Christian Services: Service or Using Others?

Title:Christian Services: Service or Using Others?Word Count:738Summary:Are Christians taking advantage of otherChristians in business by expecting a discount?If you are a Christian are you obligated tofinding a Christian for products and services?This bold article takes an honest look atChristian business ethics.

Keywords:service, services, christian, christian business,christian business directory, christian businessopportunity, christian business network,christian business ethics, christian businessopportunityArticle Body:I know a good Christian lady who cuts hair for aliving. That 抯 her occupation. That 抯 how shemakes a living. She is very good at it. Why isit that when Christians come to her shop theyexpect a 揹 iscount?just because they go to thesame Church that she attends? There are some whorefer to this practice as a 揵 eliever discount?Now I am not opposed to finding discounts anddeals, but not at someone else 抯 expense. Ifsomeone decides that they want to give me a

haircut at no charge, or half price, out of love,then that 抯 fine. But to just expect thatChristian businesses are supposed to givediscounts to all the 揵 rothers and sisters?isnot love. It 抯 actually an indication of apoverty mind set. I 抣 l explain that later.For me to think that my Christian brothers andsisters are obligated to give me a cheaper priceis selfish and it takes money away from them.Suppose you couldn 抰 find a Christian for theservice or product you needed? What would you do?You would end up paying someone the price theycharged.I know some Christians who are very good at doingcar repairs and some of them even do it as abusiness. And hardly a week or two goes by thatanother Christian asks them for help in fixingtheir car, expecting to pay little or nothing forservices rendered. That is very selfish and,again, an indication of a poverty mentality.

Here 抯 a startling thought: pay your Christianbrother or sister more than they normally charge!Now that 抯 a concept that has love written allover it. Why would you do that? First of all itis indeed a blessing to have a Christian providea service or a product. If they operate theirbusiness with integrity and love, that love willhave an impact on my life. Secondly, bybelieving God 抯 promises of abundance you can goover and beyond and give more to the person whois providing you the service or product. Thatincreases their prosperity. But, if you have apoverty mentality, you are always looking forsomeone to charge you less for everything andexpecting any Christian to give you a discount.Why not believe God 抯 promises of prosperity,receive His abundance, and then share thatabundance with others?Now I would rather pay a Christian for a productor service, but there is another side to this coin.

Just because I am a Christian does that mean I haveto find another Christian to provide my productsand services? Suppose I know a Christian whocould get the job done, but not with the qualityI require? Am I obligated to hire a Christiananyway and then have inferior work done? Somesay that would be the 揅 hristian thing to do.?I say, 揘 o.?If I hire you to fix my car I am expecting you toknow what you are doing and to do it right thefirst time. If that doesn 抰 happen then I havewasted the money God gave me to steward, not tomention the time that I have lost. Perhaps the揅 hristian thing to do?would be to be honest andtell someone that their work is not the qualitythat it could be. Instead of feeling obligatedto hire them, why not give them some money so thatthey can get the training they need so they cando quality work? Feeling sorry for someone andthen having them do a job that they or someone elsewill need to re-do it is not helping my brother

or sister.As a final thought, why shouldn 抰 Christianbusinesses be the best businesses on the face ofthe earth? That takes a lot more than just havinga Christian sounding name. It means quality work.It means integrity and honesty. It meansoperating biblical principles of giving morevalue. Having a Christian business reflectsback on our Heavenly Father and His Son, JesusChrist. As a matter of fact, whether we own abusiness or are simply employed by someone, the揅 hristian thing to do?is to work heartily,ethically, and honestly with the love of God.Our light should so shine that everybody,Christians and non-Christians alike want ourproducts and services.