Moral Marketplace: Where to shop online guilt-free

There are plenty of places to buy and sell products online. Craigslist, eBay, Amazon; the list could go on, but I’m not sure it’d be a good idea. For homeschoolers and Christian families, many of these marketplace sites might not be the best place to surf the web. Some of these sites have some rather questionable products and services listed there. And who’s to say who or what each of these businesses are supporting.

The need for a marketplace that understands you don’t want to see everything the internet has to offer. Nor do you want to do business with a marketplace that supports morally objectionable groups: like eBay does with Planned Parenthood and Amazon does with LGBT support groups. If you need a family friendly place on the internet to shop for whatever you may need, Talents 2 Work is the place to go.

Talents 2 work is committed to maintaining a marketplace that provides Christian consumers and businesses a comprehensive and safe place to market and search for goods and services. At talents2work.com, there are no invasive pop-ups and no inappropriate content found on many online shopping sites. We have lots of great Christian merchants—such as Sermon Audio, Covenant Eyes, and American Family Association—selling their services and goods on our site.

Christian Business Ethics

ethics-tiff

Are business ethics different than “Christ Centered” business ethics? A difference would exist if Christians find anything wrong with this statement: “As long as one doesn’t break any laws to achieve their goals, then one is ethically good.”

It seems like a good rule to follow. In order to have good business ethics, one must abide by the laws the government has put in place. It is what philosophers call the “bottom line approach.” So now one must ask, “Is the “bottom line” different for a Christian company?”

Increasing profit is the goal of most businesses, but for Christian companies, money should not be the bottom line. 1 Timothy 6:10 says “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Serving others, instead of money, is the bottom line of Christ Centered business ethics.

God commands Christians to serve others and not themselves. It says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” Therefore, a Christian company should not make money the bottom line. Providing for others needs should be the goal of Christian businesses. Money should be seen as a tool to allow your business to serve people. When a business starts to grow and make more money, it should be seen as an opportunity serve the kingdom of God.

The Four B’s Of Marketing

So many times we try too hard to bring a product or service to market.  A gazillion books have been written about, Product, Price, Place, Promotion, etc.  Reality is that there has been a dramatic shift since the Internet.  The game has changed and so have the rules to compete.  The instant era has spawned new requirements when delivering products and services to consumers.  Today, instead of the “P’s ” there are actually the “B’s of marketing.  Four B’s to be precise. 

Be BRIEF, Be BRILLIANT, Be FRESH, Be WILLING to reinvent yourself.

Brief: The savvy consumer wants brevity.  They do not have time to search through layers of content to reach the good stuff.

Brilliant: It is important that the message delivered about your product or service is viewed as expert.

Fresh:  A Tired website or dated marketing collateral will put your potential clients to sleep.

Willing To Reinvent Your Self:  The ever changing marketplace requires a constant reboot.  Company’s like Xerox saw this coming and reinvented themselves as “The Document Company.”  No longer just printers, they were delivering a brief, brilliant, offering, they were the expert in documents.

As you review your business for the remainder of 2013, take a moment to perform a quick litmus test, and see how you are doing on your B’s!

Take the “Tithe” challenge

There is a popular detergent brand that asks consumers to take a challenge and use their product to prove its quality and effectiveness.

Different scenarios are set, and in each, the product is reinforced as the clear winner when relied upon for its inherent power.

Yesterday I experienced this same opportunity for codification when challenged to tithe or in this case donate.

Based upon Gods Providence, I received multiple notices of fellow Christians facing crises that required immediate funds. In all cases the funds needed were crucial to provide attention or assistance that was otherwise not available.

I felt lead to embrace the requests, and proceeded with great vigor.

Within a day, God granted favor on our business and the yield was more that 10 fold. Christ truly does own the cattle on a thousand hills, and my meager contribution to these challenges was rewarded from Gods abundance.

Let me emphasize that the Living Triune God is not a vending machine when it comes to tithing and donating. What you put in will not necessarily come back in cash, but it will be returned in blessing. Christ alone knows the appropriate timing and type of blessing that best meets our needs. In some cases its cash, in others its comfort or answered prayer.

Tithes and donations must be a committed part of our budget, but more importantly a resolute commitment of our heart.

Can evryone afford to tithe? The question is rather can anyone afford to not tithe. Take the tithe Challenge and see what God has in store and in the storehouse.

Persevero!

When Work Is A Burden

“Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Mathew 6:24 ESV.

Are you carrying a burden today as you work for your family? Are you casting this burden upon the Lord? Casting our burdens upon the creator of the universe is truly a simple request, but one which often results in more labor to accomplish, than the burden which weighs us down. The key is whether or not one is living a life this day which is “careful for nothing.”

Charles Spurgeon points out in his daily devotional, “Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin.”

He goes on to explain that our anxiety is sinful because we ultimately are perceiving ourselves as “wiser than God.”  As we assess the day before us, we must rest confidently and peacefully that Christ alone has already prepared our day. Gods word assures us of this peace in Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.” Today may look quite different from the business plan that we have designed.  We must hold fast, that Christ is about His business, and He has written the events that will occur.  He has shaped the opportunities, He has opened some doors, and He has closed others.  He has granted favor, and He has withheld the rain  He will mete out the wins and losses of our lives today with His precise balance. Best of all, He has done all of this to bless us, to sanctify us, and to glorify Himself.

What a comfort to know that every burden today has been selected and crafted for us in Gods plan.  Persevero!

Semper idem

Semper idem, always the same.  This is the consistent thread that traces the tapestry of Gods character.  And if this is true, which it is, why do we even consider the fact that the creator of the universe would be anything less than immutable in His essence.  Immutable in His requirements of us as His children.

Deuteronomy 32:4, introduces the term “Rock” to describe God.  What an apropos image for Gods steadfast faithfulness and permanence.  It is upon this rock that the church was built, it is upon this rock that God continues to anchor His children in the midst of a world chasing after change.  Not change for improvement, but change that allows for a continued dilution of Gods requirement for integrity in our lives. It is not always apparent.  It happens through a broadening of definitions.  It happens when there is an unchecked challenge to Judeo Christian basics, so that sin and those who continue to sin, can justify their deliberate rejection of Gods law.  Through this pursuit of justification, our nation has accepted a complete disregard for a fair deal, complete disclosure, and even a job well done.

God does not change, he does not evolve.  He alone is “the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17).  It is we who are subject to change, it is man that attempts to redefine good and evil, and man that blurs the boundaries that historically separated right and wrong. The boundaries that established efficacy and quality.

As you operate your business in the marketplace, there will always be opportunities to cut corners, miss commitments, and create reasons to justify why and how things happened or didn’t happen.  Operating with honor and integrity has become “situational” for most businesses. The investment bankers on Wall Street have proved this over and over. Let this not be named amongst us as we stand in the gates as Christian businesses, providing products and services. Let us deliver at a level that is above expectation, and not simply on par. If we make mistakes, let us be quick to make things right, to fix problems. Promise less and deliver more. Let us live out Colossians 3:23 ESV. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

For not only have Gods requirements not changed, His rewards for the faithful are always the same. Persevero!