you have a good memory. The reply was: ‘What do you have in your hand?’ A staff. Moses had a staff in his hand- his miraculous staff, which he eventually used to divide the red sea and do some other interesting stuff later on (like bringing out water from a rock).

The point is simple. Use what you have to get what you need. It’s a law in business which can never fail. You have latent potential resources. Human, financial, property, even natural resources. All you need to do is to identify them and use them to part the red sea of your business (sounds like I’m an Evangelist, right?).

An example with Jesus, in Matthew, when he fed four thousand men. Before he performed this miracle, he asked the same question his Dad asked Moses several thousand years earlier. ‘How much bread do you have?’ A boy had seven loaves of bread and a few fish. It was enough. Even if it was a loaf of bread and a fish, it wouldn’t have mattered. The most important thing was that there was something on ground. That’s the way it works. That’s the way God works. That’s the way we should work- with what’s available.

So, take inventory of yourself and your business. You need your enterprise to be successful. Start by using the resources you have. If you feel that you have no resources, you can start by using the big package of resources between your ears. It can get you to places you’ve never dreamed of, if only you can put it to use.

#5

HE EXPECTS PROFITS

I suppose I don’t really have to sound this one loudly. Everyone who’s in business expects profits… or is it really the case?

Let’s take for example the business every one of us is familiar with: your immediate family. As a father, do you expect profits from your kids? Do you expect them to grow in stature and wisdom? Do you expect their academic performance to consistently improve? Of course you do! You’ll be sad if they’re stagnant in any way.

In the same way, God always expected profits in all his investments. For instance, what was his basic instruction when he created living things, including man? That’s right: ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.’ That’s a heck of an instruction and expectation, right? And if you think about it, that’s all we’ve been doing from the beginning of time. We all are a successful business for God (though I know that there are some who do the exact opposite of that, but generally, we’re in good stand with God’s expectation).

Now here’s another instance. Jesus was passing by a fig tree and he was hungry. He expected to pluck some figs and eat because he expected the fig tree to be in concordance with his Dad’s initial expectation or order. He was disappointed when the tree had no figs and in response, he cursed the tree. The next day, the tree withered off and died. This showed that God doesn’t take lightly any part of creation that doesn’t fulfil his expectation of fruitfulness and multiplication.

It’s basic and simple. Expect your business to grow. Put in the necessary resources and make demands of all involved that you expect returns for your investments. Depending on the business, this may take time. After all, in most cases, it takes up to 16 years for man to be in position to fulfil God’s expectation of fruitfulness and multiplication especially in physical terms.

So, know how long it takes for your own business to reach the point of profit generation and take serious action to fix the situation if the profits are not forthcoming.

#6

HE TAKES CARE OF HIS INVESTMENTS

For your investment to grow, just like a little child, it must receive the necessary care and attention in whatever way it demands. Think about it this way. For example, why should you expect your ultimate investments- your kids, to perform excellently in school when you do not provide for them all the necessary materials and help they need to do so.

In the same way, you cannot expect your investments to be profitable if you do not care for them as is required. If you do not furnish all the processes involved in making your investments successful with knowledge, resources, appreciation and effort, they are unlikely to appreciate.

I know you’re itching for examples from the master business man himself. So, let’s give it a good shot.

Take for instance, a parable that Jesus gave about him being the vine, and his father being the husbandman. Our interest here is when he mentioned that we are the branches and that he prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it bears even more fruit. Now that’s a classical example of how to take care of an investment- pruning, so that more returns are made. Perfect, isn’t it?

Here’s another example. In the Old Testament, we consider the Israelites as one big investment of God. From when Israel was a man to when he became a nation, despite all odds (one of them includes their stiff-necked attitude), he was taken care of by God.

Take for instance their 40 year journey from the land of Egypt to the Promised Land. They had to face much more organized, much stronger and more populated nations with renowned military strength and prowess. They even had to face the giants of Anak. 

And they defeated them all. Come on, give it a thought.

Under normal circumstances, they shouldn’t even have escaped the world power at that time if not through God’s help. Their first real organization as a nation was when they left Egypt, yet they went on defeating all the nations they had issues with. It was God. God took care of them.

Even all through their travails in the wilderness, God fed, watered and clothed them. They were indeed his prized investment.

Now, I’ll show you something spectacular. You’ve known it all your life but have probably not given it a serious thought. Take a look all around you. No, seriously, do it. whatever that is natural that you see (and that’s including you), is self-sustaining.

What does that mean? It means that whatever nature needs to take care of itself is also make available by nature. Plants and trees grow anyway, whether we choose to plant and nurture them or not. They get their care and sustenance from God- through nature.

‘Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns for your heavenly father feeds them… Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wild flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow…’

That’s a quote, from God’s manual. An evidence of his care for all his creation.

Animals, land, sea, etc, get their sustenance from God- through nature. We humans get our sustenance from God, through nature.

God didn’t create us and let us all be (by ‘us all’, I mean every single creation). He took care, and is still taking care of us. Don’t get it twisted. The contributions of man is enormous and man has, in fact, caused more good to the world than harm, contrary to what public media tries to make us believe. All that, however, was made possible by God.

Think about it. The free air you breathe- a sign of God’s care. The food you eat (both plant and animal origin), all from God. Doctors will tell you that the body possesses the ability to virtually heal itself from any ailment, so long as the necessary nutrients are supplied to it. God does indeed take care of his investments, doesn’t he?

And now, the last…but in no way the least…

#7

HE ALLOCATES RESPONSIBILITIES

You cannot possibly run a successful enterprise alone. Seriously, no matter how small your business is, you need people at one point or the other to help in its successful operation. If you don’t think so, then I suppose that’s where your problems lie.

Let’s take an instance from what I like to call the smallest business enterprise- the family. For the smallest family to run successfully, the cooperation of at least the man and his wife is required. When they start having kids, responsibilities are diversified further.

As a leader, business person or entrepreneur, temptation is high to carry everything on your shoulders. Don’t do it. You’ll lose in all imaginable ways if you do so. Efficiency is reduced; potential useful contributions are lost. You become stressed out and you are inwardly resented no matter how much effort you put in.

You need to learn to allocate responsibilities. It’ll be way better, easier, more efficient and cost-effective for you. Productivity is maximized and everyone is happy. ‘One slays a thousand and two, ten thousand’- a quote from God’s manual. ‘

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

That’s quite a mouthful. It’s also another quote from God’s manual. It is a principle that can never fail.

Here’s an example from God- the master entrepreneur. The universe and everything in it is God’s creation and God’s property, but here’s the instruction he gave man shortly after creating him, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and all the animals that scurry along the ground.’

I guess this is a handful of responsibility given to man. Everything that was made was handed over to man to manage. Have we done a good job? Some corners don’t think so, but I’m not with those corners. I strongly believe we have done quite a swell job of managing what was handed over to us.

I really do not want to go into proving this but take a look around you and think. Try to imagine what life would be like without all that you currently have and enjoy- modern health care, industrialization, science and technology, goods and services of any kind, telecommunication (that includes your new iPad), the internet, clothes, houses, shoes, airplanes and other modern means of transportation such as automobiles, … how much can I mention at once? That proves what a good job man has done and it also shows the power of allocating responsibilities.

Try to imagine if God himself were to invent all of these, mass-produce them all and administer them to about the 7 billion inhabitants of the earth with us contributing close to nothing except using and enjoying the products and services all made by God.

It just cannot be. Yet that’s what some business people attempt to do. No matter how good and multi-talented you are, there’s a limit to what, and how much you can do. Do what the master did. Infuse your spirit into some people in your company for specific tasks, and allocate responsibility to them subsequently. Put resources into training your staff. You can supervise their performance and make corrections where necessary. It’s a God-principle that will lead to your success.

FINALLY…

Well, well, well. We’ve mentioned quite a lot of stuff. The thing is that there are even more principles and examples of business ideas that God practices, and that we can learn a lot from, but I suppose the ones above are the basic ones.

Plan your business- all the way, from beginning to end; Take real and result-oriented action when you need to; Do not waste precious resources; use what you have to get what you need; Work to reap profits, expect to reap profits; Take good care of your investments; Allocate responsibilities.

And… well, this one isn’t really in the book. HAVE LOTS OF FUN!

TO YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS!

See you at the top!