The Bible a Source Book of Business Principles.-- There is no branch of legitimate business for which the Bible does not afford an essential preparation. Its principles of diligence, honesty, thrift, temperance, and purity are the secret of true success. These principles, as set forth in the Book of Proverbs, constitute a treasury of practical wisdom. Where can the merchant, the artisan, the director of men in any department of business, find better maxims for himself or for his employees than are found in these words of the wise man:
"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." Proverbs 22:29
"In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury." Proverbs 14:23
"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing." Proverbs 13:4
"The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." . . . Proverbs 23:21
How many a man might have escaped financial failure and ruin by heeding the warnings so often repeated and emphasized in the Scriptures:
"He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." Proverbs 28:20
"Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished; but he that gathereth by labor shall have increase." Proverbs 13:11
"The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death." Proverbs 21:6
"The borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 21:6
"He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure." Proverbs 11:15
The eighth commandment condemns . . . theft and robbery. It demands strict integrity in the minutest details of the affairs of life. It forbids overreaching in trade and requires the payment of just debts or wages."
Mind and Character Degraded by Dishonesty.-- He [one who utters falsehood or practices deception] loses his own self-respect. He may not be conscious that God sees him and is acquainted with every business transaction, that holy angels are weighing his motives and listening to his words, and that his reward will be according to his works; but if it were possible to conceal his wrongdoing from human and divine inspection, the fact that he himself knows it is degrading to his mind and character. One act does not determine the character, but it breaks down the barrier, and the next temptation is more readily entertained, until finally a habit of prevarication and dishonesty in business is formed, and the man cannot be trusted.
As we deal with our fellow men in petty dishonesty or in more daring fraud, so will we deal with God. Men who persist in a course of dishonesty will carry out their principles until they cheat their own souls and lose heaven and eternal life. They will sacrifice honor and religion for a small worldly advantage. AH 391-392
Heaven is full of joy. It resounds with the praises of Him who made so wonderful a sacrifice for the redemption of the human race. Hvn 63
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 (New King James Version)