Being Unequally Yoked In Busine

Being Unequally Yoked In Busine

BEING UNEQUALLY YOKED IN BUSINESS

by Ken Smith

In 1972 I learned a very painful lesson. That was the year I decided to stop working for someone else and begin working for myself. I had passed the Virginia bar examination in 1966 and worked for a small law firm for several years before joining the county attorney’s office. By April of 1972 I felt that I had sufficient experience to justify striking out on my own.

While I was considering how to make that move, I was approached by a practicing lawyer who had strong credentials. He had held local political office and seemed to be well positioned in the legal community. His offer of a guaranteed salary as a junior partner looked attractive and I accepted. To make a long story shorter, the partnership lasted for six long months. At the end of that time I rented office space in a different location, packed my files and moved out one weekend without any fanfare. The “partnership” had been terminated, and I resolved never again to form another business partnership. It would be four more years before I committed my life to Christ, but I had already learned an invaluable lesson: a partnership limits your freedom to run the business as you see fit.

Biblical Teaching on Partnerships

Perhaps the most familiar scripture on partnership is II Corinthians 6:14-15: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers…what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”

The point that Paul is making is that believers and unbelievers operate with two entirely different value systems which can never be compatible. If we try to combine biblical principles with any other set of principles, there will be conflict. The question is not WHETHER, there will be conflict, but what the RESULTS of that conflict will be.

Counting the Cost

If the Christian partner is strongly committed to following biblical principles in operating the business, chances are the relationship will be short-lived. Why? Because the underlying motive for forming a business partnership is profit. If both partners are not committed to biblical principles, the Christian will face constant pressure to do things to produce that profit that are inconsistent with his faith.

That’s not an accusation. That’s just a fact! The unsaved partner may have a strong commitment to ethics and good business practices, but without a spiritual commitment to biblical principles, his values will differ and ultimately there will be friction.

On the other hand, if the Christian partner is not strongly committed to following biblical principles in operating the business, he will be one forced to compromise. Again, the issue boils down to profit. Very often if the business adheres to biblical principles, it will not produce as great a profit as if it adheres to established business practices. Unless both partners share a strong commitment to doing what God wants regardless of the consequences, it’s only a matter of time before the profit motive emerges as the dominant factor in business decisions. At that point the Christian had, in effect, surrendered. He or she may make a lot of money, but at what cost? The true cost won’t be evident until the day we appear before Christ. In the meantime, there is the cost of the consequences which attach to spiritual disobedience.

Now obviously, if a business does not remain profitable, it will not continue. But whereas in the business world profit is the objective, in the spiritual world, it is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Unequally Yoked Equally

In my experience the only thing worse than being unequally yoked is being unequally yoked equally. If you are contemplating forming a business partnership and don’t believe that God looks with disfavor on joining with an unbeliever, at least avoid the liabilities of an equal partnership. A 50/50 proposition is a no win proposition. If you are the believer and own 51%, then you’re in a much better position to prevail on the point that you consider important. You may find, however, that even though you have the power and authority to control the decision making. God will not give you the license to exercise that authority against your partner.

If you feel you must become yoked to an unbeliever and cannot control 51% of the business, then choose 49% or less rather than 50%. Then at least you know going into the relationship that you cannot control it and that you are subject to the majority owner. In other words, face up front the likelihood that you will have to compromise your principles.

High Cost of Compromise

A few years ago a good friend of mind from the Midwest asked my advice on forming a business relationship with an unbeliever. I counseled against it, and my friend agreed that creating a business partnership with an unbeliever could not be reconciled to scripture. He struggled with the question but ultimately formed the partnership. Since then he and his partner have made a lot of money in real estate and other investments. Most of their business deals are with unbelievers. My friend who once talked about applying biblical principles in the business has grown strangely quiet about his faith.

Recently an employee in my friend’s company called to say he had finally decided to look for another job. He was a Christian and was so disappointed in my friend’s inability to walk with the Lord, that he had decided to work elsewhere rather than watch my friend’s spiritual deterioration. My friend has sadly but surely compromised the values and principles that he felt very strongly about in the beginning. How he no longer has any significant witness for Christ.

I pray for my friend regularly. I know that one day God will open his eyes and enable him to see things as God see them.

Not Compromising Cost, Too

An old classmate of mine ran into trouble from the opposite direction. As a young Christian, he decided to invest in some real estate with an unbeliever. Again, I counseled against the formation of a partnership primarily on the basis of II Corinthians 6:14-15. My friend decided to pursue the partnership anyway, to his great dismay. He just recently extricated himself from that relationship at a fairly significant financial cost. He lost some money and endured several years of painful association, but at least his commitment to biblical principles remains intact. So, in a sense, the lesson he learned was cheap.

All of us can look back and find ways to have done things much easier than the path we chose. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re being disobedient to God when we make bad decisions. We may read scripture differently. We may feel that God is directing us in a unique way. Or we may never even think of the decision in spiritual terms. Sometimes we know what God is saying, and we decide to do otherwise.

We get wisdom by learning the lessons God has for us to learn. There are easy ways to learn those lessons, and there are increasingly difficult ways to learn those same lessons. It’s not a matter of failure or success. It’s a matter of how much pain we impose upon ourselves in acquiring that wisdom.

Fixing a Mistake

What should one do after forming a business partnership and later realizing that is was contrary to God’s will? As an unbeliever, a friend of mine formed a business partnership with another unbeliever. Them my friend came to Christ. He had experienced great anxiety and trauma in the business relationship before he became a Christian. However, it wasn’t until after he became a Christian that he realized why. The partners were violating biblical principles in conducting their business.

I recommended that he get out of the relationship, whatever the cost. Although my friend was a majority owner of the partnership, I could not conscientiously advise him to take advantage of that position and unilaterally impose biblical principles on his partner. He needed to conduct himself as Jesus would have.

He agreed that he would seek God’s direction and would not throw his weight around in the course of dissolving the partnership. Shortly thereafter, his unsaved partner decided he wanted to see his interest. My friend came out ahead financially, and much wiser spiritually.

Consulting Your Spouse

My last bit of advice is for those of you who are married. If you take advantage of your spouse’s counsel, you can avoid many painful lessons. Make you husband or wife privy to your decisionmaking before you commit yourself, particularly if you are considering forming a business partnership. Introduce your spouse to the prospective partner and carefully consider his or her reaction. You may not agree with his or her rationale, but if he or she cautions you to change direction or walk slowly, don’t overlook that advice.

My wife Pat is so often right that I am rarely tempted any more to proceed when she fells a caution. I know from experience that God will speak to me through her hesitation, even though I may not understand why she feel that way she does.

Appropriate Associations with Unbelievers

Finally, there are many ways to associate with unbelievers in a business setting that are not inconsistent with scripture. There may also be good reasons to associate with unbelievers in a business setting. I do not want to categorically discourage the formation of business relationships with unbelievers but to warn against forming those relationships in a way that is contrary to scripture.

Reprinted with permission from Christian Stewardship Ministries'(CSM) newsletter GLAD TITHINGS, Fairfax, VA. MAR 90, Volume 9, No. 1

Christian Stewardship Ministries’, 10523 Main St., Fairfax, VA 22030 (703/591- 5000)

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GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS.