I’m a Christian Even at Work: The Ethics of Business and Economics

By Jerry L. Poppe

How many of us struggle to take the Christian truths we learn inside church and apply them to our life outside church? How many of us accept what we hear from the pulpit on Sunday morning, but do the opposite of what we heard when we step into the workplace on Monday morning?

The struggle to live the truths of the Bible is a difficult one indeed. Perhaps this struggle is most difficult when we step into the workplace. In his book, I’m a Christian Even at Work, Jerry Poppe addresses the struggles we face as Christian people in a competitive business world.

To help us in our struggle, Poppe goes back to Scripture. In fact, his Scriptural approach to business and economics is refreshing. Business practices are examined in light of Scripture. Even our own economic system is inspected under the microscope of the Bible.

With a background in the retail business, Poppe knows how difficult it can be to let your light shine in the workplace. As the following quotation shows, Poppe understands the dilemma for Christians in the business world today.

…Perhaps because I was raised in a Christian family by parents who had strong ethical principles, I always assumed that honesty was a given when making any type of decision.

I was wrong. Corporate America marches to a different drummer than the one I was familiar with as I grew up in a small farming community. During the 12 years I spent working in discount retailing, honesty often seemed less important than efficiency. Increasing profit always was the name of the game.

Let me make it clear at the outset that there is nothing sinful or shameful about making money. Commerce has been practiced in God’s creation for a very long time. The question that tugs at our Christian consciences, however, is whether we are profiting as a result of sinful business practices. Most of us can recognize that certain business behaviors—lying, cheating, and stealing—are ethically wrong. Our problem is that often the lying, cheating, and stealing are disguised as legitimate and accepted norms of business behavior. These accepted standards of business, I believe, pose some of the most difficult, yet unacknowledged, ethical dilemmas facing businesspeople.

With so many voices calling Christians to separate faith and business, Poppe gives us a great reminder that faith can permeate into every decision we make, and every action we take. If the relationship between faith and business is a struggle for you, this book will help. It succeeds in providing a framework for examining business practices within the context of the Christian faith.