Do the ends justify the means?
I went to Austin last week for work and got a chance to spend some time with some guys from my old fraternity at UT, Brothers Under Christ. I asked them the question from last week's blog -- what does it mean to preach the gospel at all times in business -- and we had a very interesting conversation. The primary theme that seemed to arise again and again was a very utilitarian philosophy -- that the end justifies the means.
One example: "Doesn't the actual business itself come second to the hundreds of employees who depend on that business for jobs, health care, etc."
What I found most interesting is the fact that I had a very similar conversation with a man in his 50s who has spent time both as a businessman and as a pastor. He told me that, as Christian businessmen, we should be satisfied with providing people with jobs and, in working with them, developing relationships. I don't disagree that those are important but, as I've said a million times, we have to scrutinize all that we do (including and especially the work we do every day) from a perspective transformed by the Gospel. If we pick and choose that which the Gospel is to transform in our lives, we are living religious morality, not the Gospel.
It seems this utilitarian perspective is pervasive among Christians of all ages, with all kinds of education and experiences. But I have to say I disagree with it completely. I think an "ends justify the means" mentality grows out of a fear of lost control. "If I don't look out for myself first, who will? Once I guarantee financial security, then I can be a minister of the Gospel." But Jesus commands us to choose Him over money (Matthew 6:24), not money in hopes it will facilitate ministry. We are to seek first His righteousness and He will add all of these things (Matthew 6:33).
So what do you think? Put yourself in a small business owner's shoes -- is it Godly to care first about providing wages and health care for your employees, regardless of the means?
Or consider 1 Timothy 5:8 which says "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Is this commanding us to place primary priority on providing for our families with secondary consideration to the means?
One example: "Doesn't the actual business itself come second to the hundreds of employees who depend on that business for jobs, health care, etc."
What I found most interesting is the fact that I had a very similar conversation with a man in his 50s who has spent time both as a businessman and as a pastor. He told me that, as Christian businessmen, we should be satisfied with providing people with jobs and, in working with them, developing relationships. I don't disagree that those are important but, as I've said a million times, we have to scrutinize all that we do (including and especially the work we do every day) from a perspective transformed by the Gospel. If we pick and choose that which the Gospel is to transform in our lives, we are living religious morality, not the Gospel.
It seems this utilitarian perspective is pervasive among Christians of all ages, with all kinds of education and experiences. But I have to say I disagree with it completely. I think an "ends justify the means" mentality grows out of a fear of lost control. "If I don't look out for myself first, who will? Once I guarantee financial security, then I can be a minister of the Gospel." But Jesus commands us to choose Him over money (Matthew 6:24), not money in hopes it will facilitate ministry. We are to seek first His righteousness and He will add all of these things (Matthew 6:33).
So what do you think? Put yourself in a small business owner's shoes -- is it Godly to care first about providing wages and health care for your employees, regardless of the means?
Or consider 1 Timothy 5:8 which says "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Is this commanding us to place primary priority on providing for our families with secondary consideration to the means?
posted by Matthew at 10:24 PM
6 Comments:
THANK YOU for this thoughtful submission.
1) Consider context of your Timothy passage. "Provide" did not mean then what it implies today. We might be taking the spirit of this further than needed (ie: I must make enough to send my four kids to college and give them each a car on their 16th birthday...that might be over the intention of "provide"). Clothing, feeding, housing your family, still a good idea (as it was then).
2) There are people who think that the ends do not justify the means. They are not very popular because they have a more prophetic strand and the prophets never have too many friends. If you read any John Howard Yoder or Stanley Hauerwas, you will find theologians thinking and acting as if the gospel is an invitation into a new way to live, and not just something cognitive to believe and then propagate.
3) Jesus has invited us to live in the reality of the kingdom which is between us (in us, around us, advancing on Earth this very moment). He has not invited us to be successful according to the kingdom of the world, but to be faithful according to the kingdom of heaven. As we pray "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" we are standing in protest of the kingdom of earth and declaring our allegiance to Jesus. Living in God's kingdom is about believing that there are faithful means to Godly ends, no matter the cost.
I wish to be a part of a church where we practiced together the art of living faithfully as members of God's kingdom on earth. I don't hear a lot of reports out there about church experiences like that, but I haven't given up the dream.
Dave's correct. For the purpose of enlightenment for us all, I looked at the Greek of the 1st Tim passage. The phrase has the idea of looking out for others before yourself. It basically is saying that you should consider how your actions or life decisions affect those around you.
That said, I still believe that the verse can be applicable in this discussion. I guess you could say that 1 Tim 5:8 is saying "Be smart about your decisions."
Robby here ...
quick thought on "the ends jusifying the means" ...
I was thinking last night about how there a few instances in scripture that are a bit confusing in that the action in and of itself would be considered sinful, but the end seemed to justify the means ... take Rahab lying to her own people to protect the Jewish spies and her apparent deceitfulness is rewarded by the writer of Hebrews in his/her Hall of faith in chapter 11. I am curious if this could translate to our discussion here in a business context but as of now I am not sure my thoughts on the topic and I am still considering my position. Hope ya'll have a great weekend ...
Robby has an interesting point. Although, deception like Rahab's happens very frequently in Scripture. But I believe this always happens because there is someone standing in firm opposition to the point where it impedes God's plan. So the lie occurs so that God's plan will be carried out. Can you apply that to your business? I'd be very careful labeling your business (or your ends) as God's plan.
Good back and forth on the Rahab issue. In studying Esther (also debatable means toward the end of redeeming God's people), it has been suggested that Esther used the only power given to her (her physical beauty) in order to walk faithfully in the path of redemption. One could critique her. But the oppressed should be judged differently for the means employed than the non-oppressed (those in business are not typically oppressed). I agree w/ hudson's dad on that.
I offer the following quip from an article called "A New Agenda: De-Americanization" by Christopher R. Little in: October 2006. He is critiquing the "means justifying the ends" philosophy as it has crept into our church:
"American-style evangelicalism has been thoroughly McDonaldized, mimicking the popular fast-food chain. Consumer-oriented marketing principles have been embraced to attract and satisfy more and more people in order to sustain ever increasing egos, visions, budgets, staffs and buildings. In this type of environment almost any conceivable program is justified as a legitimate means to a desired end. Yet this is nothing but unrestrained pragmatism. Such a perspective is open to criticism because even if something works it does not necessarily make it right, true or conducive to forming genuine Christ-followers."
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